SEATTLE -- For the fifth time in seven games, USC had a fourth quarter lead it couldn't hold onto Saturday at Washington.

Once again, the Trojans endured frustration in the final minute of a difficult defeat as quarterback Miller Moss was pressured on fourth down from the Huskies' 14 and threw the ball up for a final incompletion with 11 seconds left to cap a 26-21 loss at Husky Stadium.

USC is now 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten in its first season in the conference.

Afterward, coach Lincoln Riley was questioned about why USC passed the ball 29 times and only had 8 rushing attempts by running backs in the first half against one of the Big Ten's worst run defenses.

He was asked about Moss' performance -- which included a career-worst 3 interceptions -- and whether there is any thought to giving backup quarterback Jayden Maiava some work the rest of the season.

And he was asked to expound on his belief that he sees progress within his program despite the results.

Watch the full postgame press conference here, scroll down for a full transcript of the postgame comments and share your own reaction on our Trojan Talk board.

FULL POSTGAME TRANSCRIPT

Lincoln Riley opening comments:

"Yeah, just a tough one to handle there. I think we'll look back and I think the story is the missed opportunities in the game for us, especially in the first half. You know, you can point back to just a lot of things that we felt like were going to be a big key in this game that we didn't really do well in the first half at all. Certainly, the early turnover. We had great field position offensively the first two drives, got nothing out of it. We lost the edge too many times defensively, both in the throw and the run game in the first half, which we knew was going to be really important against that team. Didn't win the turnover battle. Kind of all the things we pointed to, so coming into the half that was a big point of emphasis -- like, 'Look, these are the emphasis points for a reason. If we don't do them well, we're going to be behind, things are not gonna be going good. If we do them well, we'll get right back into it.' We did it at a high level in the third quarter, put ourselves right there in position to win the game, so proud of the team certainly for doing that. But obviously didn't make the plays in the end to do it and came up one play short.

"Trying not to, with our team and I think it's important for all of us, trying not to make this about any of the other games or other games we've won or other games that we haven't won in the end. This game was about this game. You hate the missed opportunities on the road against a team that, I don't know when the last time they've lost here but it's been a little bit, so just frustrating to be there. The team is disappointed, but we've got to get on with it. We've got Nebraska coming to our place, we've got our two rivalry games left here that are very, very important to us and are important to this team, to go finish this thing the right way and that's what we're going to do."

What led you to trust the run more in the second half after throwing it 29 times and handing it off 8 in the first half?

"Yeah, we got going a little bit in the run game. That was a big point of emphasis. We called some stuff in the first half that we felt was there, but we didn't really execute it well. And we started executing it better, which we knew was going to be a key. Woody got going, thought we started playing some pretty good ball up front, and that was definitely a big key to the comeback."

What did you see from Miller Moss today?

"Yeah, I mean, I thought he played pretty well in the first half, honestly. I know he ended up with two interceptions -- one's on a Hail Mary play and another is on a perfectly thrown ball that gets just, you know, volleyball-tipped up in the air. So I thought he was pretty good in the first half. I thought he had a couple of loose decisions in the second half -- the third down one was the big one obviously that hurt us. I thought he made a lot of plays with his feet, some really nice escape, scramble plays in the pocket. I thought he played good. Obviously, the quarterback position is defined by making big plays, which he made a lot of 'em. I thought he gave our guys chances to make a few more plays that we need to make. But obviously we can't turn the ball over, and that was the biggest thing."

Do you wish you had tried to establish the run more earlier?

"Yeah, I mean, we did try. We just, we didn't run it great. That's always easy to say when you're not running it very good and you feel obviously the need to run the ball. But, yeah, we needed to do it better, I needed to do a better job -- I mean, none of it was good enough in the first half."

Building off that, is there any thought that maybe the run game should be the identity of this offense given the success you have had with it?

"Yeah, it's exciting to see. I think that's something that's grown as the year's gone on, and so we've got to continue to be able to do it. It's really, really important. Yeah, we all want to do a better job of it. I've got to continue to stick with it more. It's obviously the way that you can control and win games, and we've got to be able to do it more consistently. We've had moments this year, but it's got to be a four quarter thing for us."

What's changed with this team since the strong start?

"Honestly, like, not that much. What's different is a handful of plays throughout the season and a bunch of a games kind of like the LSU game that have come down right to the end, and we've just had a, we've kind of had the anomaly of a year. Normally, these things end up over time going about 50-50 on these games that come down to one play, and we've happened to have the year that not too many of them have went our way. So I think the biggest thing you look at is we've been a good enough team -- I know I've said it, but it's still the truth, it's just as true as it was last week against Rutgers and the wins and the losses and everything, we've been a good enough team to win every game. We've been a good enough team to put ourselves in position to win, but we haven't separated consistently and we've consistently been in these games that come down to one play. And we just have not done a good enough job making those plays. Obviously, you want to continue to get better in the end and finish these off, which we certainly need to do a better job -- we own that -- but the biggest key for us growing both this year and in the future is when you get the ability, or the opportunity I should say, to separate in these games that's what you gotta do. And then it doesn't come down to a coin flip or hoping you make a play or they don't or this call goes your way or that one doesn't. That's just kind of been the story of this stretch for us."

Given where this season's at, is there any temptation to play Jayden Maiava at QB some down the stretch?

"I wouldn't say that right now, no. For us right now, what we're looking at, is what is the best lineup, the best people to help us win each and every week and we're going to keep our focus there."

​What do you think went wrong on the two final red zone trips?

"Yeah, we liked the one on the goal line, we kind of liked the stuff that we had called. I thought we had an opportunity to get in on the third down play. We just missed. I couldn't tell the second down play -- I knew we threw it in the back of the end zone, I couldn't tell if it should have been caught, I haven't seen a good view. The fourth down play we just blew an assignment obviously at a really critical time on a very simple base staple play of our offense and one that we've scored on and had big plays on multiple times in the game already. So just a blown assignment up front at the wrong time. And then obviously the last sequence, you're playing it without timeouts at that point, so it certainly changes your ability. We had a great drive to get all the way down there. I thought we had a couple of things there that were close, but I haven't seen all the replays of it yet."

What changes can you make to get back on track?

"Umm, it's kind of like I've told you guys. I watch a team, it's not like we're getting our ass kicked, so it's not like I go back to the drawing board like 'God, we're just doing this terrible and people are just wearing us out on this or that.' I mean, like, it's not that. And this team has shown capability to do kind of all these things that you need to do -- we just got to continue to keep our nose to the grindstone, we've got to continue to lean on these leaders, we've got to continue to get better. We certainly need to get healthier, which this bye week will help to give us a chance to be full-steam ahead of this last stretch."

How much is it a personal point of frustration that for two years you guys haven't been able to separate in these games or do you see it as encouraging that you're in those spots?

"Well, I don't handle losing very well. It hasn't happened much in my career. Our team, that part is unacceptable. Now, is there, through that when you really look at it, is there progress? Is there push? Have we had a chance to win every game? The answer to all those is undoubtably yes. But at the end of the day, whether you separate or whether it comes down to the end, we expect to win and we haven't done that enough."

For Jonah Monheim and Gavin Meyer: How do you put in perspective where this season's at and what's left?

JM: "Yeah, I mean, obviously we still have a lot left on this table as a team. Like coach said, we've got a big game at home after the bye and then we've got our two rivalry games, so we've just got to keep fighting, we've got to keep putting our head down and keep responding. I've got to do a great job and keep leading this team, keep being there for my teammates and becoming a better player and teammate for myself and this team."

GM: "Couldn't say it better myself."

Lincoln, you mention the progress you've seen despite the losses. Where have you seen that progress?

"I mean, No. 1, we've had a chance to win every single game in the fourth quarter we've played and we've played far and away the most difficult schedule that we've played in the three years that I've been here. I mean, obviously, defensively -- I mean, no shit, right? I mean, like, look at it. Look at the numbers, look at everything. That's pretty easy to pick out. I think we've improved a ton special teams-wise. I mean, we've got some of the best specialists in the country. We've returned it well, especially the last couple of games. I think our ability to run the football has really improved. I think we're doing some really nice things up front. I think we've improved in a ton of areas. I'm frustrated as everybody that hasn't translated into wins and losses, but it will. You know, it will.

"We're going to fight through this year, but I just, I haven't been doing it forever, but I've been doing it long enough to know if you've got the right people in the building and you're continuing to make progress on the things that you know win over time, that those things will take hold. And eventually, I've told you guys this before, it's like, all right yeah, how many weeks we gotta say this? I understand. But you go change five, six plays this season, and then everybody's like 'Oh my God, they're fricking unbelievable.' And the other 99.9 percent of the plays that we've played would all be exactly the same. So, you gotta, you still gotta win at the end of the day and it's about winning, and trust me, I get that as good as anybody. But I've also got to pay attention to the other 99.9 percent too. I can't ignore that as well. And within that, I see massive progress that will pay dividends for this program and will pay dividends soon."

Has it been a challenge adjusting to playing Big Ten defenses?

"I've coached against good defenses my whole career, so it really doesn't feel that much different. I mean, some of these games have been lower possession, which no surprise. Again, I've had that too. I think just the thing that you see is it's going to be good football teams week in and week out, and then when you add in the fact that on top of playing a Big Ten schedule we play a pretty demanding non-conference schedule on top of that. We don't bunt like a bunch of the other people that are out there. That's just kind of what it is. We've played good people every week, we've played some of the top defenses in the country week in and week out, so yeah, you're going to have to fight for the yards, you're going to have to go execute, you're going to have to go make plays. But as far as that being different from any point in my career, it's not different. You've just got to get better, you've got to show up every week and you've got to make the big plays when it counts."