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Same old USC defense.
Here we go again.
Lincoln Riley will never get it done.
Go ahead, pick your gripe about the Trojans — they’ve all been floating around.
What else could one objectively say after USC barely held on for a victory over Rutgers on the same field where the Scarlet Knights had been trampled by UMass two weeks earlier?
Fan and media crosshairs were squarely fixed on Riley after his team had to sweat out what was supposed to be a final warmup before the schedule stiffened.
Most of the criticism has been aimed at a defense that gave up 460 yards and 35 points — only a touchdown less than Rutgers managed in its first two games combined.
One-third of the way through the regular season, Gary Patterson’s arrival hasn’t appreciably changed the fortunes of a defense that now ranks No. 60 nationally in yards allowed per game (317.5) and No. 73 in average points allowed (22.8) — and that’s after facing Louisiana, Fresno State, San Jose State and arguably the Big Ten’s worst team.
So, what does Riley have to say for himself and a defense that’s been panned as no better than what came before it under Alex Grinch and D’Anton Lynn?
“Yeah, I base my opinions on what I see on tape, I base my opinions on what I see in the thousands of hours that we put into this and that’s kind of where my opinions stay, so I really don’t have a response to that,” Riley said Tuesday when asked by the California Post about widespread criticism.
“Our job is to win, our job is to continue to battle and continue to improve. We need to play a lot better on third down and fourth down than we did the other night, and that’s the biggest thing that we took away from that. So, we made a lot of big plays, but we’ve got to play steadier, and we’ve got to get off the field when we get the opportunities.”
Riley was referencing the Scarlet Knights converting on 6 of 11 third downs and 3 of 4 fourth downs —something that might be understandable against Ohio State but not one of the worst teams in a Power Four conference.
What’s most concerning to USC fans is that Riley’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff since his arrival nearly five years ago doesn’t seem any closer given the Trojans apparently haven’t solved their biggest ongoing problem.
And the timing couldn’t be worse considering who’s coming to town.
The big, bad Oregon Ducks — even with their own recent misfortune — will test the Trojans’ defense and their resolve when they arrive at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Riley is 0-2 against Oregon — with both games coming at Autzen Stadium, meaning there will be even fewer excuses if his Trojans can’t pull through this time.
USC’s poor showing against Rutgers, combined with Oregon having stumbled the previous week against Oklahoma State, have removed a bit of the luster from what was expected to be a September showdown between the No. 12 Trojans (4-0) and No. 20 Ducks (2-1).
USC was passed over for ESPN’s “College GameDay” once again, the Trojans last having hosted the event in 2013. Instead of hanging out at the Coliseum on Saturday, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee & Co. will be in Knoxville for Tennessee-Texas.
It’s still by far the biggest game on the West Coast, with USC announcing a sellout last week.
“This game should have a lot riding on it and be important,” Riley said. “It’s important to the fan bases, it’s important to college football. … It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”
How fiery might Oregon coach Dan Lanning get in his pregame speech one year after ripping off several zingers before the Ducks pulled away for a 42-27 triumph?
“They’re living off their history,” Lanning said, going on to get even more personal.
“Matt Leinart, he ain’t walking through there.”
“Why are you wearing black? You’re going to a Trojan funeral.”
Will Riley throw any verbal counterpunches before the biggest home game of his time with the Trojans? (And perhaps more importantly, will the footage be released?)
A loss would be devastating for either team, likely knocking the Ducks out of CFP contention. For USC, a setback would put its CFP hopes on the ropes before the end of September given the gauntlet ahead.
With games on the road against No. 13 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana remaining — not to mention a home game against No. 7 Ohio State — the Trojans need a win of this magnitude to bolster their CFP hopes and quiet the growing unease among their fan base.
Noting that nothing is linear in college football, Riley intimated that there’s no way to predict a team’s success — or failure — from one week to the next.
“Each game’s its own game and you have to understand and you have to learn from it,” Riley said, “but just because something happened in one game for any side — good or bad — has no bearing on what’s going to happen the next week.”
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