In the Big Ten, some teams will gladly let their opponents beat themselves. New conference member USC happily obliged to become the latest victim of that approach, as the Trojans collapsed in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 road loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
USC entered the weekend ranked No. 11 in the AP poll but now has two losses in Big Ten play, and whatever College Football Playoff hopes they had are on life support. Here are some takeaways from USC’s come-from-ahead loss.
The fourth-quarter collapse
USC was in control of this game and looked like it was in a pretty good position to finish it off midway through the fourth quarter, when it marched to the Golden Gophers’ 35-yard line leading 17-10. Kicker Michael Lantz had hit a 54-yard field goal at the end of the half, so USC was already in field goal range.
But the Trojans’ most glaring issues popped up at the worst possible time. Right tackle Mason Murphy was beaten badly around the edge by Minnesota edge rusher Jah Joyner, who hit Miller Moss as he threw the ball and forced an interception that ended the threat.
Minnesota drove down the field against a USC defense that lost some of the sure tackling it showed in the third quarter, and quarterback Max Brosmer rushed into the end zone from 5 yards out to tie the game at 17 with 7:08 left.
Moss was called for intentional grounding on first down of the ensuing drive, and USC’s offense didn’t recover. Its three-and-out put the defense on the field again, and Minnesota marched down the field for the game-winning 1-yard touchdown from Brosmer on a QB sneak with 59 seconds left.
Week 1’s win over LSU may have eased some preseason concerns along the line of scrimmage for USC, but they’ve reared their ugly head in Big Ten play. The Trojans’ defense has faltered in the two critical moments it’s faced in conference play, the fourth quarters at Michigan and Minnesota.
The offensive line has struggled in those environments as well, getting particularly dominated by Michigan’s defensive line. Murphy’s inconsistent play changed the game on Saturday.
Now the Trojans have to pick themselves off the mat and prepare for a top-10 Penn State team to visit the Coliseum next Saturday. If USC doesn’t rebound, this season will go sideways really fast.
Put the the Playoff talk to the side
Ever since USC beat LSU, optimism has been high among the Trojans’ fan base. The Trojans displayed some mettle in that game and in the weeks that followed. They didn’t play well against Michigan, but they still had a very real chance to win it at the end.
Well, the Trojans haven’t played particularly well since that loss, either. Sure, they produced a dominant second half against Wisconsin, but they needed to dig themselves out of a hole of their own creation.
If you’re a Trojans fan, don’t concern yourself with the Playoff right now. If USC can lose to Minnesota, it can lose to almost anybody else remaining on the schedule.
The Trojans haven’t put together a clean four-quarter game since their 48-0 win against Utah State in Week 2. This is an inconsistent team that does a lot to harm its own chances of winning, and that falls directly at the feet of head coach Lincoln Riley.
USC has been in position to win both of the games it has lost. One of those teams (Michigan) couldn’t throw the football; the other (Minnesota) lost three of its first five games.
Iowa’s offense scored 31 points against Minnesota’s defense. All USC could muster was 17.
The Trojans have a long way to go before they can start thinking about the postseason. They have so much more they need to clean up before they can realistically hope for a Playoff appearance.
Another sloppy start
The Trojans weren’t trailing by 11 points after 30 minutes like they were in each of the past two weeks, but they were tied with the Gophers at 10, after committing some more self-inflicted mistakes.
On the opening drive of the game, sophomore wideout Zachariah Branch dropped a critical third-down pass from Miller Moss, which forced USC to settle for a 47-yard field goal. Kicker Michael Lantz missed it, spoiling the drive.
The Trojans had issues stopping Minnesota running back Darius Taylor, whose patience gave them fits. The defense was also flagged for some uncharacteristic penalties as well: a couple of offside calls, a facemask on Mason Cobb and a pass interference on Jacobe Covington.
Late in the first half, USC was marching in Minnesota territory until redshirt freshman running back Quinten Joyner fumbled the ball away. The defense responded with Kamari Ramsey’s forced fumble, and USC eventually moved into field goal position for Lantz to redeem himself before the half from 54 yards out.
But all those first-half miscues allowed Minnesota to hang around when USC could’ve put the Golden Gophers behind schedule in a major way.
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)