USC’s 41-27 home loss to Oregon on Saturday intensified scrutiny of Lincoln Riley’s fifth season. The Trojans allowed 28 second-half points and 289 passing yards to backup Dylan Raiola after a hit knocked out Dante Moore and got USC’s Desman Stephens ejected.
The columnist treats the defeat as a test of Riley’s tenure, arguing that USC’s defensive struggles have persisted across coaching changes. Riley entered his fifth season with Gary Patterson as his third defensive coordinator and, the piece says, a well-funded roster. Still, the writer cautions against writing off the 4-1 Trojans, who have road games at Penn State, Wisconsin, Indiana and UCLA and host Ohio State.
Other entries cite Texas A&M’s 35-6 loss at LSU, Colorado’s 23-13 defeat by Baylor and Maryland’s 54-3 home loss to UCLA. Cal coach Tosh Lupoi acknowledged a timeout mistake before halftime in a 24-10 loss to Clemson, while San Diego State fell 41-16 to Toledo.
