Everything USC coach Lincoln Riley said after Cotton Bowl collapse

USC had taken a 15-point lead with 4:30 remaining before it all unraveled in almost improbable fashion, with a 23-second Tulane touchdown drive, a fumbled kickoff leading to a safety and finally a Green Wave touchdown catch in the end zone determined by replay review with 9 seconds left.

Watch the full postgame press conference with Riley, offensive lineman Justin Dedich and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon here, and scroll down for a complete transcript of Riley's comments.

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Lincoln Riley postgame transcript

Opening comments:

"I first want to congratulate Coach Fritz, Tulane [on] the magical year that they've had. We knew they were a tough opponent, and no surprise to us they kept swinging throughout the ebbs and flows of the game. So, really well-coached football team. Obviously, it's a huge win for them and their program and just want to offer congratulations to them.

"Yeah, as tough a loss as I can remember in my entire career. We had the momentum a couple of times, obviously didn't do a very good job finishing there at the end. I told the guys in the locker room, obviously a very disappointed locker room, losses like this are always just tough to digest, man. They really are. I thought our guys really laid it on the line, played really, really hard, prepared hard, really wanted to win this game and we obviously put ourselves in phenomenal position to get it done. And then all three sides right there at the end with the dropped kickoff and then safety and then obviously not getting the stops that we needed defensively down the stretch, I mean all three sides contributed to this. Now that the season's over, I've rarely at the end of a year felt so conflicted. On one hand, I'm sick about the way that we finished the season, particularly the fourth quarter of the last two ballgames. We lost three games this year -- we lost two of them on the last play of the game and we lost one in the fourth quarter of the championship game where we had a chance to go to the College Football Playoff. The competitor in you, the competitor in us, that's a tough pill to swallow, man, because those opportunities are not easy to get.

"Now, the flip side of it is we were in those positions, and those positions are very, very real. We're in this locker room, we're here at the Cotton Bowl in a New Years Six game, and again 12 months ago I don't think many people on the outside believed that was even possible. So I think getting through this first season, there's a ton of great momentum in this program, and today's result -- as sick as it is -- does not change that. The reality is that we're here and we're not going anywhere. We know what we need to get better at as a program. We have to finish better, and we didn't get that done enough this year. We were really, really close, and the line to do that, the line to finish and win these big games like we have here at the end is so thin, man. It's a fine line. It's one play here or there and it changes everything.

"That's how close we are, but we've got to go get that as a program. And we will, we will. We in a lot of ways were further ahead in so many areas than I would have thought, but we clearly have a lot of work to do and this one won't be easy to get over but we'll get over it and the journey for next season starts tomorrow. I can't wait to get up and go back to work and figure out what we've got to do as a program to finish better, continue to put ourselves in these opportunities that this team did a great job of this year and then when we get there finish them. We will get there, and we will get there sooner rather than later. Like I said, we're not going anywhere. Tough one today, but we've got to own it as a team and that's what we're going to do. We'll see you back in 12 months."