Bruce Feldman thought the Trojans were going to the College Football Playoff in Year 2 under coach Lincoln Riley.

Feldman no longer thinks that.

The FOX Sports insider and writer for The Athletic went on The Rich Eisen Show this week to break down what has plagued the 24th-ranked USC Trojans this season and said it ultimately comes down to a roster that isn’t yet ready to compete at the highest level.

To some degree, Riley has said that rebuilding USC was going to be a process. The Trojan team Riley took over was 4-8. He won 11 games his first year, and had the Trojans sitting at 6-0 through six games to begin his second season.

But cracks in the foundation were evident during the 6-0 start, and USC’s flaws have been laid bare in back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah since.

With the 34-32 loss to Utah at home last week, USC’s CFP hopes are seemingly dashed. A Pac-12 title game appearance is still on the table, but USC still has to face Washington, Oregon, and UCLA.

“I thought they were going to be a Playoff team because I thought Caleb was that much better than everybody else. And I still think he’s the best quarterback in the country, but they’re not good enough in a lot of places,” Feldman said. “They don’t have that much of a margin for error. So, ultimately, you’re gonna get got two or three times. I think that’s what they are.”

USC faces Cal on Saturday before closing out the regular season with games against three straight ranked opponents.

“They just don’t have enough good players,” Feldman continued. “They do not have a good enough offensive line. They don’t have enough quality on defense. They are undisciplined — that showed last week late in the game, and it shows at times. And those things, I think, Lincoln Riley, those are the things he has to get right. They need to be a more disciplined team. They need to recruit better on the offensive line. The portal can help, but it couldn’t do everything for them.”