It was less than four months ago, at the start of his third and most momentous season as USC coach, when Lincoln Riley walked off the same field at Allegiant Stadium full of conviction. His new quarterback had come through. His rebuilt defense had worked. The statement he was looking for finally seemed to culminate in a season-opening win over Louisiana State.

“We know what we’ve built,” Riley said that night. “I know we are making progress.”

By the end of December, any signs of that progress had long since disappeared, and with it had waned confidence in the USC coach, lost over the course of a frustrating season that ended Friday night right where it began.

But after a season filled with frustrating fourth-quarter setbacks, the Trojans were able to return, if only briefly, to the form they found in September, defeating Texas A&M 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl to close their season finish 7-6.

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The bookends had a striking similarity, right down to the stunning finish when USC once again rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to claim a meaningful victory. Even if this statement didn’t sound quite the same as the one in September.

Once again it took timely stops by the USC defense and heroics from its top receiver as Ja’Kobi Lane rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a dozen on the year.

But this time the Trojans’ quarterback first had to dig himself out of a deep hole.

While Miller Moss put on a show throughout the season opener, his replacement, Jayden Maiava, struggled to get USC’s offense going at all early in an error-filled finale. Worse, he made three head-shattering interceptions, each one threatening to derail a Trojans offense that seemed to be hanging by a thread.

But before the question of USC’s quarterback future could be asked, Maiava managed to push the Trojans down the stretch with a scoring drive…then another…then another. He hit Makai Lemon for two big downfield plays and then found Lane for his second and third touchdowns. In quick succession, USC erased a three-point deficit behind the right arm of its quarterback.

Texas A&M struck back when quarterback Marcel Reed worked his own magic, launching a touchdown drive that sprinted into the end zone with under two minutes left.

There was too much time to leave Maiava, who got off to a poor start and finished with 295 yards and four touchdowns. As he sat back in the pocket on third-and-13 with the ball hanging in the balance, he fired a pass downfield that hit Lane, who stumbled his way through a tackle for a 33-yard gain. Maiava hit Lane again just in front of the goal line, but a delay of game put the Trojans within seven with just 12 seconds left.

This time it was Kyle Ford who prevailed in the leaning position when Maiava fired a dart to give the starting signal.

It was a stunning fourth quarter turnaround for the Trojans, who seemed on track to lose the game through the first three quarters. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, USC trailed by 17 with three turnovers. But the Trojans’ defense held firm from there, stopping the Aggies on three consecutive drives and giving Maiava just enough time to put USC back in the lead.

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Texas A&M wasted no time in imposing its will early on, marching down the field with a methodical, 16-play touchdown drive as USC struggled to move the ball. None of the Trojans’ first three drives managed to reach more than six yards, while the Aggies racked up 134 yards in the first quarter alone.

USC continued to be presented with opportunities anyway. A 46-yard return by Lemon moved USC to midfield, but the drive came to a screeching halt. A diving interception by Kamari Ramsey put the Trojans in a similar position on the next possession… with similarly disappointing results.

At any moment it seemed like Texas A&M might open the game. But an Aggies pass in the end zone was deflected by Akili Arnold, giving the Trojans another chance to gain a foothold. This time they put the ball through as Maiava found Lane racing wide down the field to make it 7-7.

After that, the Aggies faltered, gaining a meager five yards in the second quarter. And yet USC still couldn’t take control. One drive ended with an unfortunate deep ball from Maiava that was intercepted. Another play was spent just before halftime running out the clock, only for USC to miss a 39-yard field goal.

Texas A&M did its best to make USC pay off after that, scoring 17 straight points in the third quarter. But that wasn’t enough, as Maiava led the Trojans back and ended a season of ups and downs right where she started.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.