USC football news: Lincoln Riley stunningly named Tier 3 coach by The Athletic appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
USC football thought it had struck gold when it hired Lincoln Riley as its head coach back in 2022, and many fans agreed with them. Riley made it to the College Football Playoff four times in a row (one as offensive coordinator, three as head coach) from 2016-19 with the Sooners, and a USC program starved for titles thought he would have similar success in Southern California.
That has not been the case. While Riley has a respectable 35-18 record in four seasons with USC so far and coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Caleb Williams, he has not led the Trojans to the CFP during his time there.
As a result, some are starting to question whether Riley is still one of the elite coaches in college football. Chris Vannini of The Athletic dropped Riley to the third tier of head coaches in his annual list on Tuesday.
Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)
“It was tough to move Lincoln Riley down a tier, but as with Swinney, we’re getting further from the Oklahoma CFP appearances that had propped him up,” Vannini wrote. “Riley hasn’t had a team finish in the top 10 since 2020, and although USC got back to the top 25 last year, the ceiling of this program should be much higher. This upcoming season is a big one for the Trojans.”
Riley’s failure to lead USC to the postseason over the last four years has also caused his seat to heat up a little bit. While he shouldn’t be feeling the heat just yet, another disappointing campaign could lead the Trojans to go in a different direction.
There is a lot of buzz around this USC team as the one that could finally get into the College Football Playoff. The Trojans will start the season ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and are led by star quarterback Jayden Maiava, a potential first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Maiava is losing his top two receivers a season ago, but an improved defense combined with Riley and a star quarterback has been a playoff formula before. USC is hoping that it can do the trick once again in 2026.
Related: USC football’s Lincoln Riley called out for lack of College Football Playoff success
Related: Analyst warns not to sleep on Notre Dame football’s CJ Carr as No. 1 pick in 2027 NFL Draft