USC Needs to Make the Right Decision and Say 'Adios' to Lincoln Riley - LA Times

USC Needs to Make the Right Decision and Say ‘Adios’ to Lincoln Riley – LA Times

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USC needs to make the right decision and say adios to Lincoln Riley.

Five years, and no playoff. Five years, and one win over a top-10 team. Five years, and one win over a ranked opponent on the road. Five years, and enough.

Following yet another disheartening 27-13 defeat against defending champion Indiana at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, the Lincoln Riley chapter has reached a point where it simply must be concluded. Following another frustrating contest marked by turnovers, penalties, and unfulfilled potential, USC management needs to message their head coach utilizing the exact term he chose when abruptly wrapping up his postgame media session after defeating Ohio State. Adios.

Even if he manages to secure victories in his final two matchups to reach a 9-3 record, Riley should still be dismissed because that performance falls short of College Football Playoff standards.

Riley should be shown the door even if he somehow manages a triumphant result in the upcoming season finale against UCLA, given that he has already surrendered all momentum and local enthusiasm to Bob Chesney and his remarkable squad.

In five years, his 42-21 mark is only percentage points better than Clay Helton’s 46-24 mark when he was fired. In five years, he has beaten only one top-10 team, he is 6-16 against top-25 opponents, and he is 1-8 against ranked opponents on the road.

The matchup against No. 9 Indiana served as his final opportunity for redemption, his ultimate shot at reaching the postseason for the first time, and his last chance to fulfill the expectations set by all those promotional billboards around town.

USC Needs to Make the Right Decision and Say 'Adios' to Lincoln Riley - LA Times

“The Time Is: Now.”

As it turned out, “The Time is Never.” Facing an Indiana squad operating without their primary quarterback and top running back, the Trojans sabotaged a solid performance through undisciplined miscues, accumulating 87 penalty yards, giving up three turnovers, and failing on two field goal attempts.

The score remained level into the closing moments of the third quarter, but because the Trojans have consistently been outgained in fourth quarters throughout the season, they ultimately collapsed yet again.

“We took it over when we had to,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said to CBS.

The Trojans clearly do not believe, and if they do, they do not show it. They never take over when they have to. This was just the latest in a season filled with collapses.

Earlier in the year against Oregon, Riley essentially condoned aggressive and taunting actions from Desman Stephens II after the linebacker delivered a hit that knocked quarterback Dante Moore out of the contest. There was the loss to Wisconsin in which USC had minus-17 yards rushing. Then came Saturday’s contest, where the Trojans put up 409 yards against the country’s fourth-best defense yet still fell short because they surrendered 451 yards.

Indiana opened the scoring with an initial-drive touchdown, after which the Trojans responded with a field goal prior to a second Indiana field goal that seemingly locked up a 10-3 halftime advantage.

But right before the intermission, the Trojans sparked to life; taking advantage of a Deven Bryant interception, USC drove 60 yards in just 16 seconds, culminating in a seven-yard scoring pass from Jayden Maiava to Zacharyus Williams that leveled the contest at 10-10.

After trading field goals at the onset of the third period, the Hoosiers used a pair of explosive plays to march 75 yards, taking the lead late in the quarter courtesy of a one-yard touchdown plunge by Khobie Martin, which was set up by his own 37-yard rush.

The Trojans attempted to answer with a 65-yard march that ultimately dissolved, derailed by a second missed kick when Caden Chittenden hooked a 27-yard attempt.

The Trojans assembled another lengthy march shortly thereafter, only to see it halted when Hoosier defender Isaiah Jones picked off Maiava at the 7-yard line with 6:35 left on the clock. The Hoosiers capitalized with a scoring march highlighted by an ambitious 42-yard touchdown strike from Grant Wilson to Charlie Becker, sealing the outcome.

“We had some real opportunities to win this game. … Play for play, we’re probably even,” Riley said afterward. “We had too many mistakes.”

Those mistakes included three dropped interceptions, which turned into 10 Indiana points. “We’ve definitely come a long way as a program, but we still have a little ways to go,” Riley said.

With this kind of talent, Riley is right: They are close. But as a coach who seems better suited as an offensive coordinator than a leader, he is not the man to carry the Trojans over the finish line.

“I believe in myself. … We know how close we are. … We’re gonna keep battling. We will get there,” Riley said.

There is one specific statement from his postgame media session that remains entirely indisputable. “This needs to be a championship-level program,” he said. He is right. That is why his continued presence as the boss is so wrong.

More on Lincoln Riley: Lincoln Riley Praises Elite Indiana Defense Ahead of USC Matchup

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