USC, Lincoln Riley have no juice, only excuses for average football
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We've become a society of excuses, a disease that has somehow filtered into football — where there are no excuses.
USC played in front of, maybe, 20,000 fans Saturday against San Jose State, and we’re suddenly blaming the 100-degree heat.
And the noon kickoff. And the opponent. And Notre Dame for not accepting a Week 0 invitation in the first place.
Meanwhile, back in the real world when USC was relevant and successful — you know, like a top-three program in all of college football should be — the Trojans had 84,325 fans for the season opener in 2009 against San Jose State.
At 12:30 p.m., with weather in the 90s.
The difference, you ask? One coach (Pete Carroll) had a track record of winning big and filling the joint. The current coach (Lincoln Riley) doesn’t.
But sure, let’s make excuses for the Coliseum looking like a mausoleum. Let’s talk about stadium seats in the refurbished stadium feeling like “hot plates.”
For the love of all things Tommy Trojan, they sat on those old, plastic theater chairs in 2009 and weren’t complaining about the heat. Nor were they complaining about lowly San Jose State scoring 26 points on the mighty USC defense.
The Spartans scored three points in 2009, the first three of the game, in fact. USC then rolled off 56 — with a freshman quarterback (Matt Barkley) taking his first college snaps.
But sure, let’s blame the heat and the need for a better opponent, and how the city of Los Angeles doesn’t show out for college sports. For all of you pinheads making that lame argument, remember that USC under Carroll was the biggest thing in LA this side of the Lakers.
There’s no juice now for USC because the Trojans are a middling program in an ill-fitted conference. Fans in LA aren’t showing up for San Jose State because they’ve seen this B-movie over the past four seasons under Riley, and they know the ending.
Ugly losses to Illinois, TCU, Minnesota, Maryland and Tulane, and a 1-3 record vs. bitter rival Notre Dame. Also lost by 18 to a truly average UCLA team, despite having the best quarterback in college football.
So a new season of hope begins last weekend, and you throw out San Jose State instead of any other Power conference opponent and expect fans to fill the Coliseum for a team that has given them no reason to watch over the previous four seasons?
This is what happens when you overpay for a coach, realize it early on, but can’t get out from underneath it. You’re too deep into the investment, and the $12-plus million annual salary looks more ridiculous by the season.
And then the excuses arrive.
“We understand the factors that impacted Saturday’s attendance,” a USC spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports Sunday. “We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program. We thank our fans who showed up Saturday, and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season.”
Let me explain the No. 1, overriding “factor” that impacted the attendance: bad football.
Same thing that cratered attendance at the end of Clay Helton’s seven seasons at USC. At least Helton won a conference championship in 2017, and won the Rose Bowl in 2016.
What, exactly, has Riley accomplished — other than riding the best player in the game (Caleb Williams) to the Pac-12 championship game in Year 1, and losing to Utah by 23?
Then losing to Tulane — I’m not making that up — in the Cotton Bowl.
To be fair to USC, the home schedule this year gets much better with games against Oregon (who Riley has never beaten), Washington (ditto) and Ohio State (don’t even think about it).
It also includes a game Friday against Fresno State — a physical, punishing and dangerous Fresno State team that could be playing for a College Football Playoff spot in November.
You know, the very playoff USC hasn’t played in. Ever.
It’s a 6 p.m. local kick, which should give the beautiful and fashionably late enough time to navigate and weave through the 110 and 405 to get to South Central, just in time to roll into Exposition Park for the first big home game of the season.
Presumably more than 51,114 — the announced crowd for the San Jose State debacle — will show up. If not then, definitely a week later for big, bad Louisiana with an 8 p.m. local kick.
Because there will be no excuses. The Trojans will be playing at night in comfortable conditions, and coming off a big win over Fresno State. Right?
They better hope so, because Oregon, Washington and Ohio State will be much heavier lifts.
With no more excuses.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC, Lincoln Riley have no juice, only excuses for average football
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