Lincoln Riley is the fourth-highest paid coach in college football. based on the USA Today database. It's pretty secure to assume that USC is in the highest 10 – and doubtless closer to the highest 5 – in assistant coaching salaries.
In theory, the return on investment for the sort of pay ought to be in the highest 10 results. It is the third yr of Riley's term. His squad. His employees. His program. His vision. This probably seems like a broken record, but Riley simply isn't living as much as the investment USC made in him.
That's been clear for just a few weeks, but it surely ought to be clear to everyone now after the Trojans suffered a disastrous 29-28 loss to Maryland on Saturday night.
USC (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) is nice enough to play in every game. The Trojans held a fourth-quarter lead in each of their losses. All of those games were winnable.
But USC keeps faltering. This time, with two minutes left, Maryland blocked Michael Lantz's 41-yard field goal attempt. The Trojans didn't block properly up front and as an alternative of taking a 31-22 lead in the ultimate stages of the sport, USC needed to send its defense back onto the sphere. Less than a minute later, Maryland scored the go-ahead touchdown. The offense made it past midfield but couldn't get into field goal range.
Final. pic.twitter.com/FV5InVZSg2
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) October 19, 2024
Riley was then asked why USC had trouble ending games.
“I don’t know,” he said.
It doesn't matter what Riley says. What's vital is that he finds solutions for every thing his team can't manage on the sphere. So far he hasn't done that.
And there lies the issue. Week after week, the USC defense fails to get a four-down stop when it absolutely must. It's the offense that falters at a critical moment when it has the chance to destroy the sport. It's the special teams that make an enormous mistake at a vital point.
This team just finds ways to lose games.
“We were a team that was good enough to win every game, but we weren't good enough to separate ourselves,” Riley told reporters after the loss, “and if you put yourself in those moments, you will make it.” You must make just a few plays to beat someone. Especially on the go. You must make that field goal or make that fourth-down tackle or make that catch or throw or block or whatever since it’s not going to be handed to you.”
I do know what the recruiting rankings suggest. I do know where USC ranks the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. And I do know the Trojans have more talent than Minnesota and Maryland. But I also know that USC isn't talented enough to face out from its opponents. Not where it matters – within the trenches – and never in the best way Riley describes above. And even when this team is more talented than the Golden Gophers or Terrapins, the proven fact that it may possibly make sloppy mistakes and get away with it isn't as crucial.
Riley's had three years to construct this roster. It's as much as him if the Trojans aren't talented enough at once. The speak about how he can't do it wave a magic wand should probably stop. There isn't much reason to imagine USC shall be significantly more talented in yr 4. The Trojans' 2025 recruiting class is ranked in the highest 10 nationally, but counting on true freshmen is silly.
Remember, next yr's schedule includes road games at Notre Dame and Oregon, in addition to a house game against Michigan.
If USC manages to significantly improve its roster, it can still have to deal with the difficulty of attention to detail. That’s what was missing during Riley’s tenure. Be it Mario Williams, who didn’t catch a vital kickoff against Tulane within the Cotton Bowl two years ago, or John Humphrey and Kamari Ramsey, who didn’t tackle Michigan running back Kalel Mullings – from a 15-yard shot -winning 63-yard run that set the Wolverines' game-winning rating – in September or the missed block on Lantz's field goal attempt on Saturday night.
Coaches often say, “You either coach it or allow it to happen.” Mistakes like which might be a mirrored image of the top coach, identical to all those close misses. USC has blown 14-point leads in each of the last two weeks. Riley lost 12 games as coach of the Trojans. His teams have blown a 14-point lead in five games.
Sure, every one will be explained in a vacuum, but these losses have change into a pattern. One that can’t be explained away.
“We do a lot of the heavy lifting of winning games against good teams,” Riley said, “but the inability to do it — it wears on you.”
At 3-4, USC has fallen below .500 for the primary time in Riley's tenure. He must make some structural changes to the best way he runs this system. Of course, there shall be some who demand he be fired, but unless those demands include something like $80 million, that's not realistic.
So Riley and USC will likely be on this together for some time. The Trojans coach cannot compromise on the execution of this system. He is 11-11 because the 2022 regular season. Whatever he does, it doesn't work. This style of consideration will likely happen once the offseason is over. But why wasn't this done last offseason, after a disastrous 7-5 regular season?
The culture appears to be higher than last season, but that shall be tested in the subsequent few weeks.
The Trojans couldn't have looked more disinterested within the rivalry game against UCLA last season. So Riley has to prove that he can motivate this team.
It's the top of October and USC already has nothing to supply but pride. This is just not where things ought to be in yr three.
image credit : www.nytimes.com