On Saturday night, USC went on the road and took down Penn State in the White Out. As head coach Lincoln Riley discussed after the game, the victory clearly meant a lot to him, especially given how much the Trojans have struggled in away games since joining the Big Ten.
For one night, at least, the Trojans played the type of road game that USC fans have been wanting to see them play for years under Riley. They played sound, fundamental football, did not let the crowd affect them, and avoided making dumb mistakes.
Two weeks ago, following an embarrassing home loss to Oregon, USC fans were effectively done with Riley. The fact of the matter, though, is that Riley is still the program’s head coach. And until that changes, it is absolutely in everyone’s
best interest for Riley and the Trojans to win together.
If Riley truly wants to be successful in Los Angeles, however, he is going to have to win USC fans back. Given the frustration that he has dealt the fan base over the past few years, that is not going to be an easy task.
Which brings us back to Saturday night in Happy Valley. Riley did not win back the hearts of the Trojan Family overnight in one game. However, it was certainly a great place to start.
Against Penn State, the Trojans finally did so many of the things that Riley had been preaching—but not backing up on the field—well. They did not commit undisciplined penalties. They protected the football. They avoided special teams disasters. The defense held the opponent to field goals instead of touchdowns.
So what are the next steps in Riley winning USC fans back? Another sound road performance against Wisconsin in two weeks would certainly help. Then comes the big test: Knocking off either Ohio State or Indiana. And of course, he must beat crosstown rival UCLA at the end of the season—and avoid becoming the first Trojans head coach this century to lose to the school across town twice.
If Riley can do all of that, and lead the program to its first College Football Playoff, USC fans would almost certainly be back on board with the same excitement for the head coach that they had when he was first hired back in 2021. Perhaps they would even be willing to forgive many of the program’s struggles of the past few years.
The road ahead for Riley is still very much a long and winding one. But suddenly, the lights guiding the way look a bit brighter than they did a week ago.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Lincoln Riley must redeem himself to USC fans—PSU win was great start
