The USC Trojans had a 15-point lead late in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl, and everything seemed to be pointing to a bowl victory in Lincoln Riley’s first year on the job.
By the time the clock hit triple zero, Tulane had escaped with a 46-45 victory in one of the wildest finishes of the entire season.
Mario Williams bobbled the kickoff at the 1-yard line. Tulane got a safety, and then the Green Wave scored the game-winning touchdown with eight seconds left as the fans went wild.
It was another terrible effort by the defense, and it wasted a five-touchdown masterpiece from Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, not to mention a career outing from Brenden Rice.
There were plenty of quotes after this game, and it’s safe to say that USC is not pleased with how this season ended. How displeased was Riley?
Per Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times, he fielded only three questions from reporters in the press conference following the Cotton Bowl.
Here’s what was said by Riley and others in the USC camp after a gut-punch loss: