The The USC Trojans sat out the fifth game of the season and remains no win on the road this season. It’s the second straight season the Trojans have lost five games under the coach Lincoln Riley. To put it into perspective, Riley didn’t lose his fifth game at Oklahoma until his third year.

“Did we have a chance to win every game, the answer to all of that is definitely yes,” Riley said. “But at the end of the day it’s either you break up or it comes down to the finish. We expect to win and we didn’t do that enough.”

The offense found momentum in the second quarter. A 12-play, 76-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard plunge by Woody Marks put the Trojans on the board, but two touchdown runs by Washington running back Jonah Coleman helped the Huskies to a 20-7 halftime lead.

USC neglected the run game in the first half, calling for 29 pass plays to just nine runs. Moss finished the night with 50 pass attempts, marking the third time this season that the redshirt junior has thrown 50 or more pass attempts in a game this season. 2022 Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams had just one game with 50 pass attempts in his two seasons under center in Cardinal and Gold.

To start the second half, the Trojans began to lean towards the running game and the offense completely changed. Three big runs by running back Woody Marks, all of which went for at least 13 yards, put the Trojans in Washington territory on the opening possession of the second half. The drive stalled, but on fourth-and-9, Moss found Makai Lemonwho got behind the defense for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 20-14. Lemon finished the night with eight receptions for 80 yards. Marks carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards. It was the fifth time this season Marks has reached the 100-yard mark.

On Washington’s ensuing possession, a fourth-down fumble gave the ball back to USC. After a big 42-yard completion to Zachariah Branch put them in the red zone, two plays later, Moss connected with Ford for a 9-yard touchdown to give the Trojans their first lead of the night. Branch was spectacular, hauling in six receptions for 102 yards. First 100 yard game of his career.

Suddenly, the momentum shifted to USC until Moss was intercepted by Washington linebacker Carson Bruener – Moss’ third interception of the night. Washington would retake the lead with Keith Reynolds’ four-yard touchdown run to make it 26-21 after a failed two-point conversion.

The USC offense responded with a drive of its own. Marks converted three plays from third down, helping the Trojans down to the one-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Marks was stuffed in the backfield for a three-yard loss.

“A surprise advance mission at the wrong time,” Riley said.

USC got the ball back with 1:36 left in regulation and no timeouts. Moss drove the Trojans to the Washington 14-yard line, but three consecutive incompletions, starting on second down, ended the comeback attempt. Moss finished the night completing 30 of 50 passes for a career-high 293 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

When the Trojans signed Riley away from Oklahoma to a lucrative 10-year, $110 million deal in November 2021, it was expected that by year three the Trojans would be competing for the conference championship and the playoffs by college football. Instead, the Trojans are fighting for bowl eligibility with three games left on the schedule.

USC will have a bye next week before hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 16.