Matt Leinart offers more criticism of Lincoln Riley during the UCLA game
Matt Leinart has been one of the most vocal critics of the USC coaching staff in the past few weeks. After the Trojans were getting whipped by the UCLA Bruins, Leinart once again sounded off on Twitter.
USC will be making their debut season in the Big Ten in the fall of 2024, and Leinart once again offered some suggestions for Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff, before they make the move.
Check it out below.
“The first and most important thing Lincoln needs to address are the lines. Will get absolutely bullied in the Big 10 next year if there aren’t improvements…drastic ones!” Leinart tweeted after the game. The former Heisman Trophy winner has been more and more vocal about criticizing the USC coaching staff in the second half of the season. It’s crystal clear that he and many others want to see drastic improvements in the Trojans’ roster.
He wasn’t shy about criticizing the defense a few weeks ago
The USC Trojans and Washington Huskies were in the middle of one of the most highly entertaining games of the 2023 college football campaign. Both teams lit up the scoreboard all night long and were tied 35-35 in the third quarter. However, former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart wasn’t pleased with what he saw out of the Trojans’ defense a few weeks ago against Cal and on Saturday night against the Huskies, he voiced his frustrations yet again with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
“Usc has guys out of place all the time. Every week time and time again, same issue.”
The Trojans’ defense did have a critical interception in the third quarter that allowed them to tie the game up on Saturday night against Washington, but it was ridiculously really easy for both teams to do whatever they wanted on offense.
The Trojans’ defense still ran into plenty of the same problems that we’ve seen from their defense the past two years. They lost 52-42 on Saturday night, simply because their defense kept getting repeatedly gashed. The USC defense allowed Washington to roll up 572 yards of total offense, including 316 rushing yards on the ground.
Matt Leinart also demanded change on defense
Former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was under fire all season long for the Trojans. And after USC came out with a disappointing performance in the first half against the Cal Golden Bears, plenty of prominent figures, including former Heisman trophy winner Matt Leinart, in the USC fan base had seen enough.
A number of former USC football legends voiced their frustration via social media recently. After the Trojans were trailing 28-17 at halftime to the Cal Golden Bears, Leinart had seen all he needed to see. And he took to Twitter to demand change.
“Regardless of the outcome of this game, change needs to happen. It’s obvious at this point that Usc is not a championship level team and that’s ok. But you can’t go backwards,” Leinart demanded in his tweet.
USC eventually went on to fire Alex Grinch, and that move didn’t surprise anybody who had watched the Trojans the past few years.
Quite frankly, it’s surprising it took so long for USC legends to criticize their coaching staff. The Trojans’ defense has been among one of the nation’s worst all season long. And it’s been quite obvious. They’ve allowed 30.5 points per game, ranking them 107th out of 133 qualifying teams. Their passing defense has allowed over 243 yards per game, ranking them 99th in the country. Their run defense hasn’t been any better, allowing over 164 yards per outing, which ranks them 101st in the nation.
USC managed to escape Cal, 50-49, thanks to their defense getting a stop on a two-point conversion with less than a minute remaining. They still allowed the Golden Bears to score 49 points and pile up 527 total yards of offense.