CFB Insider Josh Pate spoke on Thursday about USC and Lincoln Riley on an episode of his show, Josh Pate's College Football Show. Pate spoke about how the Trojans were winning fewer games in each campaign over the last two seasons.
"I haven't bailed on Lincoln Riley, but they are coming off a 7-6 year, and I'm looking at the three years he's been there," Pate said, "11-3 (2022) to 8-5 (2023) to 7-6 (2024). You know what they call that on the streets. They call that regression or something worse."
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The College Football insider said that part of the team's struggles stemmed from the head coach hiring the wrong staff when he joined in 2022.
"If Lincoln Riley were here and his voice was shot and he needed me to speak for him, I could tell the tale," the analyst said. "I could talk about how he hired poorly when he got there. He staffed poorly. He knew it pretty immediately, but he didn't want to be disrespectful and cut guys loose ... so he probably stuck with them a bit too long."
Pate also spoke about how Riley had made amends for his mistake over the past year:
"He has realized the error of his ways. He has changed staff. There was immediately a return on that investment defensively this past year."
"I don't feel a ton of energy around here": Josh Pate believes USC Trojans could fall off the radar
Josh Pate believes the Trojans could fade into a weak team. He said that the pressure was on Lincoln Riley to restore the team's relevance and improve next season.
"This upcoming year, I mean recruiting, does not feel elite with them," Pate said. "It's okay. It's not elite. The energy around the program is very suspect from an outsider's perspective. I don't know the USC program inside very well. From an outsider's perspective, if I'm a fan. From a fan's perspective, I don't feel a ton of energy around here."(3:08 onwards).
Pate spoke about how it was crucial for Riley to deliver results in the upcoming season:
"It's year four. If we're not significantly improved record-wise, you know what we are running the risk of? We're running the risk of falling off the radar, and Lincoln Riley is running the risk of kinda slipping toward irrelevance as a head coach, and that is something I never thought I'd say."
USC will kick off the 2025 season against the Missouri State Bears on August 30.
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