It’s been a mixed bag for Lincoln Riley in two seasons as USC’s head coach.
He went 11-3 in his first season in Southern California with a Cotton Bowl loss and followed that up with an uninspiring 8-5 season in 2023 with a Holiday Bowl win.
Yes, he brought the Trojans a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Caleb Williams and generally has raised the profile of the program back up on a national level. Still, we’re not at prime Pete Carroll-era levels, yet, and (fair or not) it’s not even close.
With that said, the newly released AP preseason top 25 checked USC in at just No. 23 and critics seem to be sensing that troubled waters could be on the horizon for the Trojans — especially with Williams now in the NFL.
One of those critics is ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, who suggested on “First Take” that USC’s opening matchup against No. 13 LSU could spell trouble.
“I think that’s where it starts to unravel for Lincoln. You can’t get more of a prominent shining moment of the first college football weekend than when you’re on that Sunday night with the entire world watching you. … And I fully expect Lincoln Riley to show what an average coach he is against to me a coach who can be elite at times in Brian Kelly of LSU,” Finebaum said (h/t On3).
