Lincoln Riley has a chance to go down as one of the softest coaches in college football history
Lincoln Riley is leaving a legacy at USC, and his biggest accomplishment might directly affect the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame football program were able to come out on top against rival USC this past weekend at home. It was an imperfect performance during the team’s 34 to 24 victory, but anytime the Fighting Irish are able to beat the Trojans, it’s a good day at the office. That’s especially true while keeping your College Football Playoff hopes alive.
One of the best things about college football are these types of rivalry games. A little bit of competitive anxiety is great for the game, even if it’s extremely emotionally exhausting during the fact. Notre Dame fans hate USC, and the Trojan fanbase reciprocates those feelings as well. These two programs have played 95 times in their illustrious histories (Notre Dame leads the series 52-38-5), and they have led to some epic matchups throughout.
Despite that great history, current USC head coach Lincoln Riley doesn’t seem to care much about it. Riley’s perspective on the rivalry has been discussed thoroughly this past offseason, and he routinely made excuse after excuse for it to end. He has cited things such as travel (as if this hasn’t been an issue in the past), and the negative impact of playing them later in the season.
As you can imagine, Riley has become a very unpopular person amongst the Notre Dame fanbase. The two programs aren’t scheduled to play again following the 2026 college football season, which means we may see one of the very best rivalries in all of college football die soon. CBS Sports analyst Todd Fuhrman took to X following the game, and commended on Riley’s tenure with the Trojans.
“Rivalries make college football great…it’s quite impressive if Lincoln Riley’s greatest legacy as HC at USC is pushing to end ND vs USC”
Lincoln Riley’s legacy at USC
Since Riley came to USC prior to the 2022 college football season, a lot was expected of him. He previously had a ton of success as the head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, but his time in Southern California hasn’t been quite as successful so far. Through three and a half seasons, Riley currently holds a 31-16 overall record with the Trojans. The allure of the program has lost its luster over the last couple of seasons specifically.
Instead of trying to figure out why his program is seemingly trending downward the last two years, and has struggled since they joined the Big Ten for the most part, Riley is more worried about trying to end rivalries. It’s all a scheme to make his schedule easier, lighten the quality of opponents, and hoping to make playoff runs a bit easier. Competition isn’t exactly the main priority for the Trojans head coach.
At the rate he’s on, who knows how long Riley will continue to be the head coach for the Trojans in the future. If he has another 8-5 or 7-6 season, conversations need to begin about what’s best for the long-term future. That short-term worry has led to this, potentially sacrificing one of the best games in college football. Whether you want to describe it as cowardly or selfish, it is compromising the best parts of college football. Without rivalries, this game suffers in a big way.
After the game against Notre Dame, Riley also avoided Coach Freeman to shake his hands. His overall lack of respect for the Irish program, and even his own, is pretty appalling right now. Hopefully after Riley leaves for greener (or browner) pastures, a resolution can be made to reinvoke this great rivalry. That is assuming, of course, that the next head coach isn’t quite as soft as Riley is.
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