When USC hired Head Coach Lincoln Riley in November 2021, fans were expecting a winning program to follow.

And those wins have come, but not the premier, high-level wins over ranked teams. That was thrust into the spotlight Saturday night, as the USC Trojans (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) fell victim to the Washington Huskies (9-0, 6-0) 52-42. This was USC’s third ranked loss this season and sixth across the last two seasons.

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That sixth ranked loss led to the firing of Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch, a sign Riley is finally prepared to build a program that’s built to win the big games.

USC has two ranked wins during Riley’s tenure — over Trojan rivals Notre Dame and UCLA last season. But a 2-6 record over ranked teams with a Heisman winner at quarterback — junior Caleb Williams — is a disappointing reality for USC.

But at some level, this was completely predictable.

The Trojans are relying on multiple freshmen to take up big roles on both offense and defense. And while some freshmen have performed in those large roles, a team that has to rely on multiple young players will struggle to be among the best in the country. At some point, those players are bound to have “freshman mistakes.”

Those freshman mistakes came out in a game when USC lost by 10 points against a top-five team in the country.

“I think our guys are frustrated that we’ve been so close,” Riley said. “We haven’t played good enough to be able to separate. And we’ve had some, obviously, errors in the last few weeks that have cost us. We’ve had a couple of bad breaks.”

Those came at crucial moments against the Huskies this past weekend. On third down, just 2:40 into the game, freshman wide receiver Duce Robinson was wide-open and would have waltzed into the end zone but dropped the ball. Later in the game, Robinson was called for an offensive holding penalty, which brought back a touchdown that would have given USC a 4-point lead.

Robinson partially made up for these mistakes by blocking a punt, but if freshmen are constantly put in these high-leverage situations, they are bound to fail.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was a similar feel for freshman rush end Braylan Shelby. Trojans fans will remember how Shelby was put in coverage against Utah (7-2, 4-2) and allowed the first Ute touchdown of the game. Against Washington, Shelby was similarly put in coverage and missed a tackle, allowing a 14-yard Husky gain.

And while he is not a freshman, sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson has also had to take a large role this year as a young player who only made two tackles last season. Jackson was hit with a crucial pass interference penalty that offset a holding penalty, which would have put the Huskies at 1st-and-20.

These specific instances did not necessarily lose USC the game, but, as evidenced by what Riley said in the postgame press conference, this program was not built to win in its current state. The firing of Grinch on Sunday won’t change that immediately either though, it’s just a step in a series of changes. While giving game experience to young players is important to building the future of a team — like playing then-redshirt freshman Lake McRee in 13 games last year, who has now flourished this season — putting multiple freshmen in numerous tough spots does not breed success against ranked teams.

“We battled our ass off,” Riley said. “Again, like sitting in here after Utah, we’re one of about 20 … plays going different from [being] in here celebrating, saying we had a win over a top-five team.”

But even if this team is not built to win now against the big teams, the Trojans still have multiple opportunities toward the end of the season to improve on that 2-6 record against ranked teams. USC heads up to Eugene next weekend to take on the Oregon Ducks (8-1, 5-1) and then return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to take on the UCLA Bruins (6-3, 3-3).

In those two games, Riley and the Trojans can prove that they are built to hang with the big dogs and build momentum heading into year three of the Riley era. Because, again, the Trojans lost by a mere 10 points to one of the best teams in the country.

They were a lost fumble away from heading into halftime tied with the Huskies, if not with a lead. They were a holding penalty away from taking a lead near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. USC showed it could put up a fight, but in its current state, the team cannot seem to land that knockout blow.

The Washington Huskies are a good team and, if they win out, have a good chance at making the College Football Playoff. But USC, a program with 11 National Championships, should have the ability to beat a good team.

Riley took over a 4-8 team, and the Trojans are still in the throes of coming back to national prominence. The Washington Huskies proved that. But USC needs to learn how to land the knockout blow to change the tune from being “nearly there” to celebrations in the locker room.

“We were agonizingly close,” Riley said. “We were maybe one holding call from getting that done. We’re just fighting like crazy every week to play as good as we can and not get too wrapped up in all the big picture stuff right now. There’s too much left to play for.”

The Trojans will attempt to make that knockout blow when they take on the Oregon Ducks next Saturday at Autzen Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.