Their goals were long gone. Any delusions of grandeur had been dashed. The only consolation left, approaching the end of a frustrating season, was a bowl game and bragging rights. Even still, as his third season at USC slipped from relevance, coach Lincoln Riley had preached the importance of finishing strong in spite of it all. Good programs, he reiterated, always finished at their best.
But until late Saturday, USC hadn’t looked anything like a program ready to put its checkered recent past behind it. The new quarterback was flailing. The run game had stalled. Three trips deep into the red zone had come up short.