Turbulent Tale: The Perplexing Trojans of 2024

@ Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

No shame in losing a bowl game to the USC Trojans (7-6) ... usually, anyway.

After all, no college football program has produced more Heisman Trophy winners or players now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But in 2024, the Southern Cal team stumbled to a 6-6 regular season record, with five in-conference losses to teams including the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5) and Maryland Terrapins (4-8)—programs that perennially inhabit the nether regions of the Big Ten Conference.

Thus, Texas A&M's (8-5) loss to the Trojans in the 2024 Las Vegas Bowl is a bit surprising insofar as the Aggies were in contention for the Southeastern Conference title for much of the season, winning their first five contests in the conference where it supposedly "just means more." At the beginning of November, they were ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. Whatever the bowl game in Sin City might reveal about Texas A&M, it demonstrated that USC failed to live up to its potential during the season.

Talent-Laden Trojans Roster

USC began the season with a bang, knocking off the LSU Tigers (8-4) in the same Las Vegas venue where they played Texas A&M. A team cannot bookend its season with victories over blue-blood SEC programs without a bevy of talented players, and the Trojans' 2024 team was loaded with many gifted athletes who were five- and four-star recruits. Fleet-footed Zachariah Branch was the nation's top-rated wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Duce Robinson, a 6-foot-6 receiver, was the No. 1 tight end in the 2023 class per 247Sports. Bear Alexander was rated the second-best defensive lineman in the country in 2022. And the list goes on.

However, coach Lincoln Riley and his staff did not tap the potential of this talented group. Branch had only 47 receptions, and Robinson just 23. Alexander saw action on fewer than half of the teams' defensive snaps. As a result, these three prized recruits entered the Transfer Portal. Other noteworthy USC players who plunged into the Portal include:

• Miller Moss, quarterback

• Quinten Joyner, running back

• Kyron Hudson, wide receiver

• Mason Murphy, offensive lineman

• Kade Eldridge, tight end

• Kalolo Ta'aga, offensive lineman

Unrealized Potential

Unsteady and inconsistent performance by the players and coaches marked the USC season. The Trojans' 7-6 record featured losses that frustrated USC supporters because the team was on the cusp of winning each of the six games they lost and could have won those games but for its own myriad miscues.

Here's a quick glimpse at the USC 2024 win-loss record:

• LSU: W, 27-20

• Utah State: W, 48-0

• Michigan: L, 24-27

• Wisconsin: W, 38-21

• Minnesota: L, 17-24

• Penn State: L, 30-33 (OT)

• Maryland: L, 28-29

• Rutgers: W, 42-20

• Washington: L, 21-26

• Nebraska: W, 28-20

• UCLA: W, 19-13

• Notre Dame: L, 35-49

• Texas A&M: 35-31

USC led the Michigan Wolverines (7-5) in the fourth quarter by a score of 24-20 before surrendering a touchdown on a fourth-down play with less than one minute remaining in the game. The Trojans held the Wolverines to 32 passing yards and made 5 more first downs than Michigan. Questionable play-calling, poor clock management and procedural penalties down the stretch inhibited USC's effort to secure a victory. The officiating crew also drew fierce criticism for missing crucial calls.

In their overtime loss to the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (12-2), the Trojans led 20-6 at halftime and, with the score tied 30-30, drove into Penn State territory when just under two minutes remained in the game. But they squandered the chance to win by inexplicably allowing time to run off the clock before turning the ball over just seconds before the end of regulation play.

Against No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1), the Trojans played to a 21-21 tie midway through the third quarter, and while trailing 35-28 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, drove to the Fighting Irish 21-yard line. In pursuit of a tying touchdown, QB Jayden Maiava threw an interception that Notre Dame returned 99 yards to seal the deal.

Thus, USC was competitive to the end against two of the nation's top-5 teams and had ample opportunities to come away with wins in both contests, but came up short. The fact that the Trojans had the talent to play neck-and-neck with the best teams in the country underscores the frustration USC fans experienced when the team suffered its other four losses to mediocre, unranked teams—Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington (6-6). In each of those four losses, the Trojans held fourth-quarter leads which they relinquished.

Starting and ending the season with wins against SEC stalwarts and pushing Penn State and Notre Dame to the limit unmistakably reveals that the Trojans are a talented team. Hence, their four losses to middling B1G conference foes reflect perplexing underperformance. As prominent former USC players have expressed on social media, much more is expected of the Southern Cal football program, and further mediocrity will not be tolerated.