FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Did Lincoln Riley Revolutionize The Pac-12?

What did Lincoln Riley do for the Pac-12?

The expectations were high. Here’s a pretty widespread view after Riley got hired:

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  • Did it affect the College Football Playoff? Nope. Kalen DeBoer did that.
  • Did it affect recruiting? Have you looked at Riley’s recruiting classes at USC? Uninspiring.
  • Media rights? Well, USC left for the Big Ten so that was off the table.
  • Future realignment issues? The move to the Big Ten was in the works before Riley got hired and frankly, I doubt Riley wanted USC to move. So no impact there either.
  • Everything else? He’s made no impact on the national level and USC’s defense is a laughingstock. Riley did bring a Heisman Trophy winner to USC, so that’s his biggest plus. Overall, the impact’s been well below the hype. But you already knew that.
  • Johnny Nansen left Arizona to become co-defensive coordinator at Texas. He’s not expected to call the plays at Texas like he did at Arizona, so this might seem an odd move. However, he gets to reunite with Steve Sarkisian after being his wingman at Washington and USC. It’s a safe, comfortable move.

Nansen also gets to leave Arizona just in case things start to sour for Jedd Fisch, who definitely has his sights on other jobs. College coaches say Fisch covets the Florida job, which could open next year.

72 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Did Lincoln Riley Revolutionize The Pac-12?”

  1. Well thankfully this is the end of the rigged SEC CG – their stranglehold on the crown. Yes I realize they’ll have multiple claimants a mere 11 months hence ‘but’ their ability to rig it for their conf has been impacted by multiple entrants. The real shame is the demise of the Pac-12 and it would seem, looming, the same for the ACC even with their new 17+ members.

    Riley has been forced to eat a huge slice of humble pie and even more telling he knows he only has himself solely to blame. As such I see a true change in the program this coming year esp with Cohen as AD and Caruso behind her.

    I don’t have a fav this evening as I like both programs just sorry SEA failed to get into the playoffs and equally miffed DAL has a better seeding than they deserve.

    Go DET and HOU

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  2. “Overall, the [Wiley] impact’s been well below the hype. But you already knew that,”
    writes Wolf once again as he tells us what we already knew

    Did any NFL teams get left out of the playoffs?

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    1. John — Wish you were at yesterday’s post game presser to ask Pete Carroll that question [he had his chances —but as usual he tried to nurse too many less than touchdown 4th quarter leads]….
      P. S.
      I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter anymore at USC who Caruso backs….

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      1. Like Trump with the presidency Caruso is gearing up for another comeback try at the mayorship

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      3. Seahawks had 9 games in which the offense did not score a TD in the second half. Yet they were 6-3 in those games. Geno Smith also set an NFL record for 4th Quarter or Overtime TD passes that resulted in Seattle taking the lead with 7. Bizarre statistics.

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      1. That’s such a Big “If”, karma…..
        #WhatYouCall”FuckingOver””IsWhatTheNFLCalls”TheirJob”

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  4. Scott: Overall, the impact’s been well below the hype. But you already knew that.

    You have the blogger doubling down on his dick-ism and another individual who makes one excuse after another for Scott and posts from early AM to late PM daily trying to salvage what’s left here….. It’s sad but at the same time laughable.

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    1. Riley failed in his second year at USC. Have the bashers never failed at anything?

      I’m happy with the changes and the direction the program is headed. The #1 key to a winning team is good coaches. I think this group of coaches is pretty good. I had some concerns about the o-line coach, but think that he might be building o-lines from high school recruiting and development and that is better than transfers.

      USC still needs to figure out NIL to get the 5* recruits and I dont think that is Riley’s fault. But maybe he needs to get more involved with the alumni base to bring in some big donors.

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      1. “But maybe he needs to get more involved with the alumni base to bring in some big donors.”

        No, he and the AD better talk to Folt, she’s the one stopping the NIL. And you want a guy who seems to hate socializing talking to boosters ?

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      3. I’d think twice before firing Henson. Where else can you find a guy that is only 48 years old and has been the head O-Line coach for 15 years(14 of those years at major universities). If you check out those 15 years, they ran the ball well all but 3 years where they averaged 135-145 yards per game. Even at SC(2021-2022) the running backs have averaged 5.1 and 4.8 yards per carry. They haven’t rushed for as much yards per game at SC because they haven’t run the ball as much. Why they’re throwing the ball more at SC after the success he had running the ball at Oklahoma is a mystery. I suspect it’s because Caleb(who likes to throw the ball and throw it long) has been changing a lot of run plays into pass plays at the LOS. I notice he spends a lot of time on the sidelines talking to KK. KK is an air raid guy. He doesn’t like running the ball. But all that is speculation.

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      4. Game, her big accomplishment is presiding over the 2 biggest academic scandles in UNC’s history and getting g fired by the regents then getting a massive pay raise 2 months later by USC. In this day and age this can happen when the right boxes are checked. I happen semi often in years past with white males but not at this rate. Btw 20 years ago t there was a pool of 10 pro coaches hired fired and hired over and over no matter how bad they were. She’s in that new group of college presidents. Watch, Gay from Harvard will also be in that group too.

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  5. Riley inherited a football program that was dead. His first year impact exceeded expectations – 11-4 with a few points away from 13-1 and a pulled hamstring from a PAC 12 championship. And he has had some good recruiting classes particularly along the offensive line and receivers. He made one horrific decision – retaining Grinch and Williams but has now corrected the problem by firing Grinch and Williams and hiring Lynn, Entz, and Belk. Suggesting that Riley has not had a positive impact on the program is ridiculous. Does a Helton coached team beat Louisville.

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    1. OMFG, really ?

      The program is MAYBE headed in the right direction, if he continues with the idiotic Air Raid it’s still rudderless because he will have still refused to embrace physical football on BOTH sides of the ball.

      OL recruiting has been good ? Lot’s of 4-5 star kids there ? The OL can pass and run block ? He can’t recruit DL’s or LB’s for shit.

      Cohen MADE him fire Grinch or he’d still be there.

      I will give Riley some slack on NIL, for whatever reason USC won’t play that game but they better start or they are going to get buried.

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      1. I think the program is heading in the right direction Buddha and that’s the most important thing. Building a physical offensive line is key. I like the recruits they brought in last year and contrary to your assertions some of them were highly rate – Elijah Paige 93, Micah Banuelos 92, and Alina Noa 89. Further, they brought in the number one interior lineman for 2024 in Jason Zandamela at 96. If these guys continue to develop, we have the makings of a very physical offensive football team and I think Riley will adjust the formations and play calling accordingly. He ran the football at Oklahoma.

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      2. When Oregon, Washington and USC start competing in the Big 10, it is the Big 10 programs that will be needing to change to keep up. We have seen that this year as Pac-12 teams had a great record outside of conference.

        The NIL is preventing us from getting some 5* athletes and that is the whole reason we are not a top 10 program.

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      3. The NCAA or somebody must act to put in some kind of a salary cap. If not, NIL is going to ruin college football.

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      4. Salary cap is never going to happen, if the NCAA did that the liberal blacks in Congress and every lib state would have them in front of them ASAP explaining why they are limiting the earning potential of people of color and threatening them with anything and everything they could think of, the NCAA wants no part of that.

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      5. They had better do something. This will wreck college football. Even in the NFL, you can’t just go to any team you want to. They draft you to a certain team and you have to go. And as far as the money, they do have salary caps in the NFL. If what you are saying is true, why aren’t all these black groups going nuts about how the NFL is hurting minority blacks from making all the money they are capable of making? All I’m saying is that something will have to be done. If not, the teams with the big bucks will always be winning all of the championships because they will be the ones who have the best players and coaches. If you have the best coaches and the best players, you will win most of your games. Look at Mario Christobal. The only place that he has ever won is Oregon. Why? Because he was a great coach? Not hardly. It was because he had great players and great coaches. Money talks. Everything else walks.

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    2. Plow Horse – You are right on target here. The o-line is being developed with solid players last year and this year. I saw an interview with Hayden Treater online and that guy is way underrated. 6’7″ 320 lbs and he says 22% body fat, so he isnt all useless fat. Henson is getting alot of dual sport athletes who are big, so they will be nimble, but powerful. Treater reminds me of Raymond from last year. Raymond was listed at 265 lbs in the recruiting rankings, but showed up at 290 and was listed as 305 on the roster. Probably 320 by this year.

      USC has the size on the o-line now, and 3 of the 4 line positions are solid – Paige, Monheim, Noa/Pregnon. Great news that Monheim is coming back.

      Still questions, but I see why Riley is not replacing Henson.

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  6. Nansen comes from the Donte Williams school of coaching – all recruiting with no development and the inability to make game time adjustments. Have never heard of a defensive coordinator who will not call the defensive alignments but that shows what Sarkisian really thinks of Nansen’s coaching ability.

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  7. Scooter,

    Riley has not done a thing except bring in Williams. He did not evaluate himself and his staff before taking the SC job. He did not understand SC. If he had, he would have obatined a def. cordinator that could stop offenses. His offense was built on Williams and his scrambling. He did not embrace SC’s dna of running the ball. He playe the mike Leach style of football. Can’t do that. You have to run the ball for an average of 150 yards per game. Riley has to revamp or he will be running 150 yards from SC when he is dismissed.

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    1. Riley is a Leach disciple, we’ll see if he changes his approach to the run this year and playing physical football on BOTH side of the ball.

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      1. For 7 years at Oklahoma, Riley’s offenses ran the ball 55% of the time(and they ran it well). Check out the stats. When he was at ECU, he did run more of a Mike Leach air raid. But even there he did have great offenses. But his best offenses were at Oklahoma. In 2022 he ran the ball 47% of the time and in 2023 it was 43% of the time. I do believe he will start moving back to where he had his greatest offenses…..at Oklahoma.

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      2. That’s all well and good, but he hasn’t run the ball at USC. Now, is that because his OL sucks ? If so, make it better.

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    2. LR was running the offense for 7 years at Oklahoma(2015-2021). In those 7 years his offenses averaged(rushing yards/game) 222.1, 236.8, 217.8, 247.4, 240.2, 179.7 and 187.5. He ran the ball 55% of the time. LR ran more of an air raid at ECU (2010-2014). That’s because from 2003(his 1st year as a coach) through 2009, he coached under Mike Leach at TTU. He was definitely influenced by him. But when he went to Oklahoma he definitely changed his offense to a more balanced attack and he was very successful.

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  8. Here’s a fun fact

    Two of the NFL playoff games are on streaming only, so if you want to watch the Steelers v Bills or Dolphins v Chiefs games, you have to have Peacock + or Paramount +. On top of that, if you have DirecTV like I do, they are in a pissing match with Tegna Broadcasting and have blacked out the local NBC affiliate where I live since November 30th, so I most likely won’t get to see the Browns v Texans or Lions v Rams games.

    Remember the days when you just turned on CBS or NBC and watched the games ? Isn’t progress and greed wonderful.

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    1. We’ve come too far & are way too advanced to ever again watch sports, news and movies for free by flipping a switch….
      #ILikeHowSpectrumAdds$20ToBillEvery4Months

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      1. It’s called free-range capitalism…..screw the consumer and make that dollar stretch further. It’s only an issue when it affects one’s pocket!

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      2. What we had here in Maui over the summer…and what you’re [sadly] gonna be seeing all over America soon…is disaster capitalism.
        #TheMostCynicalFormYet

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  9. Is there any point in following the regular season, especially baseball with 162 games and basketball with 82?–

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    1. Both of those sports are boring as fuck these days. Baseball is home run or strike out and basketball is 3’s, 3’s and more 3’s. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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  10. Oh, Grabby….or So Cal,
    Maybe it’s time to make Gabby go kooky again by posting a photo of Biden being led off stage by the hand by Mommy Jill……

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      2. It’s called responding in-kind, dipshit. Quit making lame ass comments and pouting.

        Hope you have a better day!

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  11. Lincoln Riley has shown the Trojans fans who he is, so please believe him. His uninspired recruiting reflects lower level bottom 25 schools, not a top 5 program. So unless he has a magic wand 🪄 to wave over his team, they’ll finish in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. He’s a Washington St, Texas Tech type of college, and should not be in control of a national power

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    1. From what I can see, things are changing as far as recruiting is concerned. It doesn’t matter how INSPIRED you are as a recruiter anymore. If you are an inspired recruiter offering the recruits SoCals beaches and good weather and Oregon has an uninspired recruiter offering a Brinks truck, where do you think the recruit will go. NIL changes everything.

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      1. Nebraska’s coach Ruhle said he has had recruits walk into his office and announce that they got a NIL offer from a competitor

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      2. There’s probably some players who want to go to a certain school and don’t care about the money. You’ll always find the exception. But most players are not going to turn down a boatload of money just because they like the beauty of the campus. This may be the only time in their life they have to get that kind of money.

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      6. Riley says that USC’s NIL deals are competitive but the money is back loaded. They generally don’t offer NIL money to unproven Freshman but 3rd or 4th year starting lineman get as much or more than lineman in other programs. If this is correct, why not offer a fixed amount to every Freshman recruit, say $40,000′ to cover spending money. Although this is not a great amount, it may ease the financial burden on a recruits’ parent who feels obligated to provide some spending money. If the player is really in it for the money, we lose the recruit. But if he really wants to attend USC, this allows him to do so without burdening his parents. He may even be able to buy a few airline tickets for them.

        The problem I see is that Folt may not go for even this payment. She will probably want women basketball and softball to receive an equal amount which is ridiculous because football is the only sport that generates revenue.

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  12. It is the last true “Rose Bowl” game with the best of the Pac-12 versus the best of the ‘Big-10, but why did they move the Rose Bowl to Houston?

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  13. Bhudda
    Maybe Kingsbury is working behind his back. KK and Caleb are always talking on the sidelines. What are they talking about? I don’t think that it is about the weather. I know one thing……KK does not like to run the ball and Caleb loves to throw it(and to throw it deep on every play).

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