USC's Lincoln Riley Entering 'Must-Win' Season With Trojans

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season at the helm in Los Angeles after signing a 10-year, $110 million contract prior to the 2022 season. USC has yet to make it to the College Football Playoff and the pressure will be on to do so in 2026.

On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman revealed their most intriguing head coach storylines for the 2026 college football season on their show, Andy & Ari.

Lincoln Riley in "Do Or Die" Coaching Tier

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley College Football Playoff Big Ten Conference Championship Jayden Maiava Recruiting Class Rankings — Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts in the first half of the Pac-12 Championship against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Staples and Wasserman separated coaches into different tiers: the established, the newcomers, and “do or die” more. Riley was in their “do or die” category. Staples explained the context behind this tier.

“Win now. We have waited. Now is your chance. Now is the time for various reasons,” Staples said. “We either need to see you winning now because you’ve been building to this or we need to see you winning now because you need to prove to us you can win again.”

Riley took over USC following a disastrous 4-8 season in 2021. Riley came in and right away began to flip the program around. In year one in 2022, USC won 11 games and seemed to be on the right track. They regressed in each of the next two seasons to winning eight and then seven games before going 9-4 in 2025.

With 2026 being his fifth year, it’s fully his program that is a half decade removed from whatever “mess” there was when he got there.

“Has spent his time as USC essentially saying ‘I need more time. I need to build. What I inherited wasn’t very good.’ That rhetoric seems to be over,” Staples said. “They had signed this big class that’s the No. 1 class. They go into the portal. They go get Gary Patterson…This is the time for Lincoln Riley…Now’s your chance…You need to make the playoff.”

USC has made some splashes off the field with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2026 and also the hiring of former TCU Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson as their next defensive coordinator. Furthermore, starting quarterback Jayden Maiava is retuning for another season. Things are set up for Riley and USC to have successful 2026.

The other two coaches in this “do or die” tier with Riley are Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney and Tennessee Volunteers coach Josh Heupel.

Lincoln Riley's USC Tenure

USC hired Riley following his five seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners from 2017-2021. Riley had a record of 55-10 in Norman, winning the Big 12 conference four times and making three appearances in the College Football Playoff.

That success has not completely carried over to USC. In his four seasons with the Trojans, Riley has an overall record of 35-18. USC has not made it to a conference championship game since his first season and they are still seeking their first playoff appearance in program history.

Is 2026 the year they will finally make it happen?

USC will kick off the regular season against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, Aug. 29 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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