"Not even in the same galaxy": CFB analysts issue a wake up call for Lincoln Riley despite his glorious resume

Lincoln Riley has an impressive resume as a coach in college football. He spent five seasons in Oklahoma when they were in the Big 12, from 2017 to 2021. He then took the job at USC and immediately helped the team reach the Pac-12 Championship Game in 2022.

Although the team performed worse in 2023, it was still a solid season. However, a move to the Big Ten in 2024 resulted in the team narrowly qualifying for a bowl game with six regular season wins.

Analysts Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman spoke about how they both viewed him as a top-five coach when he took the USC job in 2022 on 'Andy & Ari' on Thursday. However, that perception has faded considerably as a result of the disappointing play from the Trojans (starts at 1:25).

"What USC is in relation to what I thought it was gonna be is ... It's not even in the same galaxy of what I thought it as going to be," Staples said.

Ari Wasserman then spoke about how Lincoln Riley did not want to stick around with Oklahoma when it became clear it was moving to the SEC.

"It goes back to and he bristles at these questions but the actions say a different story," Wasserman said. "As soon as it became clear that Oklahoma (is) going to the SEC, he wanted out.

"He didn't want any part of having to deal with Alabama, Georgia and Texas. That is not a conspiracy theory. His actions on the recruiting trail told you he did not want to swim in that shark tank."

Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman reveal Lincoln Riley's placement in their coaching rankings

After being viewed as a top-five coach in 2022, Staples and Wasserman now barely have him ranked in the top 20. He is the 18th-ranked coach on their list, behind coaches with worse resumes like Iowa State's Matt Campbell, Kentucky's Lance Leipold and Michigan's Sherrone Moore. The top 10 coaches are as follows:

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
3. Dabo Winney, Clemson
4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
5. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
6. Dan Lanning, Oregon
7. James Franklin, Penn State
8. Brian Kelly, LSU
9. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

USC has been on a steady decline since the arrival of Lincoln Riley in 2022. The program is trying to turn things around by making additions to the management group, including hiring Chad Bowden from Notre Dame as its general manager.