Wow. What a mess.

USC football may be at a low ebb, at least in this century. The coaches and players who contrived to lose to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl tonight constitute a program that is in trouble.

The Trojans, over decades, have too often embraced the dim-witted arrogance of the biggest and most violent kid on the block, and it was all there in the game with the Badgers.

A lack of self-discipline. Poor decisions. A “me” mentality — it all seemed on display in a 23-21 defeat.

We know USC began the year led by a coach with alleged alcohol-abuse problems that led to his midseason firing … and left in charge what appear to be a dozen kids playing at being coaches.

But we had not seen the sausage being made, on the field. Seeing a team and how it reacts to adversity or fails to take advantage of chances, always is more visceral than reading about it.

And the Trojans, who finished 8-6, were awful in several areas.

Let’s recap a few.

–The last play of the game. Needing 10 yards for a first down that might have set up a desperate throw into the end zone, USC’s receiver went nine yards up field, stopped and turned and caught the pass and was pushed out of bounds a yard short of the first down. Ball to Wisconsin; game over.

So, yes, USC threw the ball to a kid not smart enough (or not well-enough coached) to realize that a proper route for gaining 10 yards should extend 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, not nine.

–Consider this astonishing, third-quarter USC possession.

First-and-10 at the 50: Cody Kessler sacked by Jack Cichy for a loss of 9 yards.

Second-and-19 at the USC 41: USC penalty, illegal procedure on Khaliel Rodgers.

Second-and-24 at the USC 36: Cody Kessler sacked by Jack Cichy for a loss of 7.

(Notice a pattern developing? USC did not.)

Third-and-31 at the USC 29: Cody Kessler sacked by Jack Cichy for a loss of 7.

Fourth-and-38 at the USC 22: Kris Albarado punt for 39 yards.

So, yes, with the ball at the 50 and USC in good position to cut into Wisconsin’s 20-14 lead, quarterback Kessler was sacked by the same man on all three downs. That man, linebacker Jack Cichy, was not blocked on any of the three plays, and even he expressed surprise he “came free” on three successive plays.

Wouldn’t a team with any sort of wit have noticed that 1) Cichy, one of Wisconsin’s top defenders, had entered the game after sitting out the first half? OK, maybe the coaches forgot to mention that to the offensive linemen, but after the first sack don’t they need to become at least a bit aware of the guy? OK, after the second sack they have to be aware of him … and then he gets the third sack and USC’s players and coaches look like idiots. And with the procedure penalty thrown in to emphasize the “we are dolts” thing, USC went to the line four times and went backward 28 yards.

–Fourth quarter, Wisconsin ball, and quarterback Joel Stave is knocked down, and somehow a USC defensive lineman manages to step on Stave’s face, getting his cleats between the single bar on the quarterback’s helmet, and inside the edge of the helmet — producing geysers of blood and presumably a broken nose. An accident? Or a USC defender taking advantage of the mess to drive out the other team’s quarterback? (I mean, who accidentally steps on a guy’s face?) Albeit not long enough to keep Stave from returning and leading his team to a game-winning field goal, which seemed fit and proper, in a cosmic sense.

–Late in the game, USC has gotten a stop, and Wisconsin punts into the end zone with 36 seconds left. Oh, wait. A brain-dead USC linebacker named Don Hill has decided to go all UFC with Wisconsin’s Nichy, and as the camera cuts to him Hill can be seen standing over Nichy and shaking him. Absolutely no reason for this because all that matters for USC is getting on the field asap with the best field position possible, but Hill can’t be bothered with this sort of deep analysis, or reflection on “team needs” versus his desire for “individual violence”, and USC has to start on the 10 yard line.

(After falling behind, Kessler threw an interception when that man Nichy smashed into the quarterback’s arm as he was throwing.)

USC was appalling. A train wreck.

As noted, the Trojans have always preferred the “big man” approach, preferring to use a bludgeon when a scalpel would serve quite well (see: Oregon).

But these guys looked on the edge of out-of-control and the coaching staff seemed completely inadequate, with a sort of “boys will be boys” approach to the game perhaps exacerbated by inexperience and their own lack of years and wanting the players to like them, rather than respect them.

I am astonished that this has happened on Pat Haden’s watch as athletic director. I was absolutely convinced he was a great hire, but he has overseen some major messes in the football program (which is all that matters at USC), and the Steve Sarkisian imbroglio (and subsequent $30 million lawsuit) is No. 1.

This team needs an adult as coach, and more adults as assistants, and it needs to play with occasional intelligence rather than just consistent violence and too many mental lapses.

If I were a Trojan, I would be embarrassed. Well, hell, I’m not a Trojan but I am embarrassed on their behalf.