TrojanSports Roundtable: Staff perspective and predictions for USC-Maryland

At 3-3 with three excruciating losses in the last four weeks, all by way of blowing fourth quarter leads, USC's season is at a true crossroads as the Trojans head into Maryland on Saturday.

Any other setback at this point and it will be hard for coach Lincoln Riley to put a positive spin on this season, but there is still a path to a different narrative -- and it's a simple one with no margin for error.

Win the final six games -- including the remaining marquee matchup with a ranked Notre Dame team to close out the schedule -- and this would be a 9-3 team that was razor-close to truly great season had a couple breaks gone its way earlier in the year.

That said, this team is 1-3 in Big Ten play and certainly nothing can be assumed the rest of the way. That is the only path to a successful season in our eyes -- whether or not it's achievable for this squad is a whole other matter that begins Saturday in College Park, Maryland, at 1 p.m. PT (on FS1) vs. the Terrapins (3-3, 1-3) in a clash of teams mired near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.

Coach Lincoln Riley was asked this week what a successful season would look like to him.

"I don’t like to get too much into the big picture stuff in the middle, you know. For us right now, it’s about being 1-0 this week. That’s been our message to the team. That’s been our team leaders' message to the rest of our guys as well. That’s where our focus is going to be," he said. "You’re kind of in the trenches right now. And you’re not worried about what happened before, you’re not really focused on what happens after. It’s trying to prepare really well this week and go get a win at Maryland."

Quarterback Miller Moss was asked the same question.

"I'm not looking at the year as a whole and saying what we need to do to be successful. We're really focused on taking care of business against Maryland," he said.

Running back Woody Marks had a more to-the-point response, meanwhile.

"Just go out and win. We've got to win. It's no beating around the bush -- we've got to win the game, we've got to come down to it, everybody's got to buy in so we can come out and excel," he said.

Part of doing that is moving on from the painful setbacks that have already occurred, which is an obstacle unto itself to not dwell on the what-could-have-been -- because, oh, what could have been for this team had it not collapsed at the end against Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State.

But there's no sense in belaboring that point now -- all the Trojans can do is affect what remains.

"Obviously, it's difficult, we've had some unfortunate circumstances -- it is what it is. But I think, you know, if it was easy everyone would do it. This is what we signed up for. We signed up to do something that's really hard and continue to put ourselves out there each and every week, and I think it's important when you face adversity you have to lean back on what got you here and what you truly believe in," Moss said. "I think we've done a good job so far of that as a team and we're going to continue to do that to put together a complete week."

Meanwhile, our TrojanSports.com staff tackles the key storylines and topics leading into the game -- plus our score predictions -- in our weekly staff roundtable.

Lincoln Riley is taking a lot of heat for the close losses and 3-3 start. What is your confidence level in Riley leading this program into the future and why?

Ryan Young: "I think Riley has a lot to prove still, but I also think the reaction that has emanated from the 3-3 start has been a little overwrought. There is a middle ground between not making excuses for the results but also recognizing that, yes, this team is very, very close to this being a much different season -- if a few questionable officiating calls don't happen, or if the Trojans don't have some of their worst lapses at the most critical moments. The point being it's not like they've been uncompetitive at any point -- quite the opposite. So, yes, be frustrated by the outcomes, be frustrated that Riley hasn't shown the ability to consistently close out big games, be frustrated by the what-could-have-been of this season and certainly lay that responsibility mostly on the head coach. But the Trojans aren't far off, and Riley isn't going anywhere -- let's just put a pin in all that talk because his job status couldn't be more ironclad.

"Let's see where the rest of this season goes. If USC wins out -- obviously, a huge "if" but play along here -- and this is a 9-3 team with wins over LSU and Notre Dame that looks back and winces when it thinks of how close it truly was to a special season, then everybody might feel much differently about the matter. If the Trojans continue to find ways to stumble, then the scrutiny on Riley is absolutely merited. I just think some of the reaction and vitriol has been outsized to this point, even when extended to frustrations with recruiting. USC has the No. 9-ranked recruiting class in the country right now and continues to add big pieces -- like four-star offensive tackle commit Aaron Dunn on Friday -- with the potential for more to come. The sky isn't falling. Let's see where this season ends up."

Tajwar Khandaker: "My confidence is far from ironclad, but still strong enough for me to not to be truly worried yet. Riley is still a very young coach, and it was always clear that he'd have a significant amount of growth left in order to truly become the leader of a championship-contending program. His ability to accept his failures on the defensive side of the football and to appropriately put together a staff to address that issue over the last offseason indicates that he's capable of improving still, and that shift has already borne significant on-field fruit. Though this team is 3-3, I think they've proven themselves to be significantly better than the USC team that was 6-0 to this point in the season last year. USC as it is right now is significantly closer to competing, despite the fact that the roster is not yet as stacked as the other powerhouses of college football.

"Riley's ability to ramp up the recruiting game will be key to whether USC can keep pace in that regard, but it was always true that more success on the defensive side of the ball would be key to pulling in better recruits over time. With that change now in the fold, we'll see if Riley can keep hauling in more big-time recruits. Overall, I think there's still enough good to work with and enough evidence that says Riley is still able to learn and grow from his mistakes to keep us from panicking about his long-term prospects. That belief will be tested over the remainder of this season, as the way the Trojans finish out this year will say plenty about their long-term trajectory."

Is there a way for this season to be looked back on as a success in the end?

Tajwar: "There is, and the short of it is that the Trojans have to win out -- 9-3 was always a solid goal for this team given its talent level and difficulty of schedule, and it still remains within grasp if USC can win the last six. USC has clearly proven itself capable of winning every game it's been in despite the level of opponents it's faced, and there's good reason to expect the Trojans to be capable of running the table on a significantly easier back half of the schedule. Given that the criticism of Riley and this team has largely been focused on their inability to actually win those close contests, it will be essential for the Trojans to prove they can win going forward. The momentum of a 6-0 finish, plus a potential bowl victory, would undoubtedly do major favors for this team's perception, both internally and externally. Recency bias is the defining element of how we view teams in this sport, and the aforementioned kind of finish would undoubtedly lead this team into the offseason with plenty of optimism and energy. If that outcome is accomplished, those three losses early in the year look much less damning. USC then will in fact have looked as though it was arguably deserving of winning every game, having just let a few slip away by the slimmest of margins while it was still looking for its chemistry. Any losses, however, will cause that optimism to evaporate, and thus there is no avoiding the fact that the Trojans stand on the edge of a knife. Success is still on the table, but the path to it will be narrow."