On a rainy night, in a back-to-back fashion, Notre Dame handed down another defeat to Lincoln Riley’s USC over the weekend. The climax peaked during the last 15 minutes, packed with a trick play, a fumble, and an interception that sealed the fate for the Trojans’ 24-34 loss. Now, an ex-USC quarterback has voiced a major frustration over certain decisions made in the game.

On a first & down in the fourth quarter, Riley issued a trick call. A reverse pass, which he later described as a stupid decision. The ball snapped, and Maiava found wide receiver Makai Lemon and handed off the ball. But as soon as Lemon gained some momentum, the Irish cornerback Christian Gray tackled him and forced a fumble, and the Trojans lost the possession.

“It was frustrating too because the week prior against Michigan, we dominated up front with our front seven, said Cody Kessler on USC Athletics on Tuesday.  He played for the Trojans from 2011-2015, completing 553-of-815 passes for 6,803 yards, chipping in 59 touchdowns across his collegiate career. Kessler continued to speak about the issues he spotted, compared to the dominant defensive performance last week against Michigan. “We were playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. We were staying disciplined in our gaps, and it had great gap integrity, and then that was just absent in this game.” The Trojans defeated Michigan, 31-13, chipping in a touchdown and a field goal in the last 15 minutes.

The frustration pouring out due to the mistakes in the fourth-quarter are understandable for the Trojans’ fans as they finally had a lead by the end of the third quarter. Jayden Maiava had thrown a 59-yard touchdown pass to Makai Lemon, tilting the scales in USC’s favor. A 24-21 lead. But from there, it all went downhill. Irish’s Jadarian Price chipped in a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown, turning the scoreboard in the Irish’s favor. And then came USC’s controversial gamble, which has got the Trojans’ faithful holding their heads in frustration.

“We had an option right there to sneak it or to pop it out, and we got to make decisions right there at the end. . . . They defended it well,” the head coach added. Even internet sensation Snoop Dogg called Riley out for his blunder. “Who calls a reverse pass to a non-quarterback in the rain.. damn coach what u smoking,” he posted on Instagram late Saturday night. With another critical loss, USC’s playoff chances took a majpr hit. And the head coach has acknowledged his role in the disaster.

Lincoln Riley admits to his costly blunder

For USC fans, the frustration boiled down to the fact that the Trojans had been faring well into the season. With four back-to-back wins, they stumbled against Illinois. Then came the Michigan victory, but then another blow with the loss against Notre Dame has gotten to their nerves.

“I had the reverse pass and two fourth-down calls that weren’t very good calls and didn’t put our guys in very good positions. I’ve gotta be way better for our guys,” admitted Riley post-game.

Analyst David Hale wrote a biting take in his trending down portion of the post, “USC has suggested it might not continue the rivalry, which has been played 96 times dating back to 1926….instead, USC feels that, now that it’s in the Big Ten where it routinely gets to lose games to Illinois, Minnesota and Maryland, there’s really no need for higher-profile losses out of conference.”

For Lincoln Riley, who carries a $90 million hot seat, his USC playcalling blunder has again sent across a fresh set of criticisms towards him. He continued. “We just flat out did not play good enough tonight against a good team on the road and had some missed opportunities that make you sick.”