Lincoln Riley to USC – The Meaning of the Trojan and Pac-12

Six years ago, then-USC athletic director Pat Haden led some reporters into an unpolished conference room and announced that the school would be suspending Steve Sarkisian indefinitely. Sarkisian would eventually be fired, but on that Sunday, Haden announced that Clay Helton would be interim coach.

It was an important moment. Helton had no head coach experience, but his lack of gear appealed to the program and his stability and affability made him the ideal candidate to save face. However, USC needs to save more than just face. It needs to revive its football program. Six years later, Helton failed to do so and was gone. So did Haden and his successor, Lynn Swann.

Such has been the story of USC for the past decade: a game of musical chairs at the top, while the guy called shots on the field failed to bring USC to the top. But new sports director Mike Bohn has opened up to a clear roster and now, a blockbuster hire. Via Landing Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma As the next head coach of the Trojans, USC has officially begun a new era. So, how does Riley fit into USC, and what challenges and opportunities await him?

What are the expectations for Riley at USC?

Hiring a home moderator brings with it expectations about a home operator. If USC hires a less successful coach, it could be seen as reshaping a program that has fallen on hard times over the past decade. However, with the arrival of Riley, the expectation of success is more or less immediate. It’s clear that the message USC wants to send when hiring Riley is that the Trojans are ready to win again at all costs.

The fact that Riley has given job signals is, in part, that USC is still one of the best jobs out there. The big-name brand and infrastructure have enjoyed a lot of success, but USC’s location on the West Coast and in a conference room begging for a team to truly dominate it makes the potential sky-high. That’s why the immediate expectations are a Pac-12 title, and certainly a place in the College Football Knockout Qualifier sooner rather than later. Riley has led Oklahoma to three playoffs in four years, while USC has yet to even sniff the playoffs. And it’s safe to say it will be easier to get back there in Pac-12 than in Oklahoma once the Sooners join the SEC.

There’s a lot of work to be done to bring USC back to the top and it won’t happen overnight, but Riley’s pedigree, both on and off the field, means the Trojans are poised to take the lead. USC made a successful comeback. – Paolo Uggetti

What challenges does he face?

Prior to Bohn’s arrival at Heritage Hall, USC had continued on its own terms with internal hires – athletic directors Pat Haden and Lynn Swann, coaches Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian – assisting both on and off the pitch. . There has been a series of scandals at the university, a new president and countless other controversies.

Meanwhile, the product in the field is much lower than the USC standard. Over the past four seasons, USC has gone 22-20 and has struggled to find consistency and an identity in attack, while losing any physical fitness when defending. reign. Whether due to injury or poor decision-making, Trojans have circled a number of midfielders, including highly regarded prospects like JT Daniels, and have yet to find anyone to deliver on the form of play and form. excitement like the midfielders of the past. In the trenches, they are no longer consistently producing all-American curators who can compete with the SEC and Big Ten powerhouses.

All of this leads to another challenge: a general sense of frustration and apathy from the USC fan base. Just look at the pictures of the nearly empty LA Coliseum that pop up every Saturday this season. While there has been a positive cultural shift behind the scenes over the past few years, Riley will have a noble task in making that a tangible thing on the field.

The fact that the Trojans can no longer fully rely on the legacy left by Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and the rest of the team. For years, it seemed that program participants lacked the self-discipline to see how they were losing to the rest of the college football world. But it seems the new administration is aware of the work that needs to be done – hiring Riley only confirms that.

However, it won’t be easy. The Trojan is currently a permanent element. USC has always had the right tools at its disposal, and now Riley will have to face the burden of fulfilling expectations in a place where one never stops believing it must be at the top of the world of college football. – Uggetti

Can Riley turn around USC’s recruiting efforts?

USC has struggled to retain Southern California players over the past few years as blue-blooded teammates like Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State have invaded the state and eliminated top rookies. Just look at the quarterbacks leading some of the country’s top teams: Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral are all California products.

Riley, who has coached two Heisman award-winning midfielders, can fix that in no time. In fact, he could have fixed that, as we say. Five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, who plays at Los Alamitos High School in California, has committed to Oklahoma. Now, he can still play for Riley and stay at home. So can collect five-star wide Makai Lemon. Five-star rerun Raleek Brown, an Oklahoma commit from Southern California, told ESPN on Sunday that Riley’s move changed everything for him.

From a recruiting standpoint, Riley’s move is a seismic one. His presence on the West Coast will have a mitigating effect on other shows in and out of the region. And for USC, it allowed the Trojans to regain their positions in the West while being able to recruit nationally at a high level. They’re still the best-positioned Pac-12 team to compile a national championship-winning lineup; they just squandered that opportunity in the last few years. Case in point: USC only has a total of seven commitments in the 2022 pool with an early signing date occurring in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is ranking for another top 10 class. – Uggetti

What does it mean for USC offenses?

There is a popular opinion that USC needs to play a certain way. Professional style, running, etc. Those voices got even louder after the Air Raid installed by Graham Harrell didn’t bring the success USC expected. It’s a ridiculous way of looking at things, and it would be funny to see those wanting to see the USC go back to its roots briefly turning 180 degrees when Bohn landed Riley, who was reportedly is college football’s most respected attacking coach at the moment.

Riley has more possession than USC under Harrell, but the way he built his squad at Oklahoma is very similar to how USC has been built. Over the past three years, Oklahoma has held the ball 46.9% of the time compared to USC’s 37.8%. Of Oklahoma’s total yards, 59.2% arrived via airmail, 72% to USC. Riley’s reliance on more mobile midfielders in recent years – Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Caleb Williams – represents a trend that USC has never really embraced. The Trojan has had sports quarterbacks in the past, but no real dual threat like Riley’s QB at Oklahoma. Baker Mayfield’s success under Riley suggests that’s not necessarily a prerequisite, but the expectation is that Riley will prioritize more mobile midfielders in the future. – Kyle Bonagura

What does it mean for the Pac-12?

As the Pac-12’s reputation has eroded over the years, the general solution to its troubles has always revolved around USC. While there have been other schools that have enjoyed high-level success over the decades — most notably Oregon, Washington, and Stanford — none of them have had enough remote memory to resonate around the world. country the way USC can when it attacks on all turrets.

The Pete Carroll-era Trojans are a prime example, of course, and as much fun as Oregon’s Chip Kelly and recently recruited Mario Cristobal teams, it’s only different when it takes place in Los Angeles. A dominant USC has the potential to increase the value of conference media rights deals. It adds a layer of credibility to the currently nonexistent conference. If USC reaches its potential, it will force other schools to invest to try to keep up.

With Riley on board, those things seem not only possible, but also expected. His arrival will certainly make it more difficult for teams to win the Pac-12, but the trickle-down effect will help the entire convention improve its standing relative to the rest of the county. – Bonagura