Matt Leinart: USC isn't back yet, but Lincoln Riley has things on the right track

Seeing USC back on track to start Lincoln Riley’s tenure has to make the Trojan faithful feel great. The program has seen its fair share of shortcomings since its heyday. Now, even the USC alumni are sensing the change.

Matt Leinart spoke about USC’s revival under Riley during a sitdown with On3’s Pete Nakos. He says Riley and the moves he has made since he arrived have created plenty of excitement in Southern California.

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“I think they gotta keep winning, you know, but there’s certainly an excitement and enjoyment to watch them that’s been a lot different than years past. That’s a credit to Lincoln (Riley) and just what he’s been able to do as a head coach,” said Leinart. “The kind of the culture he’s trying to create there and build. His staff has done a good job, and clearly they have a lot of talent. He did a great job in the portal to build this roster out.”

Remove the shortened 2020 pandemic season and this is USC’s best start since 2017. Since the end of Pete Carroll’s stint, the Trojans have been looking for some form of consistency in the program. Leinart says he and all those who follow USC can feel that stability with Riley in place. No one can guarantee that this will be a raging success. However, Riley instilling this cohesion will help them compete like the best in the country.

“It’s just really kind of opposite of what USC fans have been used to over the last gosh, I mean, you could even say decade. Really, a culture. To me, just a fan and then obviously USC Trojan, it’s just really nice to sit back and watch a good football team be well coached. It’s just like simple things that you kind of take for granted when you are a fan or alumni of just a program that’s used to winning,” Leinart said. “Like Nick Saban and Alabama, obviously the expectation and pressure, but know what you’re gonna get week in and week out from them. And he demands excellence and all of that. Lincoln will get that, and he’s building it. Are they back? No, they’re not back. They’ve won what, four games? So we’ll see, but it’s certainly on the right track.”

USC is well within the playoff race with an undefeated start through four weeks of the season. That’s better than some would have expected this early in Riley’s tenure. With games left against Notre Dame, Utah, and the rest of the Pac-12, they may very well make the case to potentially play in their home city when the time comes to select the playoff field. It would make for a great start to Riley’s regime, and with the Trojans back in contention, it would make plenty of Trojan alumni like Leinart proud.