USC Trojans football coach Lincoln Riley really could’ve used a road win in Champaign, Illinois, this past weekend to maintain perfection heading into a rocky stretch in October and November that includes the Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, and Oregon Ducks at Autzen.
Instead, USC’s defense continued to show a proclivity for getting points put up on them with a 34-32 loss to the Fighting Illini. Trojans defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn’s unit gave up 502 yards in the effort, showing that the No. 77-ranked group in total defense (377.1 yards per game) from a season ago has not shown improvement. The No. 50 ranking is based on a five-game sample size, which includes the first-year FBS Missouri State Bears and Georgia Southern Eagles.
There’s no reason to expect USC to hold up better against Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and especially, Oregon.
The best Riley could’ve hoped for was a campaign similar to his first year in L.A., when Caleb Williams won the Heisman, or the 2023 LSU Tigers, which enabled a Heisman win for Jayden Daniels. Jayden Maiava is of a similar caliber to those two, being of a much higher pedigree than Daniels. The Trojans’ defense was never going to allow a full-fledged national championship run this season. But hovering around nine wins would’ve gotten Maiava that shot.
Eight- or nine-win seasons are fun for Heisman voters. For the Trojans, given Riley’s $11.5 million price tag, it’s the baseline of acceptable outcomes. Anything less, though, and Maiava’s chances of winning the award go out the window. And the story then becomes how Riley wasted Maiava’s season. And then Maiava hits the portal.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde warned USC of this upcoming window of games that can break the Trojans’ season and set Riley’s seat on fire.
“USC plays only two games in October, but they’re both tough—home against No. 20 Michigan and at No. 21 Notre Dame. After that there is one more Midwest trip, to Nebraska, and a road date with No. 2 Oregon,” Forde wrote.
Lincoln Riley cannot allow USC to lose to Northwestern, Iowa, or UCLA
Matchups with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Northwestern Wildcats, and UCLA Bruins round out USC’s schedule.
Throw the Heisman out the window for Maiava in that case. You can even then wonder whether or not Riley’s top-ranked 2026 recruiting class remains with an embarrassing loss to any of those teams.
Then, uncomfortable conversations about Riley's remaining begin.