It has been a combined bag for Lincoln Riley in two seasons as USC’s head coach.
He went 11-3 in his first season in Southern California with a Cotton Bowl loss and adopted that up with an uninspiring 8-5 season in 2023 with a Vacation Bowl win.
Sure, he introduced the Trojans a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Caleb Williams and customarily has raised the profile of this system again up on a nationwide degree. Nonetheless, we’re not at prime Pete Carroll-era ranges, but, and (honest or not) it isn’t even shut.
With that stated, the newly launched AP preseason prime 25 checked USC in at simply No. 23 and critics appear to be sensing that troubled waters might be on the horizon for the Trojans — particularly with Williams now within the NFL.
A type of critics is ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, who advised on “First Take” that USC’s opening matchup towards No. 13 LSU might spell bother.
“I feel that’s the place it begins to unravel for Lincoln. You’ll be able to’t get extra of a outstanding shining second of the primary faculty soccer weekend than whenever you’re on that Sunday night time with the complete world watching you. … And I totally count on Lincoln Riley to indicate what a median coach he’s towards to me a coach who could be elite at instances in Brian Kelly of LSU,” Finebaum stated (h/t On3).
