USC Football: Lincoln Riley Alters Course on Championship Hopes

The media keeps receipts!

After another disappointing loss for the USC Trojans, they now find themselves in a strange spot. This team entered the season with championship aspirations and the dream of going undefeated for the season.

But in just two short weeks, that all vanished right before their eyes. The Trojans were handed their second straight loss, this time to the Utah Utes at home. It was a frustrating game that saw USC lose at the last second.

But the issue isn't that they lost at the last second; it's the problems that ensued during the game. They couldn't get anything consistent going, and quarterback Caleb Williams ended the game with no touchdowns through the air.

It was a weird game, but after the game, head coach Lincoln Riley seemed to change his thinking about the goals of the Trojans from when he first arrived on campus. He said that USC doesn't come in every week thinking about winning the National Championship, which contradicts his original thinking. 

Lincoln Riley said USC doesn’t “come in every week talking about winning a national championship ... I don’t know where that narrative starts.”

In July ’22, @BillPlaschke asked him about expectations:

Riley: “To win the championship. … We didn’t come here to play for second.”

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) October 22, 2023

Maybe Riley was just frustrated from the loss, but this is a far cry from the original goals of this team. Riley needs to get his facts straight and understand that the media doesn't hold back when it comes to receipts or poor performance. 

Since Riley came to USC, everything has been about championships. Williams came back to school with an unfinished business mindset, and they have wasted another season with him under center.

The Trojans were seen as one of the better teams in the county when the year started, but inconsistent play doomed them. And they still have a fairly tough schedule down the stretch of the season, playing against both Oregon and Washington.

If the Trojans don't fix things quickly, they could see their year go entirely down the drain. The year was championship or bust when it started, and now it may be Pac-12 title or bust if their issues continue.

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