How a sloppy start and a fourth-quarter collapse caused No. 11 USC to stumble against Minnesota

In the Big Ten, some teams like to let their opponents beat themselves. New conference member USC was lucky to become the latest victim of this approach when the Trojans faltered in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 road loss to Minnesota on Saturday.

USC entered the weekend ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, but now has two losses in Big Ten play and any College Football Playoff hopes they had are hanging on life support. Here are some takeaways from USC’s narrow loss.

The fourth quarter collapse

USC was in control of this game and looked to be in pretty good position to put it away midway through the fourth quarter when it marched to the Golden Gophers’ 35-yard line with a 17-10 lead. Kicker Michael Lantz had kicked a 54-yard field goal at the end of the half, putting USC already within field goal range.

But the Trojans’ most glaring problems emerged at the worst possible time. Right tackle Mason Murphy was beaten badly at the edge by Minnesota edge rusher Jah Joyner, who hit Miller Moss as he threw the ball and forced an interception that ended the threat.

Minnesota pushed the field against a USC defense that lost some of its tackling safety in the third quarter, and quarterback Max Brosmer burst into the end zone from 5 yards out, tying the game at 17:00 with 7:08 remaining Clock off.

Moss was called for intentional grounding on first down of the ensuing drive, and USC’s offense did not recover. His three-and-out brought the defense back on the field, and Minnesota marched down the field on a QB sneak with 59 seconds left and scored Brosmer’s game-winning 1-yard touchdown.

The Week 1 win over LSU may have put to rest some preseason fears about the fight for USC, but they have reared their ugly head in Big Ten play. The Trojans’ defense faltered in the two most crucial moments in conference play, the fourth quarter at Michigan and Minnesota.

The offensive line also struggled in these environments and was particularly dominated by Michigan’s defensive line. Murphy’s inconsistent play changed Saturday’s game.

Now the Trojans must get off the mat and prepare for a top-10 Penn State team to visit the Coliseum next Saturday. If USC doesn’t recover, things will go downhill very quickly this season.

Put the playoff talk aside

Since USC defeated LSU, optimism has been high among the Trojans’ fan base. The Trojans showed some grit in this game and in the weeks that followed. They didn’t play well against Michigan, but in the end they still had a very real chance to win the game.

Well, the Trojans haven’t played particularly well since that loss either. Sure, they had a dominant second half against Wisconsin, but they had to dig themselves out of a hole of their own making.

If you’re a Trojans fan, don’t worry about the playoffs right now. The Trojans’ chances of making the 12-team field are 26 percent, according to Austin Mock’s latest projection. But if USC can lose to Minnesota, it can lose to almost everyone else still on the schedule.

The Trojans haven’t had a clean four-quarter game since their 48-0 win over Utah State in Week 2. This is an inconsistent team that does a lot to hurt their own chances of winning, and that falls right at the feet of head coach Lincoln Riley.

USC was able to win both games it lost. One of those teams (Michigan) couldn’t throw the football; the other (Minnesota) lost three of its first five games.

Iowa’s offense scored 31 points against Minnesota’s defense. All USC could muster was 17.

The Trojans still have a long way to go before they can start thinking about the postseason. They still have a lot to clean up before they can realistically hope to make the playoffs.

Another sloppy start

Instead of trailing by 11 points after 30 minutes like they had in each of the last two weeks, the Trojans were tied with the Gophers by 10 points after making more self-inflicted errors.

On the game’s first drive, sophomore wideout Zachariah Branch dropped a critical third-down pass from Miller Moss, forcing USC to settle for a 47-yard field goal. Kicker Michael Lantz missed it and spoiled the drive.

The Trojans had trouble stopping Minnesota running back Darius Taylor, whose patience gave them fits. The defense was also charged with some uncharacteristic penalties: a couple of offside calls, a facemask on Mason Cobb and a pass interference on Jacobe Covington.

Late in the first half, USC was marching into Minnesota territory until redshirt freshman running back Quinten Joyner fumbled the ball away. The defense responded with a forced fumble by Kamari Ramsey, and USC eventually moved into field goal position for Lantz to recover from 54 yards before halftime.

But all of those first-half mistakes allowed Minnesota to hang on when USC could have put the Golden Gophers significantly behind schedule.

(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)