Report card: Lincoln Riley, USC defense get an F for Rutgers debacle

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Here we go again. Lincoln Riley can't solve problems. He can't create accountability or discipline. His culture is soft. His USC team appears to be getting worse, not better, in late September. We have seen it all before. It's Year 5, for gosh sakes. Our normal USC football report card won't be published this week, because there's no need for one. Lincoln Riley, Gary Patterson, and the defense get an F. Boom. Done. That requires zero explanation. What we need to ask is if this season is going to be a repeat of 2023.

2023 early blowouts

USC looked really good in a 66-14 win over Nevada and a 56-10 win over Stanford. Maybe the defense wasn't so bad after all.

2023 early road trips

As soon as 2023 USC went on the road, the team became ugly and sloppy. Arizona State and Colorado were very ragged and undisciplined games.

No wake-up call

Instead of the ASU and Colorado games becoming wake-up calls for USC, those games merely showed how bad the defense was. USC did not fix the problems which emerged at this time of year in 2023 (late September, early October).

Gauntlet gets grisly

USC got hammered as soon as it began playing the toughest teams on its 2023 schedule: Notre Dame, Utah, Washington and Oregon all beat the Trojans. UCLA added a defeat to send Lincoln Riley to a 7-5 record.

Will 2026 be different?

You tell me. Why would anyone think 2026 will be different from 2023? USC's defense looks entirely unprepared for Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Ohio State, and Indiana.

It's not a Gary Patterson problem

Lincoln Riley is the common thread here. He can change coordinators and strength coaches, but he has to create accountability. It's his program, his job, his operation.

Talk is cheap

This is why Lincoln Riley saying in the summer that USC's championship window was open was so infuriating. No one should be saying anything about championships until the team proves worthy of being a contender. Right now, USC doesn't look like one. You're not a contender if you barely scrape by Rutgers.

Hot seat talk for Lincoln Riley is not premature

If 2026 provides a 2023-style collapse – and that seems entirely realistic at this point – Riley (with a 7-5 record) should be fired. We can't have this anymore. It has gone on far too long. Riley has to coach up this team for once and get the accountability which has been missing for four-plus seasons. Next week versus Oregon, Riley should be coaching to save his job.

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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Report card: Lincoln Riley, USC defense get an F for Rutgers debacle

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