Pressure on USC head coach Lincoln Riley’s job dimmed after a 25-21 victory over the Washington Huskies on Saturday. The win gives Riley crucial breathing room after last week’s loss to Oregon.
The game came during USC’s 103rd homecoming celebration, where thousands of alumni returned to campus to see the Trojans get back on track.
While it was not USC’s cleanest performance, it showed that they could fight through adversity to close games.
As a result, Riley’s position should not be in jeopardy. Not necessarily because one win erases the struggles of his coaching years at USC, but because the team’s resiliency shows that USC’s season has potential to go far.
Riley’s four complete seasons at USC haven’t all been peaches and cream. Every year, there has been some type of inconsistency while striving for a national championship. In 2022 and 2023, he had difficulty with his defense.
In 2022 specifically, although USC went 11-3, they were 106th in the nation in yards allowed and gave up an average 423.9 yards a game. The following year resulted in the firing of Alex Grinch, USC’s then-defensive coordinator
The 2023 team allowed their opponents to convert over 40% of their third downs. The efficiency when stopping scoring plays was mediocre. On top of limiting drives, the run defense and scoring defense were weak points for the Trojans. They allowed 34.4 points per game and ranked 117th nationally for rushing yards allowed.
Against Washington, Riley’s defense clearly improved. The Huskies played confidently and used creative play-calling to challenge USC’s defense. They even took the lead into halftime and extended it 21-10 early in the third quarter.
Yet, USC’s defense bounced back when it mattered most. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Elijah Newby strip-sacked junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and then sophomore defensive back Jahkeem Stewart recovered a fumble and returned it on a 48-yard run to the house late in the third quarter, which helped the Trojans take the lead 22-21.
That play wasn’t just a momentum swing, it was a promise.
Even after allowing Washington to build an 11-point lead, the Trojans never wavered. They forced the Huskies to go scoreless for the rest of the game and stopped them on the final drive.
“As a defense, I feel as though we just stuck together,” Stewart said. “The main thing for us was to play connected.”
The camaraderie down the stretch showed the grit of this USC defense.
Kameryn Crawford came up with a sack on Williams Jr. at the Trojans’ 12-yard-line, with 39 seconds left in the game. This forced a turnover on the final possession for Washington which cost the Huskies the game.
“Our D-line is the tip of the spear,” Riley said. “We’re to the point where we need to expect a big-time performance out of that group every week.”
In order for USC to make a championship run, they will need not only staff, but players that all have one thing in common.
They want to win.
There are signs that he still has the buy-in from his players and others. Although, the Oregon loss brought more questions about the culture and direction of where this organization would go.
There were talks about the state of the team and their capabilities as a unit. It also brought more questions about the direction of the program and if Lincoln could lead it.
But for the past two weeks, viewers could see the togetherness of the team. Even former USC players from different eras reached out to support Riley and the team during homecoming week.
“It was really cool to see the Trojan brotherhood behind this team, behind me,” Riley said.
And that is what buying in is. Finding a way to trust, even when things aren’t looking bright at the moment. A championship environment can’t be done alone. It requires all moving parts, and those qualities showed up big against Washington.
After Saturday’s game, USC fans need to buy into Riley.
Edited by Sammie Vassallo, Sydnie McClain and Bennett Weinschenk