USC football wants to use ‘very, very important year’ to pave its own future

LOS ANGELES — The theme within the USC football team in the week leading up to Saturday’s UCLA game was “paving the road.”

Head coach Lincoln Riley encouraged his players to ruminate on what they are doing to prepare the Trojans for the future, and how this season can be a building block. Quarterback Jayden Maiava put it simply:

“We still ain’t (expletive),” he told reporters after the game.

The team seems to be celebrating this regular season, which ended with a 29-10 win over the Bruins, as well as accepting it as a building block. Players are viewing the road ahead through their own lenses, and all paths are under construction.

Roughly 30 players walked in the Senior Day ceremony prior to playing the Bruins. Some, like linebacker Eric Gentry, were out of eligibility and others, like