Short gain but forward progress

Riley and Trojans have taken a step despite still missing out on CFP

- BY RYAN KARTJE

TOM HAUCK Getty Images

LINCOLN RILEY has done better than most expected this season with a team that was not a serious national-title contender.

USC’s loss to Oregon on Saturday has left me grappling with what it means to have a successful season in this day and age of college football.

USC will not be going to the College Football Playoff. It'll be the fourth straight year under Lincoln Riley that USC is left out of the field. In that time, Indiana — which last won a conference title in 1967 — will have twice been a Playoff team. Assuming Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon all make this year’s field as expected, the Big Ten’s current membership will have accounted for 19 bids to the Playoff since it began in 2014... none from USC.

There's no getting around these facts. USC expects to compete for national titles every year, but in four seasons with Riley as coach, it hasn’t even made it to the dance floor. That’s not what USC was promised when it handed Riley a massive $110-million contract.

If USC beats UCLA this week, as expected, it will finish the regular season 9-3. That's better than most rational observers would have expected — myself included. Oddsmakers had USC's win total set at 7½. I wrote in this space that I thought USC would win eight regular-season games, but the best case was 10 and a Playoff bid. USC was within striking distance of that scenario. It fell just short.

Riley would like for you to focus on how narrow that gap is.

"We're right there,” the coach said again Saturday.