LAS VEGAS — Lincoln Riley refused to take the victory lap Sunday night.

He could have, after the mess that was USC’s 2023 campaign. This long offseason has been filled with nothing but questions about the direction of the program, his commitment to defense and whether he wanted to play games like Sunday night’s — a Top-25 matchup against LSU.

But after a dramatic 27-20 victory for USC – the best in the coach’s 28 games – Riley squandered the opportunity.

“I don’t coach for the media. I don’t coach for the headlines,” he said. “We just try to do what’s best in our program, and we just try to stay incredibly committed to it, regardless of what anyone on the outside says — whether they agree with us or not is, frankly, irrelevant to us.

“We know what we have built.”

Several things can be true at once. Sunday night’s win was just one game, and there’s still a whole season to play. But it was also the kind of redemptive moment that Riley and the people inside the USC program desperately needed to wash away the stench of last season and show positive signs that the program is on an upward trajectory.

It wasn’t hard to find doubters about Riley or this team (full disclosure: this writer predicted a 7-5 season not long ago). The Trojans were 4.5-point underdogs against the Tigers in this game, face one of the toughest schedules in the country, and just lost to Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

There were legitimate questions about how this team would fare, physically and mentally, in the Big Ten. But Sunday night was a big step for Riley’s vision. The decision to keep former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch for as long as he did was a big mistake that set his rebuild back. But he corrected his course and made a smart hire, bringing in defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn from crosstown UCLA. He built a strong defensive staff, arguably the program’s best since Pete Carroll’s tenure.

Riley talked about the improvements during camp, the cohesion of this team and all those other things that are popular to talk about during the preseason. It’s one thing to hear it, but it’s another thing to actually see it happen.

In the first half of last season, USC got the results it wanted, but the process was clearly lacking. The foundation was bad. The Trojans were more talented than other teams, but played their competitors down and sometimes lacked focus. And when the adversity finally struck, USC gave in.

The Trojans didn’t play a perfect game on Sunday. Riley didn’t coach a perfect game either. But the process still went well overall. And that’s a positive first step for the plans Riley rolled out this offseason.

“Regardless of what happened today,” Riley said, “it’s still not going to change what we build and the things we do. We’re just so committed to it. Nothing is going to change it and we’re just going to keep getting better. I’m proud of us for taking this step and taking this opportunity today.”

Sunday night wasn’t just a redemptive moment for Riley. It went beyond that. The last time USC played in Allegiant Stadium, Williams injured his hamstring and was clearly not himself in the final three quarters of the 2022 Pac-12 title game.

Miller Moss warmed up on the sideline and looked ready to enter the game, but Riley never called his number. USC’s offense faltered and the Trojans lost the game and a bid to the College Football Playoff.

That was Moss on Sunday, when he threw a game-winning touchdown of 28 yards to Ja’Kobi Lane with 5:44 left. Minutes later, after LSU had tied the score, he made crucial throws to lead the winning touchdown drive.

USC quarterback Miller Moss has been waiting for his turn to play in games like Sunday’s. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

After sitting out more than a season, he threw for 378 yards, hit 10 different receivers and played with confidence while beating his second top 15 team in as many games of his career.

“The biggest thing is just the excitement for our team,” Moss said. “We’ve worked really hard this offseason to build an identity. A strong team, a team that really cares about each other. … I think our identity really came out in the last part of that game.”

Teams often adopt the identity of their quarterback. Moss has been resilient during his USC career, fighting off challenges to eventually become the starter, and on Sunday he and the team showed it.

The clutch throw Moss made Sunday night was a late second-and-15 pass to Kyron Hudson, who took a shot and caught the ball for a gain of 20 yards (15 yards were added for targeting). That put USC in position for a game-winning field goal that the Trojans didn’t need because Woody Marks scampered in from 13 yards for the game-winning score with eight seconds left. But it was clutch nonetheless.

Hudson made all the highlights with a great one-handed catch in the first half. But then he was in position to make a couple of contested catches that could have led to big gains. To be fair, they were tough, but they were missed opportunities for Hudson and the offense that left some meat on the bone in the red zone.

“It’s just reacting,” Hudson said. “That’s the key word that comes to mind. Reacting. Finishing. That’s something we’ve talked about all year: When something bad happens or something doesn’t go your way, how do you react?”

The list goes on. Linebacker Mason Cobb was an All-Big 12 performer at Oklahoma State in 2022, but had a disappointing season last year after transferring to USC. He came up with the game-sealing interception on Sunday night.

There’s been so much discussion about the size and weight of linebacker Eric Gentry and whether he can hold up at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds. He made five tackles, including two for loss, against the Tigers — including a crucial stop in the fourth that gave the Trojans the ball back and resulted in Moss throwing a touchdown to Lane.

USC’s tackling was so bad against Utah in the Pac-12 finals two years ago that Riley was asked if the coaching staff had taught the players to catch the ball instead of teaching them to tackle.

The tackling — an area that has plagued Riley’s teams throughout his career — was noticeably improved Sunday, with USC giving up just three plays of 20-plus yards against a very good LSU offense.

The tackling and the foundation were good. The Trojans were better defensively. They showed a lot more fighting spirit and physicality than in previous years, and it’s not easy to change that mindset in one offseason. But USC showed those signs and that resilience on Sunday.

“We’re just not interested in sending (messages), man,” Riley said. “My message is I really like my team. I like our team. I like our defense. I like our coaches. I like our offense. I like our special teams. I like the atmosphere of this team. There’s a long, long, long way to go, but I’m happy to be coaching these guys.”

It remained at one match, but what was shown on Sunday evening showed that USC and its fans can expect much more in the next eleven matches.

(Photo: Candice Ward/Getty Images)