USC football HC Lincoln Riley feeling heat after Alamo Bowl debacle vs. TCU

Missed opportunities marked the 2025 USC football season. The Trojans had a 9-3 record on their way to the Alamo Bowl matchup against TCU. The Horned Frogs were missing their starting quarterback, Josh Hoover, due to the transfer portal, but it did not matter. The Horned Frogs shocked the Trojans in overtime and came away with the win, raising lingering questions about Lincoln Riley’s tenure at USC.

Through 53 games, Riley has the same record as his predecessor, Clay Helton, at 35-18. College football senior reporter for “The Athletic,” Chris Vannini, also pointed out how Riley and USC ended the Notre Dame rivalry for playoff purposes, despite never getting to the College Football Playoff. Finally, long-time USC writer Dan Weber also called for Riley to be on the hot seat entering the 2026 college football season.

Riley made a name for himself at Oklahoma due to how well his offenses performed. At USC, that offense has sputtered more and has not been as easy as it looked with the Sooners.

The biggest issue Riley has dealt with throughout his college football coaching career is his defense’s struggles. The defenses were nothing special at Oklahoma, but the problems were magnified even more at USC. The issues forced Riley to make a change and fire Alex Grinch as defensive coordinator.

The Trojans hired D’Anton Lynn away from UCLA, and the unit improved, but they are losing Lynn to Penn State, leaving the defense with even more questions.

The good news for USC is that they have the best recruiting class in the country coming into next year, and they are bringing back a lot of talent from this past year.

However, as Dan Weber points out, the Trojans’ problems seem systemic, as they have consistently struggled to tackle. That starts at the top with Riley, even with Riley being an offensive-minded coach. That is why their next defensive coordinator is a significant hire.

There is so much potential for USC, but until Riley and the Trojans prove it on the field, those questions will continue to linger, and it’s warranted that Riley is on the hot seat.

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