USC held on to defeat Colorado 48-41 on Saturday despite giving up 500 yards of offense and being outscored 27-14 after halftime.
— After dominating the first half of Saturday’s much-anticipated matchup between USC and Colorado, the visiting Trojans saw their comfortable lead nearly evaporate in the second half as their defense once again struggled to contain a dynamic offense in a 48-41 victory over the Buffaloes.
The result left head coach Lincoln Riley and the rest of his team in a familiar place: celebrating a win — their fifth of the season — while also bemoaning their shortcomings in the second half of a game that should have been a more lopsided result after they were outscored 27-14 after halftime. Overall, USC allowed over 500 yards of offense (more than their own offensive unit had), including 371 passing yards and four touchdowns by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who excelled when moving outside of the pocket and finished with 50 net yards on the ground.
„We didn’t play very good second half really on any of the three sides,“ Riley said after the game. „We’re going to own the win, we’re going to own the mistakes, we’re going to own the good, we’re going to go back to work.“
Riley’s refrain has been a common one this season, and while there has much been consternation about the Trojans‘ defensive struggles and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, Riley reiterated his commitment in Grinch when asked whether he still had faith in the coordinator.
