USC isn’t build to contend in the Big Ten. It’s Lincoln Riley’s job to fix that

The visuals weren't pretty. There was left tackle Elijah Paige getting beat by a Minnesota edge rusher who disrupted USC quarterback Miller Moss just enough to make a potential touchdown pass sail off target in the second quarter.

There was right tackle Mason Murphy getting bowled over by a Golden Gophers defensive lineman late in the first half. And in the fourth quarter, Murphy flinched on third-and-5. Fortunately for Murphy, the penalty wasn't called, but when the ball was snapped, the Trojans' offensive lineman was beaten badly around the edge by Minnesota's Jah Joyner , who hit Moss and forced him into an interception that changed the game and sparked the Trojans' collapse and 24-17 loss to the Golden Gophers on Saturday night.

There are more examples, but despite it all, Lincoln Riley remained confident.

"We protected the quarterback well for a large part of the night," Riley told reporters. "We got good enough play out of the O-line tonight."

Look, Riley knows more about football than I do, but the assertion seems doable at best.

Here's what the past three weeks have illustrated: USC is simply not built properly to succeed in the Big Ten this season. And that falls at the feet of Riley.

It's not just the offensive line. The Trojans struggled to stop the run when it mattered on Saturday. These concerns were easy to identify in May . The LSU victory generated a ton of excitement and provided a ton of optimism. Maybe USC could outperform expectations.

Maybe, however, it just provided a false sense of security. The Big Ten is a trenches-focused league, and the Trojans aren't good enough on the offensive and defensive lines to win these sorts of battles consistently.

Let's start with the offensive line because that was the major topic of discussion following the Trojans' loss on Saturday. Jonah Monheim is good at center. Emmanuel Pregnon is good at right guard.

USC is either inexperienced or inconsistent at the other three spots. Paige falls on the inexperienced side — the same goes for right guard Alani Noa , who has had problems the past few weeks. Even the most optimistic forecast should have baked in growing pains for them. Murphy falls in the inconsistent category, and that lack of steady play has plagued him since he was thrust into action in 2022.

The fact that the Trojans have to count on all three players this year is a roster-building problem. This isn't Riley or offensive line coach Josh Henson's first year on the job. This is Year 3. The offensive line should be better than this by now.

There have been several high-profile swings and misses on the recruiting trail, most notably losing Josh Conerly to Oregon back in the spring of 2022. Last year, there were misguided transfer portal evaluations. And this year, the offensive linemen keep making the same mistakes week after week.

The Trojans had opportunities to add more experience in the portal this offseason and elected not to. Henson entered this season under major scrutiny, and everything that has happened this season has intensified the pressure.

Not to be lost from Saturday night's result is how the defense played down the stretch. USC's defense surrendered 133 yards of offense in the fourth quarter, including 64 on the ground. Minnesota averaged 4.6 yards per carry on its 14 rushes and got the push when it truly mattered.

That's why offseason narratives about how much weight the defensive line gained need to be taken with a grain of salt. The Trojans' defense is better this year. But the pass rush hasn't provided much pressure, and it has failed to generate the push it needed when it had to in two of the past three weeks.

Michigan and Minnesota beat the Trojans on fourth-and-short touchdown runs in the final minute.

Back in the spring, it seemed like USC was a couple of bodies short on the defensive line. Riley addressed it as a need. The coaching staff added Wyoming transfer Gavin Meyer , who has been valuable for the defense, but the team still lacked depth — and this was before the entire Bear Alexander saga .

That concern is flashing big time now. Alexander's departure alone didn't cause this. It's a combination of losing Alexander, and linebacker Eric Gentry suffering an injury against Wisconsin , which forced him to miss Saturday's game, and defensive lineman Anthony Lucas hobbling off the field in the fourth quarter.

USC doesn't have a singular talent on its defensive line who can take over a game. Someone probably will blame that on previous defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, but that should go to the man who hired and retained him — Riley.

The whole of the Trojans' defensive line is greater than the sum of its parts. At least, that's how it has approached the season. But injuries happen, and when talented players depart or get injured, that strains the defense.

So that's the situation USC faces right now. It's not talented enough or deep enough on either side of the line, and it's welcoming a top-10 Penn State squad to the Coliseum on Saturday.

Realistically, the Trojans will stand at 3-3 after that game. Coming off the heels of an 8-5 record last year, that won't inspire confidence in anyone.

After the game, Riley reverted to something he said often last season: "We're two plays away right now," he said, referring to the difference between being 3-2 and 5-0.

USC has hopes of competing with Ohio State , Oregon and Michigan. But it just lost to Minnesota — a sure sign it's not ready to contend at the highest levels of the league yet. And it won't until it's built to properly withstand the grind.

(Top photo: Matt Krohn / Imagn Images)