As the head coach of Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021, Lincoln Riley led Sooner to four Big 12 championships, after which he became popular for his “air raid” offensive tactics and helped many quarterbacks mold into the NFL. Lincoln took charge of USC‘s head coach position in 2021 and revolutionized the program. In the 2022 season, he made an appealing start with a 6-0 record. But the next year in 2023, the Trojans finished with a 7-5 record, for which he faced a backlash from fans. However, for the 2024 season, Riley has taken certain majors to prevent this situation.

To understand the changes he made, we need to first learn what went wrong in last year’s season. Riley’s team faced defensive struggles with defensive coordinator Alex Rich’s inability to put out the root problem, said to be the reason behind the Trojans’ five losses in the latter half of the season for six games. On top of that, veteran players like Malachi Nelson and Leek Brown going to transfer portal affected the No. 6 ranking of USC entering the season.

In a media interaction, Riley revealed they are going to change the leadership of the team for each game. “We are going to have captains this year, game by game. We are not going to name permanent team captains.” Riley further explained that he has a leadership council and it will be permanent. There will be a weekly meeting for the council but the captains will change for every game.

Riley hinted at potential captains by giving an example “It’ll be announced and you know for this week it’s Miller or it’s Jonah, it’s Easton and Kiren Hudson.” he then said that these five would be for the week. The top five players who are most valuable and most deserving will lead the team. He stated that this is the spot players will have to earn by evolving themselves. And the pressure of being a captain will generate competitiveness among the teammates, leading them to win games.

Prediction for Lincoln Riley’s team in the 2024 season

The 2024 USC football season is right around the corner and analysts predict it could be Lincoln Riley’s biggest success in his coaching career. With that said, let’s discuss what analysts are predicting for each game. For the first game of USC against LSU, they say LSU will win the season-opening win. in the game between USC and Utah, for which USC will face the defeat again. Analysts predicted that the Trojans would suffer a significant defeat in the next game against Michigan.

In the game between USC and Wisconsin, it will be time for the Trojans to celebrate their first win in the season. USC versus Minnesota game. After a tight game, USC will pull away the winning title. In the next game of USC against Penn State, the Trojans will secure a win and the list goes on. However, long story short, this season is gonna be a comeback for the Trojans and Lincoln Riley as per the football experts. Besides that, tell us in the comments whom you are rooting for in the season.