"The loose ball tumbled through the end zone, slipping through one set of fingertips, then another, blue-and-orange bodies clawing desperately aside cardinal-and-gold ones. So much had gone wrong for USC all afternoon, from its struggling secondary to its stifled pass rush to its inconsistent quarterback, but at the most critical moment in its season thus far, here was a particularly fortunate twist of fate, as linebacker Eric Gentry punched out a fumble and, somehow, some way, Christian Pierce had recovered it."
"Their starting left tackle was out. Their starting center soon joined him. Their top red-zone target was limited, and their defensive leader, Kamari Ramsey, was up all night puking. For a while, that seemed to be the least of the problems facing USC on Saturday. The rushing attack couldn't find room. Both lines were being blown off the ball, and the secondary was struggling to stop the bleeding."
USC fell to Illinois, 34-32, after Illinois converted a game-winning field goal as time expired. USC entered the game 4-0 but faced multiple setbacks, including missing the starting left tackle and later the starting center, limited red-zone personnel, and an ill defensive leader. The Trojans struggled to run, both lines were frequently beaten, the secondary allowed big plays, and self-inflicted errors persisted. Illinois coughed up multiple fumbles near the goal line; Eric Gentry forced a fumble that Christian Pierce recovered, and Jayden Maiava later connected with Makai Lemon for a go-ahead score with under two minutes remaining before Illinois retook the lead.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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