USC Fans Feeling Sense of Déjà Vu After Trojans’ Loss to Oregon

USC Trojans fans are feeling déjà vu after another crushing loss to the Oregon Ducks, as Lincoln Riley’s record with the Trojans mirrors the Clay Helton era and raises tough questions about USC’s ability to win big games and meet championship expectations.

Sep 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC fans have seen this movie before. Big stage, big stakes, and another moment where the Trojans leave Autzen Stadium wondering how far away they really are from championship-caliber football. Saturday’s 42-27 loss to the No. 7 Oregon Ducks did not just eliminate USC from Big Ten title contention, it reignited a familiar frustration that has defined the Lincoln Riley era.

Four years in, the Trojans are still losing big games, still struggling on the road and still falling short of the expectations tied to a reported 10-year, $110 million contract. USC hired Riley to be the next legendary Trojans coach in the likes of John McKay, John Robinson and Pete Carroll. Instead, the troubling truth for fans is that the returns look more like the tenure of former USC coach Clay Helton than anything resembling a historic resurgence.

Same Results, Different Era

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during a time out against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The numbers say it all. Through 51 games, Riley is 34-17 at USC. Helton was 34-17 through that same window, and he delivered a Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl win during that span. USC spent more than $10 million to fire Helton and more than $100 million to hire Riley, only to land on nearly identical results.

Saturday’s defeat deepened that comparison. USC is dazzling at the Coliseum with a 21-5 record under Riley, but that shine fades the moment the team boards a plane. The Trojans are 13-12 outside Los Angeles and 7-10 against ranked opponents. Worse, they are 0-7 against teams that finished a season in the top 10, a mark that will likely fall to 0-9 if Oregon and Notre Dame remain in that tier.

Riley and the Trojans are trending in a better direction than Helton was, but the similar records is certainly surprising.

Sep 4, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC TUSC Trojans head coach Clay Helton walks on the field before the game against the San Jose State Spartans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The gap between good and elite remains wide. Riley called Saturday’s matchup a heavyweight battle. Oregon looked the part. USC looked like a team still searching for championship DNA.

The road failures add to the storyline. Losses at Notre Dame, Oregon and especially Illinois have wiped away the momentum USC expected to build this year even as the Trojans sit at 8–3. While this season has corrected the bottoming out thud of last year’s 7–6 finish, it has not brought USC any closer to the CFP heights fans envisioned when Riley arrived.

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2026: Hope or Another Mirage?

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

There are reasons for optimism. USC holds the top ranked recruiting class in 2026, built largely through elite California talent. Name, image and likeness infrastructure is stronger. A state of the art football facility opens next summer. A real general manager, Chad Bowden, is in place. By January, the Trojans should have their most modern and stable infrastructure in a decade. But none of that erases the deja vu surrounding the product on the field.

Next year’s roster could lose both star wideouts, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, to the NFL. Freshman Tanook Hines flashed against Oregon with 141 yards and a touchdown, but expecting immediate stardom from the 2025 or 2026 classes is unrealistic. Defensively, USC will return young players, yet few have shown clear, year over year improvement under this staff.

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The 2025 schedule is unforgiving. Ohio State, Oregon and Washington all visit the Coliseum. Road games at Indiana and Penn State loom. Nothing from this season suggests USC can win enough of those matchups to make a legitimate CFP push.

That is why the focus is shifting toward Bowden’s first major roster building window. He has emphasized majoring in high school recruiting and minoring in the transfer portal, but USC needs immediate upgrades almost everywhere on defense. The portal will test whether USC’s rebuild can accelerate or whether fans are staring down another familiar cycle.

Four years into the Riley era, USC fans are not impatient. They are tired of seeing the same story unfold. The ingredients for a breakthrough are supposedly coming in 2026. But until the Trojans start winning road games, beating ranked opponents and ending seasons with something more than optimism for the future, the déjà vu will continue.