It says something that despite USC gaining a late lead in the 4th quarter on the road against a formidable Big Ten team, many Trojan fans did not have faith and, furthermore, were not surprised when the game ended up resulting in a loss.
There aren't really any two ways about it. The loss did not sting because of how close it was or because of how USC did nearly pull off the comeback. Instead, this was a disappointing loss in terms of it more or less being the same old story that has been on display from the Trojans.