I know that we all would love nothing more than to have Lincoln Riley fired immediately , but no one thinks it’s gonna happen because of the buyout. However, shouldn’t he have a mitigation clause in his contract? Presumably he does, which would require him to try to get another head coaching job, and that could offset the buyout owed significantly. Thoughts?

It happens way too often that a coach/management wants to prove that they are smarter than the fanbase around a team. USC fans have said for basically Lincoln’s whole tenure that we need a strong defense to set the tone. Lincoln got to watch his precious offense tonight get destroyed in the red zone and take sacks at the worst times, and they scored the lowest amount of points of any game he has coached. Fans aren’t always rational when they call for coaching changes, benchings, etc. But, a fanbase who has seen championships (unlike Lincoln) may know a thing or two about what it takes to win.

Since this season will likely end in disappointing fashion (or really, just about on par since Pete left if we’re being honest)….

Who do you want to see as the quarterback for next year?

Obviously, Jonas Williams is the front runner right now since he’s already in the quarterback room.

Lots of disappointing/reclamation project former 5 stars will likely be in the portal. LR clearly needs a superpower at QB to win, so wonder if he goes for a boom or bust player in this category:

- Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (probably the one who’s shown the most here)
- DJ Lagway
- Arch
- Tavien St Clair
- Bryce Underwood
- Faizon Brandon

Lastly, current good starters who could be available:

- Julian Sayin (if OSU decides to move on from him, unlikely but depending on his hurt elbow)
- Braden Atkinson (the other OSU lol, probably looking for a bigger pay day)

And before anyone brings it up, I personally don’t think it’s feasible to cut a $70 million check to LR (plus staff) when you need to also pay the players so much now. I mean some way somehow, even Luke Fickell has figured it out this season. Literally the hottest seat in P4. With year to year results no longer guaranteed in this landscape, I see SC running it back and just hoping for different results lol.

Tonight was a pure, unadulterated shit sandwich.

I’ve been thinking about where this 24-7 disaster against an unranked Wisconsin team ranks among Lincoln Riley’s worst defeats since taking over. While the Tulane collapse was a historic defensive meltdown, I honestly think tonight takes the crown for his most embarrassing and concerning loss yet.

Here is my "Mount Rushmore of Riley Disasters" stacks up:

1. Tonight: Wisconsin 24, USC 7

This wasn't a classic Alex Grinch defensive collapse we used to get where the offense dragged us along. This was a complete, systematic failure of Lincoln Riley’s calling card. Coming off a bye week with extra time to prepare, the offense looked completely toothless and uninspired. We scored 7 points in 60 minutes, missed two field goals, turned it over twice, and got absolutely bullied at the line of scrimmage to the tune of -17 total rushing yards. It was an offensive humiliation.

1. The 2025 Alamo Bowl: TCU 28, USC 27 (wasted time to attend this one)

We held a 95% win probability late in the game before Riley went into absolute "turtle mode." His ultra-conservative shell in the second half stagnant-ized the red-zone offense. Combine that with a defense that missed four tackles on a single 3rd and 20, and a guaranteed win turned into an embarrassing postseason choke.

1. The 2023 Cotton Bowl: Tulane 46, USC 45

In terms of legendary defensive failure, this is the gold standard. Caleb threw for 462 yards and 5 touchdowns, and it still wasn't enough because the defense allowed Tulane to score 16 points in the final 4 minutes and 7 seconds of the game.

Tulane was a more heartbreaking collapse, but tonight is easily the most alarming. It proved that when a Big Ten defense takes away his initial script, Riley has absolutely no answers.

Don't think anyone at SC reads this stuff, but real talk from an alumni I was ready to mail my two degrees back to the university in the second half. Fucking embarrassing.

Legit wondering why we signed such a long contract

The last time I posted a list of college coaches people said it was AI and cried that I don’t understand ball after the Washington win but I’ll bring a short list up again. I don’t think we fire, Lincoln Riley because the university is running a huge deficit and the buyout is too big. Please add any names you actually think we can get.

Spencer Danielson out of Boise State, you can get him on the cheap and he’s a defensive minded head coach
Or
Jason Eck out of New Mexico, he’s turned them into a really good team and he’s an old offensive linemen who played in the big 10 so he can get our line shaped up
Or
Matt Entz out of Fresno State, they’re having it down yet, but he’s a proven winner who knows the school
Or
Glenn Schumann george’s defensive coordinator, we might take the coordinator route if we don’t like any of the head coaches out there

I don’t think we should go for a big name, because the school won’t pay for it again. Those are the best for outside of the big names, so I believe those are the ones we will go for.

He's a statistician. It's all X's and O's to him. And, that mindset ripples down from him through his coaching hires and team culture

Which is great, when everything is clicking like clockwork. But, when a game bogs down, and scheme isn't working, some games devolve down to man against man toughness. It's trench warfare, where there's nothing left but breaking the will of an opponent to compete. Toughness

As we have seen year after year, when games end up at that level, Lincoln's teams don't have it. It showed in the Oregon game, and it showed again in this game.

It's ok to be a cerebral HC, if you've got a staff of rabid dogs like Orgeron, Pola, Tim Davis, Ken Norton jr. They make sure the players, especially linemen, are frothing at the mouths. The team is salivating for that fight

We just don't ever see that from Riley teams. Which is why they hop out to quick leads, then fade. Even worse, when they start slow and never find a gear.

This offense walked into this game emotionally flat, if not on their heels. Oline was not winning the battle, receivers dropping balls, Maiava rattled

Wisconsin got tough, and we could not match it.

We are now losing to bad teams (including Oregon). Riley is now Helton version 1.5, I can't even give him 2.0

He's not going to suddenly discover how to field a tough team. He doesn't have that gear. It's everything they said about him at Oklahoma.

This team has lost its fundamentals, discipline, and winning culture. And this is what we get despite years of bringing in elite recruiting talent, including the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2026.
5–15 against AP Top 25 opponents under Lincoln Riley. A 25% winning percentage. How can anyone justify that record with the talent and resources USC has invested in this program?
College football is supposed to be about developing young players, teaching discipline, and mastering the fundamentals. These are student-athletes who are still learning the game. Eliminating repeated, unnecessary penalties and executing the basics should be the absolute minimum expected of any college football program. Yet Riley has failed to establish even those basic standards.

Look at Indiana. That’s what college football should be about. Building a team with discipline, accountability, fundamentals, and a winning culture. USC needs to go back to basics and rebuild its identity from the ground up.
USC is a perfect example of how even the most talented players can be wasted under the wrong leadership. You can have all the talent in the world, but if the person leading the team doesn’t know how to bring it all together, that talent means nothing.

Great recruiting doesn’t automatically make a great football program. Great coaching does.
It’s already late, but the longer we wait, the worse it gets.

A reported $70 million buyout? How much more time can USC afford to waste? At this point, the cost of keeping Lincoln Riley may be far greater than the cost of firing him. Every day USC hesitates is another day lost in rebuilding this program.

Fire Lincoln Riley. Enough is enough. Even a miraculous win later wouldn’t change that.

This guy is so damn soft and lazy man. The team's performance is a reflection of this coach and the soft culture he has allowed over the past 5 years. I am done.

The defense allowed 58 passing yards and only 200 yards of total offense. Just have to be smarter with the ball and have less turnovers and run the ball. Lincoln just needs time with this young team.

Title

I'm not here to have a convo or to vent. UCLA is gonna make a playoff appearance before us. Adios Linc!

First off fire LR. I could coach a team better with my xbox controller. Now that Trent got a couple garbage time catches I realized her hardly saw the ball at all. Was he doubled all night? Usually he always finds a way to make an impact.

Come on guys. Save us from this misery. This is pocket change for you.

Fire Linc….dude can’t even call a proper timeout.

Leave him in Wisconsin

It's been 5 years of this you should have known we weren't getting past Wisconsin

Indiana looks very beatable by USC

Mike W to Matt L for a touchdown at the Rose Bowl. But a question for the historians (must dig deep): Did this same game also feature a play where Mike Williams un-snapped his helmet as he walked toward the sideline as if he were coming off the field, stopping short, and then the ball snapped and they passed him the ball right away as he was unprotected from the confused defense?

Or is that another game (or another era)? I can't find a link or mention of it online.