'We want to keep playing': Akili Arnold emphasizes importance of USC reaching bowl eligibility

Nine games and 11 weeks into the 2024 season, USC is below .500 and has made a quarterback switch. The 4-5 Trojans aren’t where anyone thought they’d be, including sixth-year safety Akili Arnold, who transferred in from Oregon State this offseason.

But the goal has shifted from College Football Playoff berth to bowl berth — earning one more game means something, and not just for a player like Arnold who is in his final year of eligibility.

“I think, as a team, just the players, we really want to play more games with each other,” Arnold said this week ahead of a Week 12 matchup versus Nebraska. “I think that’s the main goal is to stay with each other the longest and win out.”

USC was off last week. That gave the Trojans a chance to reset after a brutal seven-week stretch, which saw them blow five fourth quarter leads.

The Trojans were up 24-20 on Michigan in the fourth quarter but lost. Two weeks later, they were up 17-10 on Minnesota in the fourth quarter but lost. A week after that, they were up 23-20 and 30-23 on Penn State in the fourth quarter — and, before that, 20-6 at halftime — but lost in overtime. USC staked itself to a 28-14 lead over Maryland in the final frame, only to let another lead slip.

What’s more, a week after blowing out Rutgers, the Trojans saw another fourth quarter lead go to waste at Washington, as the Huskies pulled ahead and held USC scoreless in the final frame.

Since, head coach Lincoln Riley has made the decision to pivot at quarterback, benching redshirt junior Miller Moss for redshirt sophomore Jayden Maiava.

The Trojans needed a spark, and they need to find a way to win at least 2-of-3 games before month’s end or else they’ll miss out on not just the CFP but the postseason entirely.

USC plays Nebraska at home this week, UCLA at the Rose Bowl the following week and No. 8 Notre Dame at home the week after that.

“It’s for sure a goal for us,” Arnold said, when asked the prospect of bowl eligibility. “I think we have the capability of becoming bowl eligible, for sure, in these last three games.”

Arnold added: “I think we’ve prepared after this bye week pretty well. So I’m just excited. I think it’s important to us — as a team, we want to keep playing, one more game.”