Tag: Lincoln Riley Oklahoma

Caleb Williams becomes USC’s 8th Heisman Trophy winner

1st USC winner since Reggie in 2005. 1st USC Heisman QB since Leinart. 3rd #USC QB to win the Heisman this century. Lincoln Riley’s 3rd #Heisman QB in 6 seasons.

When Lincoln Riley came to USC, the foremost thought was that he would transform the Trojan football program, and he has. The main point of focus was to compete for the Pac-12 championship and eventually (in two or three years) make the College Football Playoff. Riley got really close. He didn’t win, but he did lift USC back to the top tier of college football, back to a place of national relevance.

Saturday night in New York, USC didn’t finish second.

Caleb Williams, the quarterback who came with Riley from the University of Oklahoma to Los Angeles, became USC’s first Heisman Trophy winner since Reggie Bush in 2005. He makes USC the first school with eight men to claim the Heisman Trophy on Heisman Night. Reggie Bush was officially stripped of his 2005 Heisman, but he celebrated a Heisman victory on Heisman Night 17 years ago. If you want to be very technical and precise about it, USC has eight men who claimed a Heisman Trophy victory on Heisman Night. That’s a fact regardless of the official record books and their vacated/stripped distinctions.

More on Caleb Williams and his Heisman victory below:

Lincoln Riley’s remarkable streak as a college head coach continues at USC

Lincoln Riley continued one of his most impressive streaks as a collegiate head coach this year. Six regular seasons have all met high standards.

There are lots of impressive facts and statistics one can mention when Lincoln Riley is the topic of conversation.

The man has four College Football Playoff appearances on his resume, three as a head coach. He has won four Big 12 championships and will try to win a conference title this Friday when USC plays Utah in Las Vegas.

Today — November 28, 2022 — is the one-year anniversary of Riley’s arrival at USC as the program’s new head coach, In that year, Riley has completely transformed the program. USC went from being 4-8 last year to 11-1 (with more games to play) this year.

So much about Riley is hugely impressive, but in the midst of all the facts one can mention about him, a particular streak stands out. That streak was continued in 2022, and we’ll discuss it below:

Did Lane Kiffin just have his Lincoln Riley 2021 moment at Ole Miss?

Some analysts think Ole Miss’s blowout L at Arkansas shows Lane Kiffin has mentally checked out, like Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma in late 2021.

Oh, boy.

It was impossible to avoid noticing how non-competitive Ole Miss was this past week against Arkansas. Sure, the Rebels faced the very real possibility of losing. The fact that the Rebels lost was hardly shocking. They just had a tough game against Alabama. They were physically beaten up and they just played a mentally draining game. Arkansas got quarterback K.J. Jefferson back in the lineup, and Jefferson played well. He looked physically fresh after missing some games with injuries.

Yet: Ole Miss didn’t really even show up.

Some commentators brought up the unavoidable point: Was this an example of Lane Kiffin being mentally done — having his mind on his next job and not his current one? Hashtag #WarEagle. Hashtag #LaneKiffinToAuburn.

This sounds familiar if you are an Oklahoma fan … and a USC fan.

Let’s explore this idea: