USC Trojans' Toughest Losses in the Lincoln Riley Era

During Lincoln Riley's time with the USC Trojans, two defeats in particular stand out.

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley could be on the verge of making the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. However, the climb towards the postseason has not come without having several brutal losses.

So, here are the three toughest losses that the Trojans have had under Riley.

Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws against the Utah Utes during the first half of the PAC-12 Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Dec. 2, 2022, Pac-12 Championship Game vs. Utah

Without question, the toughest loss that USC has suffered under Riley is the 47-24 loss against the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 championship game in 2022.

This loss was the toughest for a variety of reasons, the first one being that quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter during an explosive run that severely limited his mobility and the way that he could run USC’s offense.

If Williams had been healthy in this game, there is no guarantee that the Trojans would have won, but the outcome could have been very different. 

Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Utah Utes in the first half of the Pac-12 Championship at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Another reason that this was such a brutal loss was the fact that if USC won this game, they would have made the College Football Playoff.

Lastly, the Trojans were also trying to redeem their only loss of the season to that point against Utah. That first loss to Utah was on the road and came down to a nail-biter as the Utes were able to come out victorious with a late touchdown and two-point conversion that gave Utah a one-point win.

There is no doubt that the 2022 season was successful, but the outcome of this game was something that was very tough to grasp and leaves many USC fans with questions of what could have been if they had won and qualified for the College Football Playoff.  

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dec. 2, 2025, Alamo Bowl USC vs. TCU

A more recent loss that may be tough for the Trojans to deal with is more current, as it was the Alamo Bowl loss at the end of last season, where USC lost to the TCU Horned Frogs 30-27 in a very competitive game.

The toughest part about this game is the fact that the Trojans had the perfect situation to force TCU into a field goal to get to a second overtime, but USC’s defense was unable to execute. 

Following a sack, the Trojans had TCU’s offense in a third-down and 20-yard-to-go situation, but TCU running back Jeremy Payne caught a pass from quarterback Kenny Seals and broke multiple tackle attempts from USC defenders, which resulted in a touchdown to end the game. 

However, the Trojans’ defense was not alone in losing this game, USC’s offense also had a few opportunities to put the defense in a better position. 

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws the ball against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The prior possession, the Trojans' offense had first and goal at the USC two-yard line, but were only able to come up with a field goal to give the Trojans a three-point lead. On the goal-to-go series, running back King Miller was unable to find a lane, which resulted in two rushes for -3 yards, which was followed by quarterback Jayden Maiava being unable to connect with wide receiver Jaden Richardson on third down.

Maiava also had two crucial intercpetions in regulation. The first intercpetions resulted in a TCU touchdown on a short field, and the second interception took points off the board for the Trojans as USC was on the TCU seven-yard line. If Maiava had been able to avoid those two mistakes, that could have completely changed the game and put USC in a great position to win the Alamo Bowl and have positive momentum heading into the offseason.

With both the offense and the defense being unable to execute in crucial situations, the Trojans were unable to pick up a bowl game win and now have had to sit with that result throughout the offseason.

While this result was brutal for USC, if Riley can help the Trojans to use this result as fuel and motivate the team to come out ready to go in Week 1 next season, this game could be viewed as the turning point for USC becoming one of the top contenders in the Big Ten. 

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