USC Football: Lincoln Riley Reveals Whether Miller Moss' Holiday Bowl Game Earned Him 2024 QB1 Gig

Lincoln Riley hints at Miller Moss securing QB1 after historic Holiday Bowl win.

Miller Moss dominated the Holiday Bowl, marching the USC Trojans to a victory over Louisville. The final score was 42-28 and was brought on by Moss throwing a career-high 6 TDs. 

Moss looked poised and collected while getting his first start. Not only did he perform under the primetime lights, but he may have also rocketed himself into the QB1 position for the 2024 season. 

The Trojans did just bring in Will Howard from Kansas State via the transfer portal, but he may have to back up Moss. The decision will ultimately be up to head coach Lincoln Riley, who may have hinted the job is Moss' to keep. 

Lincoln Riley didn't say postgame if Miller Moss had won #USC's QB job going into 2024, but he smiled: "Shoot, he may have scared off anybody that would want to come here anyway."

Later: "He could have bolted off at different times. He's stayed here, he's gotten better."

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) December 28, 2023

Riley stating that Moss may have scared other transfers off could be truthful. Most players who enter the transfer portal are often those who wish to seek starting positions with new teams. 

QBs seeing how Moss carved up Louisville's defense may want to look elsewhere. It's not guaranteed that Riley will start Moss, but Moss made a good case for himself with his huge performance in the Holiday Bowl. 

Moss was overtly confident the weeks leading up to the Holiday Bowl. He had stated that he was not nervous about getting his first start. He also stated that potentially having to compete with a transfer portal QB would not bother him either. 

His confidence was certainly justified after throwing for 367 yards and 6 TDs. The worry had been what the Trojans would look like with Caleb Williams heading for the NFL. The answer to that worry is the team will be just fine. 

Time will tell what Riley plans to do, but we imagine he has to strongly consider Moss for the starting QB job.