USC just got hit with a double whammy: a disappointing loss to the Oregon Ducks over the weekend, followed by some absolutely savage post-game shots from Oregon coach Dan Lanning that have Lincoln Riley scrambling to defend his program. Lanning clearly took the opportunity after Oregon’s third straight win over the Trojans to unload on USC, and he didn’t hold back.
Lanning Lights Up USC’s Program And Crowd
Lanning wasted no time after the win throwing some serious shade at the USC program. He brought up the crowd attendance, which is a wild move. For the first four home games this season, the average attendance in Los Angeles was just 51,806. But on Saturday night, when Oregon was in town? The Coliseum was packed with 75,500 fans. Lanning took full credit for that boost, too. “I’ve watched three of their TV games,” he said, according to Jordan Mendoza of USA Today. “I haven’t seen a game packed yet, but we were here, it was packed tonight. So I guess when the Ducks show up, that’s how you fill up the Coliseum.” Ouch.
But he wasn’t done. Lanning fired an even more direct shot straight at recruits who might be looking at both schools. He pulled no punches, laying it all out: “Three wins against these guys,” he stated, via Max Torres of Scoop Duck. “I guess if you’re interested in winning football games, you’re from this area, you should go to Oregon. You want to go to a Chris Brown concert, you should go here.” Talk about a mic drop!
Riley Tries To Spin It, But The Tape Shows Some Ugly Truths
After getting absolutely roasted by Lanning, Lincoln Riley stepped up this week to defend his team. He’s trying to find the positives, despite the loss and Lanning’s brutal words. “We didn’t get run out of the stadium. There’s a lot of good on that tape,” Riley insisted, per Matt Hayes of USA Today. “You don’t have a chance to win a game like that if you don’t do some things pretty well.”
Riley isn’t entirely wrong, there were some bright spots. The offense put up a respectable 446 yards of total offense, which is nothing to scoff at. But here’s the kicker, and it’s a huge problem: the defense completely folded, giving up a staggering 504 total yards. And let’s not forget the backup quarterback played most of the snaps. That kind of defensive performance is just not going to cut it, especially when you consider USC has now given up 30 or more points in each of their past three games. Riley’s gotta defend his guys, absolutely. But man, the writing is on the wall, and the Trojans seriously need to make some real changes if they want to get back on track after this brutal loss and even more brutal post-game verbal assault.
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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