It was very disappointing to watch us blow a 24-7 lead with 5:12 left in the 3rd quarter to lose to USC 35-31. As a result, we lost 4 of our last 5 games and 4 consecutive games to Power 4 opponents after starting 7-1 (5-0 SEC and 5-1 Power 4) to finish 8-5 (5-3 SEC an 5-5 Power 4). This reminds me of 2016, when we started 6-0 (4-0 SEC) and 5-0 Power 4) before losing 5 of our last 7 games and 5 consecutive games to Power 4 teams to finish 8-5. I noticed a few more trends:
1. We have lost 2 consecutive bowl games (2023 Texas Bowl and 2024 Las Vegas Bowl since a 41-27 win over North Carolina in the 2021 Orange Bowl on 1/2/2021.
2. We have finished with 8 or fewer wins for the 9th time in 11 years. The only exceptions were when we finished 9-4 (5-3 SEC) in 2018 and 9-1 (8-1 SEC) in 2020.
3. We have not beaten a Power 4 team since a 38-23 home win over LSU on 10/26.
4. This is the 2nd time in 3 games we scored 31+ points in regulation and still lost.
5. After USC started 3-4, they won 4 of their last 6 games to finish 7-6 (4-5 Big 10).
6. USC went 2-0 against SEC teams, and they played both of those games in Las Vegas.
1. We have lost 2 consecutive bowl games (2023 Texas Bowl and 2024 Las Vegas Bowl since a 41-27 win over North Carolina in the 2021 Orange Bowl on 1/2/2021.
2. We have finished with 8 or fewer wins for the 9th time in 11 years. The only exceptions were when we finished 9-4 (5-3 SEC) in 2018 and 9-1 (8-1 SEC) in 2020.
3. We have not beaten a Power 4 team since a 38-23 home win over LSU on 10/26.
4. This is the 2nd time in 3 games we scored 31+ points in regulation and still lost.
5. After USC started 3-4, they won 4 of their last 6 games to finish 7-6 (4-5 Big 10).
6. USC went 2-0 against SEC teams, and they played both of those games in Las Vegas.