USC Trojans Football: Can Lincoln Riley Learn From Michigan Wolverines Failures?

The USC Trojans are coming off a disappointing loss against the Michigan Wolverines. Now 0-1 in Big Ten play, can Coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans avoid heading down a familiar path?

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

The USC Trojans are 2-1 heading into this week’s clash with Big Ten foe, Wisconsin Badgers. After a frustrating, disappointing last-minute loss to the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor at “The Big House”, the Trojans return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the CBS/Paramount+ premiere slot.

As previously stated in my initial post-game recap, there’s no such thing as moral victories in football. Bittersweet would be the best word to describe the state of the USC football program. It’s true that the resilience of the Trojans was on full display during the second half of that contest. It’s a fact that the team is much improved from top to bottom, especially defensively. 

I even believe that Lincoln Riley, who I’ve been critical of in the past, managed the game well down the stretch to give the Trojans a chance to have a small possibility of tying or winning the game. The play-calling on the subsequent drive can certainly be questioned, especially if the route concept on fourth down was indeed called short of the line to gain mark, but I digress. 

The fact of the matter is that this Trojans team is clearly improving and has improved from last season, but it’s not enough to just be happy with incremental progress. It’s the University of Southern California. The transfer portal and NIL exist. Lesser, non-blue-blood programs have turned their programs into consistent winners and end-of-year competitors. 

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Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley on the sidelines during the game against the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Lincoln Riley is a coach that had his Oklahoma Sooners team in the College Football Playoff and a possession away from a National Championship berth almost seven years ago. A Riley-led team has yet to make a playoff since 2019. Other teams to make the playoff during that stretch include Cincinnati, TCU, & Washington. 

Accounting for how tough the PAC-12 was in recent years, you could be polite and shoot some bail. However, USC should never be the program where that’s the mentality. It was once the standard not only of West Coast football but arguably college football in general. You were one game away from the playoffs just two seasons ago. There has to be a standard. 

There’s no doubting Riley’s ability as an offensive mind. He’s unquestionably one of the best in the game of football from that aspect. The Trojans currently have the 12th-best passing offense in all of college football. That’s without most of the starters playing more than a few possessions against Utah State.

In the second half of both the LSU and Michigan games, Riley made fantastic adjustments and with the help of sheer toughness from quarterback Miller Moss, the Trojans were able to outscore their power-four opponents in the back half of those games. Still, they found themselves splitting those games in terms of wins.

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Michigan defensive end Josaiah Stewart (0) sacks USC quarterback Miller Moss (7) during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“All right, yeah, it was a heck of a college football game. We came up one play short. We were proud of the fight of our guys," said Riley after the Michigan game. "We fought our tails off. Didn't play particularly good in the first half. Struggled to get much going offensively. Defensively, we had a couple of just big plays where we came out of gap. And that was really kind of the story of the first half when the guys rallied. We did some really, really good things in the second half as a football team. opportunities to close the door and get finished one play short.

He’s saying the right things and it is indeed a long season, but the road to making the playoffs just got infinitely more difficult. Miller Moss is on a trajectory where this could potentially be a one-and-done situation and he leaves for the NFL Draft. Recruiting, while certainly doing well, it’s not nearly making enough progress in the trenches where USC’s main struggle lies. 

"There was a real battle out there, tremendous atmosphere, two good teams going at it. We're obviously very disappointed, but know this season there's a lot left in it, long ways to go. I like the team I got in that locker room. There was a bunch of fighters in that room, a bunch of guys are gonna get better quickly. And I look forward to getting back and getting to our prep for Wisconsin.” said Riley after the Michigan game.

This week, against Wisconsin, the Trojans open up as a 14-point favorite. The Badgers, who lost their starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke in a blowout loss to Alabama, will likely play multiple players at the position. This game, on home turf, is one that the Trojans should win, and wind handily. Riley-led teams haven’t always responded the best after losses. 

The next few weeks are going to be massive for the Trojans on multiple fronts. What may seem like an overreaction is actually a call to learn from the past. If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always got. Can this squad prove they’re different? We’ll see. 

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