This was what Lincoln Riley wanted.
A half-empty Coliseum. An overwhelmed opponent. The anonymous visitors from Palookaville booed as they marched onto the field.
Los Angeles is about big events, and there was nothing big about USC’s season opener on Saturday, save for the margin of victory.
There were no conclusions to draw from the 73-13 victory over Missouri State. There were no definitive statements that could be made about the direction of the program.
Is Riley a fraud or is he actually building something other than a $200-million practice facility?
Was scheduling cannon fodder such as Missouri State a necessary step to reach the College Football Playoff or a cynical effort to conceal USC’s mediocrity?
Nobody knows.
With a home game against Clay Helton-coached Georgia Southern next week and a visit to rebuilding Purdue the week after, the Trojans won’t be tested until they host Michigan State on Sept. 20.
The soft early-season schedule will place USC in a limbo of sorts, as it will be incapable of generating any excitement for its team. Riley’s program has exhausted the benefit of the doubt following two underwhelming seasons. Until the Trojans can prove they are legitimate national championship contenders, they won’t be viewed as one.
By finishing 7-6 last season and 8-5 the season before, Riley has elicited fears that he could be a new-age version of Helton, a coach incapable of meeting Trojan Nation’s exacting standards. In his first 41 games at USC, Riley is 27-14. At the same stage, Helton was 28-13.
Financial considerations kept USC from firing Helton until his seventh season. If Riley doesn’t start competing for championships, the school could be in a similar, if not worse, situation with him. USC can’t afford to buy out his contract, and there is minimal talk about his job security even as his program remains in search of its identity.
Second-year athletic director Jennifer Cohen spoke last week to The Times’ USC beat writer, Ryan Kartje, and the subtext of the conversation was that the Trojans better win.
“I just feel great about the progress that’s been made,” Cohen told Kartje. “And now we’re in a position where our expectations are high. We all know what they are and that’s to win.”
Kudos to Cohen for reading the room. Fair or not, realistic or not, she recognizes that USC is judged the way the Lakers and Dodgers are, and that anything other than a championship is considered failure.
The department she oversees spent the offseason removing potential obstacles for Riley, retaining highly-regarded defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and picking up a promising general manager in Chad Bowden. The NIL war chest was stocked, resulting in greater recruiting success.
The program has also changed its scheduling philosophy under Riley. The annual rivalry game against Notre Dame has been endangered by concerns of how non-conference defeats could affect USC’s chances of reaching the CFP. Similar worries led to the cancellation of a home-and-home series with Mississippi.
Ole Miss’s replacement on Saturday was Missouri State, which finished 4-8 as a Football Championship Subdivision team. The game at the Coliseum was Missouri State’s first as a Football Bowl Subdivision team.
Once-fearless USC was now picking and choosing opponents as if it was a second-rate boxer.
To their credit, the Trojans did what a traditional powerhouse should do to a program of Missouri State’s stature. The game was the highest-scoring for USC in almost a century, as nine of its players combined to score 10 touchdowns. Quarterbacks Jayden Maiava and Husan Longstreet completed 24 of 27 passes between them. Running back Waymond Jordan touched the ball only six times but was electric.
“Great start,” Riley said.
Was it really?
This game, as well as next week’s against Georgia Southern, will be judged retroactively. Punching down against Missouri State and bullying Helton could be justified if the Trojans reach the CFP. Riley’s careful selection of opponents would be viewed as an adjustment to a new reality. If the Trojans fail to make the CFP’s 12-team field, however, these early-season games would be perceived as more than a betrayal of a proud tradition. They would symbolize a new low.
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