USC football handed Rutgers football its third loss in three games in Week 3 that came without star freshman wideout Trent Mosley. The Trojans won 42-35, just days after head coach Lincoln Riley sounded the alarm about the team's performance against Louisiana.

Riley's Trojans are now 4-0 on the season but not everyone is happy. Fans began sharing criticisms of the USC football coach, who has never made the College Football Playoff with the Trojans, throughout the day.

“He's God awful,” one fan named James C said after Riley said his team needed to play better up 20-14 in New Jersey against the Scarlet Knights.

“Lincoln Riley looks at you funny the minute you tell his team to play defense,” another fan named Mookie Alexander said.

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“He's Lincoln Riley, an elite offensive coordinator but not an elite head coach,” another fan said.

“Never apologize for a win,” another said. “But that was a Lincoln Riley 2023 win. Not in a good way,” another added.

2026's college football landscape looks like a wide open one, which allowed Riley's USC football team to rise up the power rankings ahead of the Rutgers game. The Trojans finished with 461 yards to 460 for the Knights, a surprising outcome in a game many thought Riley's team would win going away.

Week 4 brings a chance at a program transforming win at home vs. Dan Lanning's Oregon Ducks that could position USC as a College Football Playoff favorite. A loss would once again cause the boo birds and the doubters to erupt in frustration, placing even more pressure on the man who led Oklahoma to three playoff appearances but hasn't been able to duplicate his success in Los Angeles.