We said this a lot throughout the offseason: Of course Lincoln Riley can win in Year 1 at USC. We don’t have to wait two years. We don’t have to go through a long rebuilding process.
He’s Lincoln Freakin’ Riley. He’s bringing Caleb Williams with him! And oh look! Jordan Addison is coming! So is Travis Dye! And Mekhi Blackmon! And oh, there’s Eric Gentry coming aboard, too!
Lincoln Riley quickly assembled a roster with quality players. Why wouldn’t USC win a lot of games in Year 1 under Riley? People focused on the new faces and the lack of roster cohesion, forgetting that the new faces were really good and coachable players.
Yet, there are some surprises attached to this USC team. We can be honest about that. Let’s go into the details on how Lincoln Riley has succeeded in the first half of his first season at USC: