With last night's loss to Oregon, USC football coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans are all but eliminated from College Football Playoff (CFP) contention. And people are letting Riley know about it.
In his fourth season at USC, Riley has a 34-17 record, and despite close calls in his first year and this season, he has failed to lead the Trojans to the playoff, which has led many to wonder if — or outright declare — Riley's time in Los Angeles should come to an end.
One wonders how long the deep-pocketed USC people will endure such failed expectations, such fruitless autumns, such … mediocrity,” LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote.
“Heck, if UCLA can buy its way out of the Rose Bowl, one imagines that USC could buy its way out of a football coach.”
While Plaschke is known to be outspoken, he is far from the only one questioning Riley, as writers from USA Today, 247 Sports' USCFootball.com, and The Athletic did the same.
After compiling a 55-10 record, four Big 12 championships, and three CFP berths in five seasons, Riley stunningly left Oklahoma in November 2021, which did little to maintain good relations with the Sooner faithful, to say the least.
The move out west has proven far less successful than many imagined, though.
In his first season at USC, Riley led the Trojans to an 11-3 record, which had much greater potential; despite having Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, undefeated USC lost twice to Utah, including in the Pac-12 Championship Game, to lose out on a playoff spot before also falling in the Cotton Bowl to underdog Tulane.
Things haven't gotten any better since then. In 2023, USC was 8-5. Last year, the Trojans went 7-6. And while they have a chance to reach 10 wins this season, during yesterday's 42-27 conference defeat, USC saw its playoff hopes go up in smoke once again.
USC, which is reportedly paying Riley more than $11 million per year, finishes up its regular season next week vs. archrival UCLA.
