On Saturday night, the USC football team upset No. 2 Ohio State 30-18. With the victory, the Trojans improved to 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in Big Ten play.
It was head coach Lincoln Riley’s first time beating a top ten opponent in his five years at USC. It was also the Trojans’ first victory over a top five team since the 2016 season, and first over a top two team since clobbering Oklahoma 55-19 to win the 2004 national championship.
This was easily Riley’s most impressive win at USC to date. Interestingly, it came just one week after his ugliest loss with the Trojans, when his team looked completely lifeless against Wisconsin.
At this time last week, seemingly everyone was writing their own obituary for Riley’s USC tenure. Well, let’s hope those
obituaries were written in pencil rather than Sharpie.
Let’s be clear: Riley is certainly not off the hook just yet. The Trojans still face an uphill climb to make the College Football Playoff, and the head coach’s seat, while cooler than it was a week ago, is still very much warm.
That said, this was a massive step in the right direction for a program in desperate need of one. For one night, at least, USC finally looked like the caliber of team that Riley promised to build when he first arrived in Los Angeles in November of 2021.
For one night, at least, Riley finally looked like the coach that USC shocked the college football world by hiring away from Oklahoma five years ago. The upset of Ohio State offered a glimmer of hope that perhaps he is indeed the coach who will finally lead the Trojans back to national prominence after all.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Lincoln Riley finally delivers his biggest victory at USC to date
