USC coach Lincoln Riley’s Trojans fell just short of clinching a berth in the College Football Playoff last season, finishing with an improved 9-4 record. The Trojans stayed unbeaten at home throughout the season, but their away form cost them Riley’s first playoff appearance since his appointment.
Joel Klatt Delivers Lincoln Riley Warning
Riley retooled his roster by bringing in the No. 1 recruitment class in the country and retaining talented quarterback Jayden Maiava ahead of a crucial fifth season in charge of the program.
During Tuesday’s segment of “The Herd” show, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt issued a warning to Riley about the Trojans’ difficulties in becoming part of the elite once more.
“It’s because of how many power brokers are in that city that want their hands in the program. There’s too many cooks in the kitchen in all of those places,” Klatt said. “That’s why the power brokers at Texas choked out that program for a decade. USC, the same thing. They had a lack of leadership and everybody in there wanted power.
“We’ll see if Lincoln Riley can do it, I think it’s a big year for him and I think USC is gonna be really good next year. But it took Mario Cristobal, a strong leader, it took Steve Sarkisian, a strong leader, to come in and be the adult in the room amongst all the people striving for power.”
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The last time that the Trojans were conference champions was 2008, when they won the Pac-10, and the last time that they tasted national glory was under coach Pete Carroll in 2004.
Analyst Challenges Riley Ahead of Pivotal Season
During last week’s segment of the “On3 podcast,” analyst J. D Pickell predicted that the Trojans were well-positioned to become a dark horse in next season’s national championship race.
“The pressure for USC is unique in the sense that I don’t know when it’s going to be more dialed in for an open shot for the Trojans and for Lincoln Riley,” PicKell said. “Like, the future is unknowable. But you look at everything USC has and the feeling is similar to what I said about Texas. If it’s not right now, is there going to be a better time?
“I just think USC’s got a really good shot on goal here and they got to take it and they got to score. Now, if you want an Natty, that’d be great. But, if you can just make the College Football Playoff with that class in the building, here we go.”
The Big Ten has produced the last three national champions and is a conference on the rise as Riley seeks his first College Football Playoff appearance in seven years, since he was at the helm of the Oklahoma Sooners.
