Fox insider refuses to give up on Lincoln Riley's USC with his bold remarks over close losses

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are struggling in their debut Big Ten campaign. The Trojans lost to Penn State in Week 7 and now have a 3-3 record in six games. They also only managed to win one of the three Big Ten games they played: the 38-21 victory over Wisconsin.

Despite this, Fox insider Joel Klatt defended Riley and his team on "The Joel Klatt Show." On Monday, Klatt talked about the Trojans on his show and said:

"Nobody is going to want to hear this but Lincoln Riley is right. They are literally three or four snaps from being 6-0. This is a young team. This is a team that everyone was going to say to kind of wait and see. Then the expectations went through the roof after that win against LSU. Now they've played three other games where it came down to a play here or there and they came up short.

"It's got to be maddening for Lincoln Riley because this team is battling and doing really good things — defensively, in particular — based on what they were a year ago and in previous seasons. What the maddening part is hthat it's just now repetitive. It's like, 'Well, now everytime we get in this situation, it's not going our way.'"

Riley took over as Trojans head coach in 2022. So far in three seasons, he has put up a 22-11 record. Last season, Riley led USC to an 8-5 overall campaign, and the program was victorious in the Holiday Bowl against Louisville.

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Joel Klatt has faith in Lincoln Riley and his team to redeem themselves in the future

Despite the struggles, Klatt has confidence in USC and also in Riley's abilities as a head coach. He has seen the progress they've made over the last few seasons and believes they are moving in the right direction.

Klatt said on Monday:

"That team is very close, man. They will come through this. I am a big believer that you, still like, win small or you lose small then you win small and then you win big. They're on their way."

The Trojans are scheduled to face Maryland next in Week 8. While their playoff hopes might be potentially over, they still have a chance to qualify for the bowl games this season.