USC football enters a make-or-break season in 2026. Lincoln Riley turned to Gary Patterson to be his new defensive coordinator. D'Anton Lynn left for Penn State, but he left not as a conquering hero but as someone who had an opportunity to make a lateral move and achieve a career reset after an underwhelming 2025 season. Lincoln Riley hasn't yet had a defensive coordinator who absolutely crushed it. He needs Gary Patterson to be that guy.
One out of four
Lincoln Riley has been on the job at USC football for four full seasons. In only one of those four seasons, 2024, did the defensive coordinator perform at a very high level. D'Anton Lynn had a great first season after two years of Alex Grinch, but in 2025, he couldn't maintain the standard.
Not fully Lynn's fault
Kamari Ramsey missing
the Illinois game and other players being injured, particularly Prophet Brown, limited what the USC defense could achieve. This wasn't all on Lynn. Injury luck didn't go USC's way. We can all admit that.
Big-boy program
The elite programs find enough quality depth to work around their injury problems. USC didn't have that last season. Lincoln Riley had four years to develop that depth. We can all agree he failed, and that only with Chad Bowden's arrival have the Trojans begun to stockpile the kinds of resources they need. It's on Riley that USC didn't have what it needed to withstand key injuries last season. It's time for USC to act like a big-boy program.
Gary Patterson
Gary Patterson was, in his heyday, a defensive mastermind. His achievements as TCU head coach are legendary. He won the Rose Bowl. He finished No. 2 in the nation in the 2010 season and No. 3 in 2014. In 21 years at TCU, he had 10 seasons with 11 or more wins. He won big and won often at a non-traditional power. Lincoln Riley wants that guy -- the expert -- to lift USC.
The obvious risk
Gary Patterson knows ball, but does he know modern ball? Patterson didn't coach at all in two of the last three seasons, serving as a consultant at Baylor in 2024 but not working in 2023 and 2025. Lincoln Riley is trusting Gary Patterson has kept up with the sport and is ready to match wits with elite Big Ten offensive coordinators. It's a roll of the dice. USC needs the right numbers to come up.
Doesn't have to be spectacular
USC will likely have a great year if it can just be decent and respectable on defense. No one is asking Gary Patterson to win 20-17 or 24-20 games. If he can just hold Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana under 30 points, the Trojans should have an offense good enough to win at least one, maybe two, of those contests. Then USC can go at least 10-2 if not 11-1 and make its first-ever College Football Playoff. Oregon roasted USC for over 40 points last season. USC didn't play Ohio State or Indiana but likely would have been barbecued by those two teams. Gary Patterson doesn't have to dominate the big boys of the Big Ten; he just needs to fight them on even terms. That's the forward step USC needs to become a playoff team.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Gary Patterson must make Lincoln Riley look good and USC look great
