Lincoln Riley Has Run Out of Time at USC

MADISON, Wis. — Like many of America’s major universities, the campuses of Wisconsin and USC are chock-full of cranes, closed sidewalks and detours. It is the status symbol of the multibillion-dollar entities they truly are, schools ready to rebuild, renovate and restore building after building as a testament to their permanence as institutions—even as the world around them becomes dominated more and more by what happens digitally.

It takes a lot of money to keep those cranes in operation when the weather cooperates and the cost of doing business is something that only continues to grow, far outpacing inflation nowadays. For those in charge at both schools, it is often viewed as a worthwhile investment, the kind that will pay off in the form of even more dollars flowing into their coffers and even greater prestige. 

On Saturday night amid another chaotic weekend in college football, the Badgers and Trojans showcased their two most prominent building projects. Every foundation, every beam, every final finish was on display before a prime-time audience. This was the real front porch for both schools, each in far different states coming in and sent on far different trajectories afterward.

When Wisconsin’s 24–7 win was official and swarms of Badgers fans flooded the Camp Randall Stadium turf, it became evident Luke Fickell’s arduous rebuilding job was finally bearing fruit. After four years of delays and engineering mistakes, here was proof he has the program in a better place. One of the hottest seats in the college football coaching world found the chair beneath him cool to the touch.

Lincoln Riley instead sat down on one that may well have been on flames. After five seasons in charge of one of the sport’s most iconic bluebloods—after being handed everything he could ask for in terms of resources and firmly in charge of one of the best rosters USC could claim in nearly a decade—Riley instead showed that his project in Los Angeles is over.

It’s time for the Trojans to raze it all down and start again, beginning with the chief architect of the enterprise who needs to be shown the door. 

“Really disappointing game. Just flat out didn’t play good on any of the three sides of the ball. Didn’t coach good enough, made critical errors on the road against a good football team,” he said. “We did the things that you can’t do on the road. We lost turnover battle, lost the rushing battle, had some big penalties at times.

“Just not good enough. I take responsibility for it.”

As well he should. This is on him, all of it, and he will be made to pay the price. 

This is a team built to Riley’s specifications, one of the most expensive teams in the Big Ten (and by extension college football). He boasted in the preseason about how the school’s alignment is greater than it ever has been and didn’t shy away in the summer from this, finally, being the year to meet the program’s usual lofty expectations. The Trojans had a gleaming new football facility and a quarterback in Jayden Maiava who was a legitimate Heisman candidate and was in the top five nationally in yards and touchdown passes. Coming into Week 8, the cardinal and gold had everything possible break their way. Fellow contenders Oregon and Ohio State had to turn to their backup quarterbacks for games at the Coliseum this month. Every remaining contest looked winnable in a bid to finally reach the College Football Playoff after six years of false starts.

So what did they do? Coming off a bye week, the Trojans mustered a single touchdown, had two turnovers, gave up five sacks and came dangerously close to setting a school record with -17 rushing yards. 

It was the type of performance that should lead the administration to finally tell Riley no, and that he no longer is needed. 

“I’ll get back and study it but I can’t look at one group and say, ‘Man, that group was outstanding,’” Riley said amid a postgame scene that was cut off by a school press officer after just over seven minutes, fittingly matching their scoring output in what was the worst performance the head coach has ever had. “You need groups to step up and we just didn’t.”

Indeed, not one unit played well on a night where the Badgers were far from exceptional in notching 200 total yards of offense. 

Yet it was the team that had previously gone 3–13 against ranked opponents under Fickell that looked like the tougher team. The Badgers looked nothing like past versions of Wisconsin football, running the ball, consistently picking up third downs (6 of 12) and mounting three sustained touchdown drives that all took more than 5 ½ minutes off the clock. The Badgers played far more disciplined than their much newer Big Ten brethren did to potentially position themselves for a CFP run. 

If anything summed up the Trojans’ ineptitude, it was certainly early in the fourth quarter where the door was still open ever so slightly for a comeback. Maiava took a sack on third down near midfield to end a promising drive with 13 minutes left. USC couldn’t even get off a field goal attempt without first taking a delay of game. This despite Riley standing right next to the official on the sideline ready to call timeout.

Asked afterward about the incident, the head coach just shrugged it off and noted it was a bit of a panicked move to still opt for a 58-yard attempt that fell woefully short of the goalposts.

“Gritty ain’t pretty,” Wisconsin running back Bryan Jackson II said after rushing for 38 yards against his former team and a go-ahead touchdown before halftime. “We played the harder football game, brought it to them and they can’t really do nothing with us. It’s just two different types of football.”

Two different programs and now two different decisions to make for these schools. USC’s schedule features three top-10 teams left on the docket (Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA). The Trojans will have to win out for a shot to make the CFP, which was the goal for this season. Wisconsin’s schedule is a far more manageable slate but now looks like it will ensure Fickell’s return. 

While Badgers brass were jubilant as they walked off the field amid celebrating students who reveled in one of the great Wisconsin sports nights of all time (given the Milwaukee Brewers’ heroics further east), their Trojan counterparts didn’t even bother to see what Riley had to say in the aftermath of a loss that will be felt well beyond this weekend.

Perhaps they were passing the hat among a group of boosters that has more billionaires than any other school in the country. It’s an expensive endeavor to embark on a rebuilding job at any university and the cost to let Riley go and bring in a new staff is liable to tick upwards of $100 million.

As was made abundantly clear Saturday night, it’s now worth it to put an end to the Riley era in Los Angeles. If USC doesn’t, it will simply be throwing more good money after bad and ensuring the construction zone encircling Heritage Hall will never be completed.

PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.