We will not do our USC report card for this week, because the Trojans’ 2023 season is now a failure. An F.
Whatever grades one might assign to different players is fundamentally irrelevant now that the season is a disaster. USC technically could still mount a rally in the next month, but not one soul thinks this team will beat both Washington and Oregon and make it to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Championship. That stamps the season as a total failure.
USC will play in the Las Vegas or Sun Bowl. That’s Lane Kiffin 2012 territory.
All of this brings up a key, central point about Lincoln Riley: We can take issue with the things he says to the media, and we can nitpick the tone or inflection or point of emphasis he brings to the table. However, those things don’t matter if the team is winning games and playing well.
Because the team is losing and playing poorly, the press conference remarks become more glaring and annoying.
Let’s go through these remarks and paint the fuller picture of a program that is in trouble and needs major changes: