USC football just served up a “pathetic display” against Wisconsin, but here is the real gut punch for anyone who believed in Lincoln Riley: he had two full weeks to get his team right, two weeks on the practice field to regroup for the stretch run of the season, and they came out *worse*. This isn’t just a loss, it’s a decisive one that leaves trust in Riley shredded.
The Game Was a Decisive Disaster
From the moment the whistle blew, it felt off. USC couldn’t run the ball at all, leaving them completely exposed. Wisconsin just flat out dominated at the line of scrimmage, especially after halftime. Think about it: the Badgers came out of the tunnel for the third quarter, marched down the field, and scored a touchdown on a drive that ate up nearly six minutes. From that point on, it was a grind. Wisconsin just kept chewing clock, gradually overwhelming USC in the fourth quarter. They led by ten points or more for over 23 minutes in the second half. That’s not a close game, folks. That’s a beatdown. Quarterback Jayden Maiava, despite Riley generally doing a good job with him, clearly wasn’t prepared, throwing two first-quarter interceptions that set a terrible tone. Honestly, Riley did nothing well in this game, especially considering he had two weeks to get it right.
Riley’s System Is Failing in Year 5
It’s not just the offense, though. Special teams? A total disaster. USC missed two field goals, and one of those was blocked because the kick protection unit failed. This isn’t a one-off problem either; Lincoln Riley’s special teams have been consistently bad, and here we are in Year 5, and nothing has changed. And that ground game? Still nowhere to be found. The Trojans were smothered by Wisconsin’s defensive front all night. Even worse, Riley got absolutely schooled by Luke Fickell. Fickell’s been a below-average coach at Wisconsin, maybe a bit better this season but still not great in Madison overall. Yet, on Saturday night, he ran circles around Riley, rolling out a far better plan for Riley’s offense than anything Riley cooked up in return. Fickell’s been on the hot seat himself the past few years, so Riley’s failure here just throws a spotlight on his own coaching chair in Los Angeles. Add to that the fact that new strength coach Trumain Carroll isn’t yielding results; USC was clearly second best in physical prowess against Wisconsin. And the penalties! A horrible pass interference and a careless late-hit penalty aided Wisconsin touchdown drives. That “clean performance” against Penn State? Yeah, that was an aberration, an outlier, not the norm for this team.
So, here we are in Year 5 under Lincoln Riley, watching a team get worse after two weeks off. Why, after all of this, would anyone expect Year 6 to be any different? The hot seat in Los Angeles isn’t just warm anymore, it’s in oven-bake territory.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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