At Long Last, Lincoln Riley Got His Signature USC Victory—And It Was a Desperately Needed One
Lincoln Riley's biggest victory with the Trojans to date could not have come at a better time.
Entering the 2024 college football season, there was understandably a lot of national doubt surrounding head coach Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans.
After all, the Trojans were less than a year removed from an incredibly disappointing 8-5 campaign, headlined by one of the worst defenses in the country. With Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams off to the NFL—alongside his top two receivers and running backs—many assumed that USC would get worse in 2024, not better. There was even some wild speculation that if the Trojans experienced another disappointing campaign, Riley could be on the hot seat.
All this made Sunday’s season opener against LSU in Las Vegas all the more important. After all, it runs in the nature of college football fans to overreact to the first game of the season. Had the Trojans lost, it would have given further credence to the theory that Riley was on a downward trend at USC. Fans would have asserted that Riley’s teams were soft, and that the Trojans could not handle an opponent from the big, bad SEC.
Instead, the embattled head coach went out and earned his biggest victory since his arrival in Los Angeles three years ago.
It wasn’t just that the Trojans took down a very good LSU team. It was the manner in which they did so.
Number one, the defense looked fundamentally sound. While it was far from a perfect defensive performance (LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for over 300 yards), players did not look dramatically out of position like they had in years passed. There were also almost no missed tackles, which for USC fans was surely a sight for sore eyes.
The Trojans held to Tigers to just 20 points—fewer than they allowed in all but two games last season. New defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn—who came to USC from crosstown rival UCLA last December—deserves every bit of his flowers.
Number two, even without Williams, quarterback play did not drop off a beat. Making his second career start, redshirt junior Miller Moss tore apart LSU’s secondary, completing 75% of his passes for 378 yards and a touchdown. After LSU kicked a game-tying field goal with 1:47 left to play, Moss led the Trojans on a 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive.
When the clock hit zero, USC had a 27-20 victory, and Riley had silenced his doubters—at least for the time being.
Obviously, there is still a ton of football left to be played. The Trojans still have several more big tests on their schedule, including a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face the defending national champions later this month. But for now, at least, it seems safe to say that—to paraphrase an internet meme—reports of Lincoln Riley’s demise were greatly exaggerated.
After all, a reminder that Riley has won a conference championship in 100% of his seasons as a head coach without Caleb Williams (and, weirdly enough, 0% of his seasons with Williams). The offense was never going to be an issue. And if the defense truly has turned a corner, then USC should be a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten race.
It took until his third season, but at long last, Lincoln Riley has his signature USC victory. And for his sake, it could not have come at a better time.