"Lincoln Riley should be ashamed" "Officially a fraud": Fans blast USC coach after crushing loss to Washington

Lincoln Riley finds himself in a difficult situation after his USC team suffered another loss on Saturday. The Trojans fell on the road to fellow Big Ten newcomer Washington with the Huskies sealing a 26-21 victory.

This marks the fifth loss of the season for USC, as much as they suffered in the 2023 regular season. The Trojans have been a victim of tough losses this season with all of their defeats going down to one score or less.

The recent defeat has resulted in backlash for Lincoln Riley among USC fans. Many expected a much more vibrant team this season following the disappointment of 2023.

However, the Trojans have fallen short of expectations. Here's a look at the fans reaction online:

"Lincoln Riley should be ashamed."

Other fans reaction:

"I’d rather have Paul Hackett or Clay Helton at this point. Lincoln Riley is the worst coach for USC in 50 years," a fan wrote.

"I’m gonna be completely honest Lincoln Riley should be embarrassed. They should probably do him like they did Lane Kiff," another fan wrote.

"I was so (happily) wrong about Lincoln Riley at USC. Like more wrong than I’ve ever been about anything in my life wrong. This is nuts," another fan wrote.

Lincoln Riley believes USC is good enough to win

Despite the underwhelming performances this season, Lincoln Riley believes his USC team is good enough to win. While not many will agree with him, a host of analysts see a better-performing USC if some issues are addressed.

“We've been a good enough team and I've said it, but it's still the truth,” Riley said after the game. "It's just as true as it was. We've been a good enough team to win every game. We've been a good enough team to put ourselves in position to win but we haven't.”

“We've been consistent in these games that come down to one play. We just have not done a good enough job making those plays. Obviously, you want to continue to get better in the end.” (4:36)

The Trojans’ first year in the Big Ten hasn't been much to write about but Riley believes there's room for massive improvement.

Lincoln Riley believes there's no need to change anything

When questioned about what he needs to change in his postgame press conference on Saturday, Lincoln Riley said nothing. The coach feels the team is in good shape and only needs a bit of fine-tuning.

"It's not like we're getting our a** kicked," Riley said. "It's not like I go back to the drawing board like ‘God we're doing this terrible and people are wearing us out on this or that.’ It's not that."

"This team has shown the capability to do all these things that you need to do. We just have to continue to keep our nose to the grindstone. We have to continue to lean on these leaders. We have to continue to get better."

With a 4-5 record so far, USC is scheduled to face Nebraska, UCLA and Notre Dame in the rest of the regular season. The Trojans now face the difficult task of securing qualification for a bowl game.