USC falls again in a close game, suffering a road loss to Washington [Video]

SEATTLE —  A long, cold night for USC had been leading here, to the doorstep of the Washington goal line, just a few familiar feet away from redemption.

For much of Saturday’s 26-21 loss to Washington, as rain fell in sheets and a freezing wind blew off Lake Washington, Lincoln Riley stuck stubbornly with his gut, testing the nation’s No. 1 pass defense by throwing into a downpour with a struggling quarterback. Riley has held tightly to his instincts in the face of criticism throughout USC’s nightmare season, defiant to suggestions the Trojans weren’t heading in the right direction, even as one close loss turned to another, and another, and another.