College football insider on USC: Temper expectations in 2022

Even after a disappointing 4-8 season last year, expectations are rapidly rising for the USC Trojans with Lincoln Riley now leading the football program. Riley has brought in a ton of new players and rebuilt the coaching staff, and many expect USC to immediately leap into contention during the 2022 season.

But even with the rising expectations, CBS Sports insider Tom Fornelli believes that expectations should be held in check for USC in 2022. The team still has some questions to answer and holes to fill. While USC could contend for the Pac-12 title out of the gate under Riley in 2022, a lot of things need to happen between now and then.

“I’ll start by saying that getting Riley was precisely the kind of hire USC needed to make, and it’s good for the program and Pac-12 as a whole,” Fornelli said. “It’s no coincidence the Pac-12’s declining national reputation has occurred during a mediocre decade from its most historic program. Riley will have the program humming and competing for playoff berths in short order. However, I’d temper expectations a bit for 2022. USC has had a lot of problems within the program for over 10 years that won’t be wiped away by Riley and the transfer portal.

“Even with Caleb Williams in town, this is still a team with plenty of holes to fill, particularly on both lines and defensive side of the ball as a whole. USC will compete for a Pac-12 South title with Utah and UCLA and could win the division, and maybe even the conference, but it’s not going to do so without a few scars. Trojan fans should set their sights on a 10-win season as the goal but be willing to settle for 9-3.”

Riley has changed the culture at USC entering the 2022 season

One thing that Riley has emphasized since becoming USC’s head coach is rebuilding the culture within the program. Trojans quarterback Miller Moss was at USC last year and remains with the team for the 2022 season, and he has seen those changes firsthand.

“Just as someone that was here last year and went through that, I don’t think we lacked the players and the personalities within the locker room to have good leadership,” Moss said. “I just think there wasn’t a forum that fostered leadership. I think with coach Riley and his staff coming in, we’ve been given a playbook so to speak on how to do that and structure within that.”

In addition to going just 4-8 last season, USC went just 3-6 against Pac-12 opponents, finishing tied for fourth place in the Pac-12 South. Sights are obviously set on better results in 2022.