USC Football: Notre Dame Loss Forces Insider To Reassess Lincoln Riley's Season

It hasn't been a great year for the Trojans head coach.

When Lincoln Riley was hired to take over the USC Trojans in 2022, it was met with all sorts of optimism. USC had been in a funk, and this was a move to get them back into being a powerhouse program.

But through two seasons, the Trojans have improved, but there is a feeling of uncertainty involved as well. The team has the same issues that they did last season, and it feels like it could be another wasted opportunity if things don't improve.

“Players aren’t being developed. Players aren’t getting better. Players aren’t getting tougher. Players aren’t getting open. Linemen aren’t evolving. The team and the program have regressed relative to 2022. Not remotely acceptable on any level. We hope changes will occur against Utah and beyond, but we’re definitely not expecting them.”

Per Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire

If USC has another poor showing this weekend against Utah, the narratives about Riley will continue. He was brought in to win National Championships, but so far he hasn’t come close to winning one.

Once again it seems that the lack of a defense will exclude USC from even making the College Football Playoff as well. While they weren’t the blame against Notre Dame, they have struggled for most of the season. And the one time that the offense had some issues, it saw the Trojans collapse.

This falls squarely on the shoulders of Riley because he is the one who built this team up. This process has followed him from his days at Oklahoma, and he had similar programs there as well. The only difference is that nobody in the Big 12 plays great defense, so it masked some things for him.

But now with him being in the Pac-12, and then heading to the Big-10 next season, the microscope for Riley becomes that much more intensified.

“Lincoln Riley’s coaching performance this season has been horrible. Who cares about beating Stanford and Nevada very badly?”



Per Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire

USC needs to turn things around over the rest of the season, and they can’t afford another slip-up. They still have games against Oregon and Washington as well, so something will need to give.

Another poor season from this Trojans team, and the fans may start to turn on Riley. They demand excellence, were promised it but have yet to see the results, even if it has only been two years.

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