USC Football: Lincoln Riley Reckoning With Miserable Recent Trojans Run
Your USC Trojans football program entered the 2023 NCAA season filled with hopes of competing for the National Title. They almost made a run a year ago, but fell just short, which led many to believe this could be their year.
But shortly into the season, the same issues that plagued them last year showed their ugly head. The defensive struggles of this Trojans team held them back, and with one game left in the regular season, USC finds itself not even competing for the Pac-12 title.
The Trojans have lost four of their last five games and now sit with a record of 7-4 on the year. Their latest loss came this weekend at the hands of the Oregon Ducks by a score of 36-27.
Head coach Lincoln Riley spoke about the recent downhill run that the Trojans have been on. He seemed proud of his players for pushing through adversity, despite the lack of success on the field.
“Thought the guys really battled. Put ourselves in a couple of holes and were able to make a run there, both at the end of the first half and there at the end of the game. But just didn’t quite play clean enough. Really battled. Thought the guys really fought. I don’t know if I’ve ever played in a game or coached in a game where we had as many guys banged up, as many guys coming in and out of the game. It’s kind of even difficult to practice, especially defensively in the secondary, was certainly a challenge."
He knows that they let this opportunity fall by the wayside, but it's something that they will have to live with. Even against Oregon, the Trojans had a chance to make some noise, but couldn't execute when it mattered most.
"Gave ourselves some opportunities. Missed a few in the first half. Missed a few of the second half that were right there. That’s going to be the tale of this second half of the season for us… We haven’t quite made enough of the key plays."
Riley is likely feeling the pressure as the coach of the Trojans after a poor season. He was brought in from Oklahoma to have this program competing for championships, and they haven't come close so far.
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