USC Trojans miss double-digit lead again, losing fourth Big Ten game to Maryland

It happened again. Incredibly, but at the same time believable, the USC Trojans blew a double-digit lead and failed to finish a conference game. The Maryland Terrapins defeated the USC Trojans 29-28 on their homecoming night. USC is now 3-4 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten Conference play. Coach Lincoln Riley is now off to the worst seven-game start of his coaching career.

Riley lost seven games in five seasons at Oklahoma. In the last two seasons alone he lost eleven games. The worst? In three of the four losses this season, the Trojans had at least a touchdown lead with possession in the fourth quarter. USC has held a lead of at least four points in the fourth quarter in every loss this season.

“I don’t know,” Lincoln Riley said when asked why the Trojans continue to suffer the same fate in late-game situations.

You should take Riley at his word, because that's the only logical explanation. There is no longer any talk of being a play or two away. The Trojans have a losing record and have suffered four conference losses three weeks into October. Despite virtually nonexistent playoff hopes and conference championship aspirations, the Maryland game was still a must-win for the USC Trojans. Once again they failed.

“It's a strange phase we're in right now. I really don't know if I can compare this to anything I've experienced in my career. But we have, we have two options. “And those two options are obvious.” Riley said about how the Trojans need to respond to the team's current situation.

This loss will likely be worse than some of the others. Why?

The wide receiver room, which has been a strength for the Trojans, needed to reach its potential and they responded in impressive fashion. Eight different players had two or more receptions. Three different players got a touchdown and all were incredible plays. Kyron Hudson caught a beautiful ball over his shoulder at the end of the first quarter. Ja'Kobi Lane had a one-handed fish that will contend for catch of the year. Duce Robinson used his massive frame to bully multiple defenders and get into the end zone.

According to Lincoln Riley, quarterback Miller Moss' job was never in question, and rightly so. However, Moss had some silence about the critic's performance to assert himself as the players started loving him at the start of the season. Moss went 34/50 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Moss missed a few shots, but played a pretty damn good football game for the most part, until the Trojans' final offensive play. Moss executed the two-minute situation to put the Trojans within field goal range, and still it wasn't enough.

Another focus was putting pressure on the quarterback, and the Trojans did just that. The USC defense only had six sacks before the game and two against Maryland. Even down to the final pass conversion for Maryland, the USC pass rush was under pressure and a quarterback hit. Still not enough.

Everywhere the Trojans needed to improve early in the game, they visibly improved. Still, it wasn't good enough to win the ball game. What needs to change? Who knows. Lincoln Riley himself said he didn't know. Regardless, Riley owes it to his team to figure it out and save the rest of this season.