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By Jordan Sigler
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No. 18 USC was within a touchdown of No. 9 Indiana in the fourth quarter, but a 42-yard touchdown pass from Grant Wilson to Charlie Becker with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for the Trojans.
After falling to 7-3 on the season, the College Football Playoff is pretty much out of reach for USC at this point. Making the CFP was a point of emphasis for head coach Lincoln Riley, who did not make the playoff in his first four seasons with the Trojans.
During his postgame news conference, Riley argued that his team was "close" to beating top-tier programs like Indiana in the conference, but they need to find ways to win critical plays to finish games.
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"Closing out games like that is what you got to do to be the best," Riley said. "We're right there close tonight. This game came down to a couple of plays and we did a good job putting ourselves there. But we got to go shut the door, and we understand that.
So we're gonna get back to work. We've got Senior Day in our last game with the Coliseum coming up (against Maryland in Week 12), which is really important to our group, and then a big rivalry game after that (UCLA on Nov. 28). So we're gonna get back on the plane, get back to LA, correct what we need to correct, and get on to the next one."
Riley is now 1-8 at USC against ranked opponents on the road.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava made a few critical mistakes in the loss. He finished the day going 26 of 42 passing for 311 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Trojans rushed 25 times for 98 yards. Those turnovers proved critical, as did the 27 more penalty yards the Trojans were flagged for (87 yards) against Indiana.
Indiana turned to Wilson over Josh Hoover, who has been battling a shoulder injury. He went 17 of 27 passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Hoosiers rushed for 146 yards and one score on 35 rushing attempts.
The Trojans should take care of business against a 4-6 Maryland team that fired head coach Mike Locksley in October. USC's final contest against No. 4 UCLA will be much tougher. And it could be a tough pill to swallow if the Trojans lose to UCLA, allowing the Bruins to make the CFP in head coach Bob Chesney's first season.
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