USC Football: Lincoln Riley Still Believes Trojans Could Win Pac-12 This Season

After USC's uninspiring 50-49 victory against Cal, head coach Lincoln Riley took the podium.

Riley's comment is to be expected, as coaches are expected to retain confidence in their players and team regardless of the circumstances. Despite USC having dropped two straight ahead of this matchup with Cal, they put forth solid offensive output, highlighted by a 50-point performance. 

In terms of the bad, USC ceded 527 yards of offense to a questionable Cal unit that just put up 14 points against Utah in their last game. It's likely they were in line for even more production, but running back Jadyn Ott who had 21 carries for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns, exited the game with an injury early in the 4th quarter. 

This began to collapse Cal's offense and opened the door for USC's comeback. Despite trailing 43-29 early in the 4th, the Trojans mounted a run, including a go-ahead drive with 3:33 left in the game. 

Cal managed to bounce right back, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown to cut the lead to 1. An extra point would've tied it, but Justin Wilcox's decision to go for 2 would've sealed the deal for Cal. As the 2-point attempt failed, USC escaped with a 50-49 victory.

The Trojans are still in play for the Pac-12 but would need a lot of things to go their way. For starters, they'd have to win out, which would require defeating (currently) No. 5 Washington, No. 8 Oregon, and No. 23 UCLA in a row. 

All three of these teams are coming off of solid wins, with Oregon impressively defeating No. 13 Utah 35-6.

To suggest that it'll be an uphill battle is an understatement, as the Trojans will need to win 3 games, at least 2 of which they'll come in as underdogs in. If the defense can improve, then it's within the cards. If it doesn't, they should shift their sights to a mid-level bowl game. 

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Trojans!