Maryland could feel it coming in the air Saturday night.

The Terrapins were still trailing by a mere seven points as Phil Collins’ famous drum solo rang through the speakers at SECU Stadium, and they took his words to heart. Although the Maryland players may not have been waiting for this exact moment for all of their lives, Trojan fans saw a moment they have seen many times this season, the product of a drowning team that has not been able to play a full 60 minutes of football since Week 2.

For the second straight week, the Trojans (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) secured a 14-point lead at halftime, and for the second straight week, USC’s opponent clawed its way back to win the game. This week, it was the Maryland Terrapins (4-3, 1-3) who wiped off the grins of the Trojans, taking home a 29-28 win.

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“We obviously just have not been able to finish these games,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley in a postgame press conference. “I own it, it’s my responsibility. I gotta get this team to play better at the end of games and I’ve obviously not done a good enough job of that.”

Riley’s squad has seemingly found a creative, painful new way to lose games every week. On Saturday, Maryland blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt from redshirt senior kicker Michael Lantz with less than two minutes remaining that would have iced the game, to go along with an earlier miss from Lantz in the first quarter.

This was one week after the Trojans, with another double-digit lead at halftime, allowed No. 3 Penn State (6-0, 3-0) to march up and down the field in the second half. The Nittany Lions had four second-half scoring drives of at least 72 yards.

The week prior against Minnesota (4-3, 2-2), it was the offense who could not clinch the game, going scoreless in the fourth quarter while the Gophers put up 14 points to complete the comeback and win the game.

While USC primarily lost games in the first two years of the Riley era because of poor defense, the Trojans have suffered defeats this season because of every facet of their squad: offense, defense and special teams.

“This one was symptomatic of all three sides,” Riley said. “All three sides had opportunities, whether to get stops, to score, make field goals, all that. [We] didn’t make enough plays and again, that’s road football for you.”

Throughout the season, USC has shifted from struggling in the first half and lighting it up in the second half to the opposite end of the spectrum: strong first halves with extremely poor second-half performances.

The Trojans seemed dead to rights after the opening two quarters against Michigan and Wisconsin before outscoring both of those teams in the final 30 minutes. Since that point, USC has had a lead or a tied-ball game at the half in its most recent three games, going on to lose all three against conference opposition.

“We’ve been a good enough team to have a chance to win every game, but we haven’t been quite good enough to separate,” Riley said. “And when you put yourself in these moments, you are going to have to make some plays to beat somebody, especially on the road.”

Riley’s squad has had a chance to win every single game, losing all four by just a single score. But still, USC’s season record is now under .500 for the first time across Riley’s first three seasons, and with four losses already, the Trojans are at risk of missing a bowl game.

The Trojans have little more to play for this season other than pride and a chance at a middling bowl game.

“It just really comes down to individual pride, and as a whole, having pride and we’re going to take it one game at a time,” said redshirt senior safety Bryson Shaw. “My father raised me to keep fighting no matter what. That’s just kind of who I am. I know guys on this team are the exact same way. We’re going to fight every day.”

USC will return home for a Friday-night matchup against Rutgers at 8 p.m.