Lincoln Riley's USC Program Faces Scrutiny After Loss to Oregon

In a tenure filled with squandered opportunities, Lincoln Riley added another one to the list on Saturday night.

USC had the chance to prove that this year was going to be different -- not just another seven-to-nine win season at a program with immense resources. Instead, the Trojans dropped another big-time game to one of the Big Ten's marquee teams.

To make matters worse, Oregon didn't even have star quarterback Dante Moore for most of the game. Moore was stretchered off after taking a late hit to the head in the second quarter, and Dylan Raiola took his place for the final two-plus quarters.

Despite the Trojans' issues, it was tied in the fourth quarter. A win was within reach, but USC got outplayed in the high-leverage moments.

With USC staring down an upcoming schedule that includes games against Penn State , Ohio State and Indiana , this could have been a springboard. However, familiar issues lead to one big question: When?

New defense, same results

After years of poor defensive results against the toughest competition, Riley made a splashy offseason hire when he brought in Gary Patterson to be his defensive coordinator. There was hope that Patterson could help make the Trojans a more complete team and give them a better shot to win games like this one.

Then, USC surrendered 35 points and 460 yards to Rutgers in Week 3. That could be chalked up to a look-ahead spot on the other side of the country.

As it turned out, that performance indicated what was to come against Oregon. Even with Moore out of the game, the USC defense couldn't get off the field. The Trojans gave up 366 passing yards to Raiola, and they allowed the Ducks to convert on 50 percent of third downs and 100 percent of fourth downs.

Perhaps the most damning assessment of the new-look USC defense came from Riley himself. With just over seven minutes remaining and all three timeouts in his pocket, Riley rolled the dice on a fourth-and-7 from his own 49-yard line.

Maiava's pass was incomplete, and Oregon iced the game with an eight-play drive that drained 5:12 off the clock and ended with Jordon Davison plunging into the end zone.

When USC needed a stop the most, its defense couldn't get one. That has been a trend in recent years under Riley, no matter who is calling the plays.

If not now ... when?

Anyone who has followed Riley's time at USC knows that he has not fared well in top-25 games. When the lights are at their brightest, the Trojans usually find ways to lose.

With Saturday night's loss, USC is now 5-15 (.250) against top-25 teams under Riley. It's now 2-6 against ranked Big Ten opponents over the last two seasons. In fact, this game was eerily similar to the Trojans' 42-27 loss to Oregon last season. USC had opportunities to win, but it let Oregon pull away late.

Look, every team's record against top-25 teams is going to be worse than the overall record. After all, those teams are the best in the country, and those games are hard to win.

But should they be that hard -- especially for a place like USC? The Trojans are one of the biggest brands in college football , and they have resources the likes of which most schools can only dream about. USC's roster is among the most expensive in the sport, and Riley just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle.

On one hand, Riley could point to that and say the future is bright. The Trojans have a lot invested in youn talent, which will pay off in a few years. Still, that's a tough sell in Year 5 -- especially when the expectation is that big-money freshmen will play and perform right away.

Besides, what evidence do we have that one more signing class or one more portal haul will put Riley and USC over the hump?

At this point, seeing will be believing.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lincoln-riley-usc-oregon-failure-hot-seat/)._