USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley: 'If You Change Two Plays This Year, Then We're 5-0'

After a colossal fourth-quarter letdown against Minnesota, USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley focuses on perspective regarding his team. Can Riley get the Trojans going ahead of the Penn State clash? The Trojans are a handful of plays from being undefeated but instead find themselves at 3-2.

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Finding perspective can be a tool to improve. Perspective can also be used as a vessel for comfortability or satisfaction with the status quo. It’s all about the context and the application. For USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley, the perspective about where his team currently finds themselves is an interesting one.

"You have to keep perspective. . . . If you change two plays this year, then we're 5-0, and we feel like we're world beaters and we're worried about being over confident," said coach Lincoln Riley on Monday, Oct. 7.

What Riley said is a fact. The Trojans are indeed a handful of plays from being undefeated and sitting as a top-five team in the country with two ranked wins. Yet, the sobering truth remains, this team is 3-2 and now has to run the table the rest of the way to have a chance at the college football playoff. 

“In those critical moments at the end of the game, you've got to be laser-focused. You can't get caught up in the emotions of the game. That's when you've got to hone in on your craft, your technique, on the calls, on the communication even more." Riley said as he offered more insight into his perspective. 

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Sep 21, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley on the sideline in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

A different perspective asks the tough questions about Riley and the history of his teams. Anyone who tells you Riley isn’t a good football coach is simply disingenuous. But is Riley as good as previously thought? Or as his fantastic record says he is? It’s a real question to ask. 

Doesn’t the lack of execution and production referred to in the previous quotes ultimately fall on his shoulders? If players aren’t focused, that’s a reflection of the head man. If the coaching staff isn’t in tune, that responsibility also falls on the man in charge. Lambasting Lincoln Riley isn’t the point here. The real question is, how long do the signs have to add up before conclusions are made?

Youth was once the crutch for Riley. Now as an eighth-year head coach with multiple playoff appearances, that’s no longer viable. Another saving grace has been substandard defensive units. Although he made the hires that facilitated those, it was certainly fair to acknowledge that side of the ball hadn’t lived up to their end of the bargain in recent years. Well, the defense is vastly improved now. 

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January 1, 2018; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley following the loss against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 Rose Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans are 5-7 in their last 12 games overall and 2-6 in their last eight conference games. An important data point is Riley’s 17-12 record against ranked teams. He has a .794 winning percentage overall, but that number drops by over 20% against ranked teams too .586 against top-25 programs. 

Although they inherited two different situations, it’s worth noting that through their first 32 games at USC, Riley is one game worse than former coach Clay Helton. Riley was at 22-10 while Helton sat at 23-9. All of this is just an illustration of a larger image, perspective actually. 

Riley-led teams always are a couple of plays away. As accomplished as he is in a short period in of time, this is the most common theme amongst all those teams. Even the truly great ones like the playoff team that took 2017 Georgia to the brink. People remember that game as a classic. So much so that most people forget Oklahoma blew a 31-17 halftime lead in that epic.

Maybe it’s bad luck. Maybe it’s just a matter of time before that breakthrough happens. Who knows. He’s a good coach, but Riley hasn’t been tasked with just being a good coach. He’s been tasked with being amongst the best. Until proven otherwise, there’s no reason to keep assuming Lincoln Riley is one of the coaches in the elite tier. 

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