Having narrowly stopped TCU from scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the fourth quarter and forcing a field goal to tie, USC went into overtime in its first appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

It wasn’t what the heavily favored Trojans (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten) expected coming into the game, nor what the Horned Frogs (9-4, 5-4 Big 12) expected when they held a lead for much of the beginning of the game. It certainly wasn’t what Head Coach Lincoln Riley and company thought was in store after going up by 10 points with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter Tuesday in San Antonio, Texas.

But, after USC settled for a field goal to kick off overtime, the Trojans’ defense collapsed and shattered expectations, allowing a walk-off, 35-yard touchdown pass on third-and-20 to send TCU home with a 30-27 win. The bowl loss blocked Riley’s squad from its first 10-win season since 2022, as the Trojans are still searching for their first College Football Playoff berth and a rise back into the national spotlight.

While USC was favored, the Trojans were without eight players and former Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn after he told USC that he would accept the DC job at his alma mater, Penn State, and would not coach the Trojans Tuesday night, per multiple reports.

“To go from being a very good defense to being a great defense is the goal,” Riley said in a postgame news conference. “We’re on an upward trend, and there’s going to be a lot of interest in this job.”

Once in overtime, only two yards away from a touchdown, the Trojans met a brick-wall TCU defense, getting pushed back three yards and held to a field goal.

Even after the Trojans’ defense pushed the Horned Frogs back to the 35-yard line, TCU sophomore running back Jeremy Payne caught a pass from redshirt senior quarterback Ken Seals and dodged three defenders near the sideline, scoring and bringing the bowl game to a close.

“We missed multiple tackles,” Riley said. “It just happened in kind of the worst time possible.”

With Lynn out, USC’s defense struggled to find consistency, allowing multiple explosive plays and failing to close out the game late despite holding a fourth-quarter lead. Missed tackles and breakdowns in coverage proved costly as the Horned Frogs totaled 424 yards of offense and sealed the game with a 35-yard  touchdown in overtime.

Riley said USC lost the game because the team did not execute well enough in the red zone. In all four of their field goal drives, the Trojans made it inside the 25-yard line, including a final possession that stalled at TCU’s 5-yard line in overtime, but struggled to finish without consistent production beyond freshman wide receiver Tanook Hines and redshirt freshman running back King Miller.

USC scored first with one of these drives — from redshirt freshman Ryon Sayeri, who would end up breaking USC’s single-season record for made field goals by the end of the game, ending the season with 21. 

However, a first-quarter interception from redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava proved to be the start of an uphill battle against TCU. 

The Horned Frogs were on a roll in the second quarter, scoring two touchdowns to take control of the game, while USC played catch-up from a touchdown by Miller and a field goal by Sayeri.

Six starters on offense were notably absent from the game, including junior wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Biletnikoff Award-winner Makai Lemon, who indicated their intent to enter the NFL Draft earlier this month. Hines was the leading receiver of the game for USC with 163 receiving yards on six catches, stepping up in their place. 

With bowl season underway, both teams had key players missing, including TCU’s starting junior quarterback Josh Hoover. Seals, a backup in his two years with TCU, led the Horned Frogs after Hoover recently declared his intent to enter the transfer portal. Seals led two scoring drives in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and the game-winning touchdown pass. 

Miller also had a chance to shine, ending the night with 99 rushing yards on 25 attempts alongside his touchdown, further establishing himself as a top candidate for USC’s starting job next season, with former starting running back Waymond Jordan set to return. Jordan was listed as questionable on the availability report prior to the game, but did not see the field. 

Maiava had an inconsistent game, throwing for 280 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on 18-of-30 passing. He found his offensive footing again during the third quarter, throwing a now-viral showstopping touchdown pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Jaden Richardson, who hauled in a 21-yard one-handed catch to give USC a lead ahead of the fourth quarter.

With several key starters missing from the game, the Trojans leaned on underclassmen like Hines and Miller. Riley said he’s optimistic about the future of the team even after the loss.

“A window here is opened up,” Riley said. “It’s taken a lot of effort [and] commitment by a lot of people — four fun but really challenging years — to get it open, and it’s open now.”