USC's Cotton Bowl implosion another sign Lincoln Riley only knows one side of the football

“New year, new me” doesn’t apply to USC head coach Lincoln Riley.

USC blew a 15-point lead against Tulane with under five minutes left in regulation, losing 46-45 in part due to another horrible defensive performance.

With USC leading 45-30 with 4:30 remaining in the game, it took Tulane 23 seconds to drive 63 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to eight. It was the third Tulane touchdown drive of at least 60 yards in under a minute against the Trojans. The Green Wave also scored a touchdown on a 92-yard drive in 50 seconds and another that went 65 yards in 44 seconds.

The Green Wave ran 52 plays and gained 539 yards, an average of 10.4 yards per play. Running back Tyjae Spears led the charge with 17 carries, 205 yards and four touchdowns.

As strong a QB developer as anyone, no one’s ever accused Riley of being a defensive mastermind. He leaned into his reputation on Monday.

Three quarterbacks won the Heisman Trophy under Riley’s guidance: Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018, and Caleb Williams this season. He understands how to coach the QB position and will always be able to recruit because of that. Quarterbacks get drafted first overall and win Heisman Trophies when hitching a ride with Riley.

Unfortunately, his defensive pedigree is as bad as his QB development is good. In six seasons as head coach, his teams average allowing 27.6 points per game.

As color commentator Robert Griffin III noted during the broadcast, Monday’s loss marks the second game in a row the defense let the team down. USC allowed 93 points in the final two games of the season, including the blowout 47-24 Pac-12 title game loss to Utah. In both games, USC squandered 14-point first-half leads.

In the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, USC was ranked fourth and a win away from securing its bid. The month since has been nothing short of a disaster for the Trojans, an expansion of the Trojan horse legend.

With USC just starting to crack into its fancy new toy in Riley, it's beginning to discover there's nothing but trouble lying beneath the surface.