Lincoln Riley after loss to Washington: 'I don't handle losing very well'

The losses have been adding up in 2024 for Lincoln Riley, with USC losing their most recent game against Washington, the Trojans fell to 4-5 on the season and lost their fourth game out of the last five.

Following the game, Riley spoke about the Trojans coming close in their losses this season, emphasizing that the end result is what matters the most and that he expects USC to be better than it has been this year.

“I don’t handle losing very well,” Lincoln Riley said. “It hasn’t happened much in my career. Our team, that part is unacceptable. Now, is there, through that, when you really look at it, is there progress? Is there push? Have we had a chance to win every game? The answer to all those is undoubtedly yes. But at the end of the day, whether you separate or whether it comes down to the end, we expect to win, and we haven’t done that enough.”

To this point in 2024, all five of USC’s losses have come in one-score games. Among their four wins, only one was a one-score game. The rest saw the Trojans win by multiple scores. Since Riley got to USC, the Trojans have an overall record of 8-9 in one-score games, meaning that more than half of those losses have come in 2024.

Amid those struggles, there has been mounting criticism of Lincoln Riley and USC. That includes from former USC star, LenDale White, who took to social media to voice his displeasure with Riley.

“Lincoln u are f*****g stealing from USC. Donate ur salary to help recruit that coaching job u doing ain’t helping sh*t,” White posted.

Next week, USC will take on Nebraska at home. That game is going to be massive for both sides as they try to make it to bowl eligibility this season.

Paul Finebaum calls for USC to end the Lincoln Riley era

Amid the struggles of the 2024 season, analyst Paul Finebaum called for the end of the Lincoln Riley era at USC.

“Matt, I know I’m getting off base here. Let me save the people at Southern Cal another year or two of anguish,” Finebaum said.

“Have a meeting, come to a conclusion that it was a good run for one year, but the last two have been a disaster, and give Lincoln Riley his walking papers. There’s no reason to think this is going to work, is it? I’ve been hard on Lincoln before the season. He did have that big win over LSU, so everybody came at me and said ‘say you’re wrong, say you’re wrong.’ It was a good win, and since then, almost nothing else to show for it, even losing to James Franklin at home. I mean, that’s now pretty embarrassing isn’t it?”