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Lincoln Riley called a fraud as USC falls to 7-5, Dan Mullen suggests hot seat
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Lincoln Riley is being labeled a fraud. Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen even asked if the USC coach should be on the hot seat instead of UCLA’s Chip Kelly.
Things have completely fallen apart for the Trojans, who closed out the regular season at home on Saturday with a 38-20 loss to UCLA. The Bruins entered the game with losses in back-to-back games. But beating USC means the once-promising Trojans campaign will end with losses in five of its last six games.
Riley fired his defensive coordinator after a 52-42 loss to Washington. The Trojans have given up 36 and 38 points in the two games since.
More concerning? Many looked at the Trojans against the Bruins on Saturday and accused the team of quitting.
USC falls to 7-5 with the loss. It entered the year ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. After an 11-3 season in Year 1 under Riley, many believed USC should contend for a spot in the College Football playoff. It had the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback (Caleb Williams) and retooled the offense with what looked like a wealth of skill talent.
The Trojans opened the year 6-0. But anything less would have been a shocker. The last six games — Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA — were going to make or break the team.
At this point, it’s safe to say the Trojans have broken.
And Riley is on the hook for that. Social media absolutely lit him up as the game wound down.
Are we sure that they have the right coach on the hot seat in LA.
— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) November 18, 2023
Jedd Fisch > Lincoln Riley, everyone knows this
— ?BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL? (@edsbs) November 18, 2023
Lincoln Riley getting fired hard after 2024 if he's still at USC, imo. This team quit like dogs.
— David Woods (@daviddavidwoods) November 18, 2023
Lincoln Riley is going to do *well* over $1 million per win this year. Good work if you can get it
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) November 18, 2023
Lincoln Riley on the sidelines in El Paso for the Sun Bowl pic.twitter.com/0bH0krrW6l
— David Lyons (@dlyons2009) November 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/A_G_Haubner/status/1726014956007760236
Finally, Lincoln Riley will experience the USC rite of passage that is taking a preseason top 10 team to wearing a sombrero at the Sun Bowl.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 18, 2023
After last season head coach Lincoln Riley wanted to keep staff continuity. This offseason he is going to have to make some MAJOR changes and not just with the DC. What a disaster of a finish to 2023.
— Ryan Abraham (@insidetroy) November 18, 2023
Oklahoma fans, you were right on Lincoln Riley.
We all owe you an apology.
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) November 18, 2023
So, in Lincoln Riley's second season as head coach, USC:
– fielded one of the worst defenses in CFB
– lost 5 of its last 6, inc. both UCLA and Notre Dame
– wasted Caleb Williams' likely final year in college
– failed to produce any confidence that the B10 won't pick them apart— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) November 18, 2023
Lincoln Riley is going to go 7-5 in year two, with the reigning Heisman winner, capped by getting absolutely curb-stomped at home by one of his program’s chief rivals.
Interesting offseason ahead for USC.
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) November 18, 2023
I mean, I really, really, really don’t want Chip Kelly to be head coach at UCLA.
That said, let’s take a moment to discuss what an utter fraud Lincoln Riley is, and take time to enjoy Heritage Hall ablaze with shame.
— Brian Murphy (@knbrmurph) November 18, 2023
Lincoln Riley at USC pic.twitter.com/gyreeN0A4X
— Chris Castellani (@Castellani2014) November 18, 2023
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
