Lincoln Riley and USC suffered their first season loss Saturday, falling 34-32 to Illinois on a last-second field goal. The Trojans struggled to find rhythm early, trailing for much of the night before mounting a late rally that put them in position to win.
But Illinois silenced any hope in the closing seconds. After regaining possession with little time left, the Illini marched downfield and set up kicker David Olano, who drilled the game-winning field goal as time expired.
"Super disappointed locker room." Riley said in his opening statement. He went on to say, “We showed a lot of fight coming back to take the lead, but the reality is we squandered too many opportunities on both sides of the ball," he said.
The loss drops USC to 4-1 on the season, halting the program’s unbeaten start under Riley. Illinois improved to 4-1. Illinois is back in action next weekend at Purdue, and USC will head to a bye week.
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:
- Virginia knocks off No. 9 Florida State 46-38 double overtime thriller
- Mike Norvell buyout, contract details as Florida State Seminoles coach
- Dangerous field storm follows Virginia upset of Florida State
- Dabo Swinney out at Clemson? Insider reveals if his job is in jeopardy
- Why Mike Gundy fired off 'I'm a man, I'm 40' rant as Oklahoma State coach