The USC football program might not be in a state of crisis, but it’s certainly not where it hoped to be through seven games in the 2023 season. The 6-1 record isn’t the main source of worry; it’s how bad the team looks.
USC has been a bad team the past nine quarters. The Trojans haven’t looked like a good team since the early third quarter of the Colorado game. The Trojans have been a mediocre team over the past month, playing well only in the first 30 minutes against Colorado.
This team isn’t improving. Players aren’t developing, for the most part. There are a few exceptions, but that won’t produce a complete team.
We talked about the state of the program at The Voice of College Football with Tim Prangley. The video is below, after our College Wire Pac-12 links.
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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.
USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.
Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.
Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.
Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.