Lincoln Riley was considered a wonder boy in college football while guiding Oklahoma to four straight Big 12 championships and 55 wins in five seasons and coaching two Heisman Trophy winners.
His decision to leave the Sooners to become head coach at USC in December 2021 was stunning. It was touted as a huge win for the Trojans.
Riley is now in his third season at USC and dealing with the worst stretch of his head coaching career. The Trojans fell to 5-7 in their last 12 games with a 24-17 loss at underdog Minnesota last Saturday.
After a victory over LSU in their opener, they’ve had a bumpy ride in their first season in the Big Ten, losing at Michigan and rallying to beat Wisconsin before losing to the Golden Gophers.
“If you change two plays, then we’re 5-0 and we’re feeling like world beaters,” Riley said Monday night on Trojans Live, a streamed show. “Then we’re worried about being overconfident. It’s all about perspective for this team. You can’t get too caught up in the emotions and all that’s going on.”
USC (1-2, 3-2) has a chance to right the ship when it faces No. 4 Penn State (2-0, 5-0) Saturday at 3:30 (TV-CBS) at the sold-out Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Trojans’ rushing defense will need to be better than it was against Minnesota, which had 193 yards on the ground, and against Michigan, which had a whopping 290 in a 27-24 win over visiting USC.
The Wolverines are 38th nationally with 191.3 yards per game, and the Golden Gophers are 110th with a 116.7 average. The Nittany Lions have a much better ground game, ranking 17th with 217.8 yards per game.
“We didn’t command the line of scrimmage on the defensive front like we have in other games,” Riley said about the Minnesota loss. “The margins there are thin. I didn’t think we tackled as well at the second level. We missed a few tackles that we just really haven’t been missing very often.
“We have to get back to our fundamentals. We have to play better up front.”
The USC defense, coordinated by former Penn State defensive back D’Anton Lynn, is actually outperforming the offense, despite Riley’s reputation as a play-calling genius.
Miller Moss was a top-rated recruit who sat behind 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams the last two years. After Williams opted out, Moss raised expectations when he passed for six touchdowns against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
Moss, however, has struggled this season, ranking 72nd nationally in pass efficiency with a .645 completion percentage, 1,398 yards, nine touchdown passes and four interceptions.
Against Minnesota, Moss completed 23-of-38 passes for just 200 yards and one TD with two interceptions, the second one in the end zone in the final seconds. The Trojans’ longest completion was 18 yards.
“I thought he was pretty steady,” Riley said. “He had a lot of really good plays and good decisions. He had a couple of loose throws that he doesn’t normally miss. The decision there at the end is one that you’re going to have to be aggressive at some point.”
USC also lost a fumble in the second quarter inside Minnesota territory.
“We had three turnovers in the plus zone and we didn’t stop the run well,” Riley said. “That wiped out all the other advantages we had in the game. We dominated third downs. We dominated explosive plays.
“Then all of a sudden the game comes down to one play or one call or whatever it is.”
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer scored the game-winning TD on a 1-yard sneak with 56 seconds left. He was initially ruled short of the goal line before the play was overturned.
A loss to Penn State would likely eliminate USC from contention for the Big Ten title and for a College Football Playoff berth.
“We have a phenomenal opportunity this week in the Coliseum that we damn sure don’t want to miss,” Riley said. “We’ll have a very motivated and hungry team to prepare. I certainly cannot wait for Saturday to get here.”
