The No. 15 USC Trojans are facing one of their biggest games under head coach Lincoln Riley on Saturday afternoon against the No. 7 Oregon Ducks.

With the regular season nearing its end, USC’s College Football Playoff hopes rest squarely on this matchup — and the same can be said for Oregon.

USC struck first with a beautiful opening drive led by quarterback Jayden Maiava to take a 7-0 lead. However, costly mistakes on defense and special teams began to pile up, a recurring issue that has plagued Riley-led teams throughout his collegiate coaching career.

After stopping Oregon on third-and-long to force a field goal, which was missed off the upright, USC was penalized for leaping over the center while not lined up on the line of scrimmage. This gave Oregon an automatic first down, which

See Full Page