USC Trojans Football: Team Under Lincoln Riley Has Never Beaten Utah
Because USC fans have grown used to losing to Utah, the outcome of Saturday's game against the Utes isn't too much of a surprise.
Lincoln Riley is 17-5 during his tenure at USC, with three of his losses coming at the hands of Utah.
Their first matchup was an epic back-and-forth battle that saw very few defensive highlights. After fighting back from an early 14-0 deficit, the Utes went for two instead of tying the game with under a minute left and Cameron Rising's Utes gave the Trojans their first loss of the season.
A couple of months later, they would once again play spoiler, denying the Trojans a spot in the College Football Playoffs after beating them 47-24 in the Pac-12 Championship game.
Yesterday seemed like it could be different, as the Trojans entered the game favored by a touchdown and Rising remained out as he recovers from a torn ACL.
At halftime, the two were tied at 14 apiece, but the Utes pulled away in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, the Trojans were down 28-17.
A pick-six from safety Calen Bullock sparked a comeback capped off by a touchdown run from Caleb Williams to put the Trojans up a point with less than two minutes left.
The common thread in all three of Riley's losses to Utah has been the oft-maligned defense. The offense sputtered in the second half of the Pac-12 Championship game after Williams picked up a leg injury, but the defense let Utah run the score and put the game out of reach.
With 1:46 remaining, the Utah offense converted on fourth down as they drove down the field for a walk-off field goal to win the game. A 26-yard run from Bryson Barnes set the Utes up in field goal position and Utah earned their third win since the 2022 season began.
Riley spoke to Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times about the loss.
“As gut-wrenching a defeat as I can remember in my career,” Riley said after the game.
(Via Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times)
With two losses, USC is realistically out of the playoff conversation. And with Washington, Oregon, and UCLA still on the schedule, USC could continue to slide out of the Top 25.
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