Lincoln Riley seems to be stuck in limbo as head coach at USC. He shifted from Oklahoma to another big-name program, but not without some troubles. Riley is failing to meet expectations, and the problem is, he’s not a bad coach. A national analyst brings forward a case for his slump at the Trojans and how things are looking in the 2025 season.

11-3, 8-5, and 7-6. These are what the season records look like for USC ever since Riley set up shop. He pulled USC from 4-8 in the 2021 season to that shining 11-3 figure in 2022. It seemed like both Riley and USC had mutually found a jackpot for each other. He finishes with an 8-5 in 2023, which is not so bad. But the last drop in 2024 to 7-6 is what is increasing the criticism against Riley. You can’t persistently be going lower in the conference each year and still hold the position as HC. But Riley is not someone who would produce these numbers.

Josh Pate explained some reasons in a March 25 video of the Josh Pate College Football Show. First, he lists all the milestones Riley marked in his coaching career. “He’s had three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. He’s had three No. 1 overall draft pick quarterbacks.” Pate also notes, “He’s had five double-digit winning seasons, out of the eight he has been a head coach.” He also marks from these wins that one of them came from the COVID season. “So, what do we know: Lincoln Riley doesn’t suck. He’s not terrible.” “He’s also not the greatest coach walking the planet, right now,” Pate concluded.

A glaring flaw in his time at USC has been the defense. Those numbers have consistently been low, which led to the firing of Alex Grinch midway through 2023. Why did Riley bring him along in the first place, you ask? Pate provides a “working theory.” “[Riley] looked, and he said, ‘I owe it to those guys to offer them to come with me.’” Pate then adds, “It’s also in my opinion that he may secretly have hoped the defensive guys wouldn’t.” This made him “tied to a failing defensive coordinator.”

Now, Grinch is gone, and D’Anton Lynn is in. But this move came after 2 years into Lincoln Riley’s Trojans coaching career. “You’re three years in – four years in, asking folks to have patience, and that’s not the way it works in major college football,” Pate said. “You don’t get to experiment on USC’s dime.” But things are turning around for Riley finally, according to Pate. The defense is improving, and Pate likens this to USC “taking the safety off” of a weapon that needed to be used.

Meanwhile, Riley has to address the QB situation in his roster. Jayden Maiava, in particular, has a lot to build on to secure that starter position. But there are some alarming issues he needs to fix to have some solid resources worthy of being the Trojans’ QB.

Lincoln Riley has to assess Jayden Maiava and the QB battle

Riley is yet to pick his starting quarterback, as Miller Moss found a new home in Louisville earlier this year. That opens things up for his last year’s backup, Jayden Maiava, who led the team 3-1 in his appearances of the season. In a March 25 video of the USCJ LOST IN THA SAUCE PODCAST, the host shed light on his performance in the Las Vegas Bowl game. “We get that version of Jayden Maiava, there’s not a better quarterback in the second half that played that game.” However, USCJ warned, “We can’t see the same Jayden Maiava we saw in the first half of that Texas A&M game. That alone will cause him to lose this QB battle.”

Up until the third quarter of that game, USC was down 7-24. Maiava made only 69 passing yards and threw some interceptions by the time he entered the second half. But he did pull through later on, leading the Trojans to a 35-31 win over Texas A&M. He played in 4 games last season, and that experience adds an advantage to Maiava for the QB spot.

Maiava’s opponents include freshman Husan Longstreet and Utah transfer Sam Huard. “[U]ntil something drastic happens in the spring,” USCJ said, “it’s still going to be Advantage Jayden Maiava.” He does look to be well-settled in the run for the QB spot because Lincoln also took note of the wins he brought in the games he played.

It is beyond time for Riley to pick up the pieces and aggressively get the defense to perform. As Pate said, Riley is easily one of the great coaches in college football right now. But he’s got to do his worth some justice, especially being responsible for a program like USC. Like him, Jayden Maiava has to come off the rookie air now because he has the experience advantage up his sleeve.