2023-10-23 13:47:34
USC’s Lincoln Riley has found himself in an unfamiliar position as a head coach.
Throughout his time at Oklahoma and in his first season at USC, Riley was coaching in games with College Football Playoff implications well into the month of November. But the Trojans now have two losses following Saturday night’s last-second defeat at the hands of Utah, meaning they are almost certainly out of national championship contention with four games remaining on the schedule.
Only one of those losses came in conference play, so a Pac-12 championship is still attainable. But USC is a program with College Football Playoff aspirations. That’s the vision Riley has sold from the moment he arrived in Los Angeles. So how will his team respond in the weeks to come?
Even as USC started the season with six consecutive victories, this team’s flaws were evident. The defense still lacked discipline and toughness, and the offense, Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams included, looked lackadaisical as the Trojans posted close road wins over Arizona State and Colorado and then needed triple-overtime to get past Arizona at home. Those are teams USC should have been able to blow out, but there just seemed to be a lack of focus with Riley’s team.
Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley watches during the first half against Utah on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The general malaise and sloppiness exhibited by the Trojans has shown up in a big way over the last two weeks. Last week at Notre Dame, Williams tossed three first-half interceptions in an eventual 48-20 loss in South Bend.
USC had a chance to bounce back at home on Saturday night against Utah, the team that single-handedly blew up the Trojans’ 2022 season by handing them a loss in the regular season in Salt Lake City and then another in the Pac-12 championship game. Not only did the conference championship game loss cost the Trojans a Pac-12 title, but it knocked them from the four-team CFP field.
The Utah team USC faced Saturday night looked a lot different than the one from last fall. The Utes have been decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball and had a third-string former walk-on at quarterback and a converted safety playing running back. Despite those disadvantages, the Utes were the much tougher team and made big plays when it mattered. USC did show some resilience, but ultimately could not do the same.
Utah QB Bryson Barnes carved up the Trojans for 235 passing yards, 57 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, outdueling Williams, the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. With 20 seconds left in regulation, Barnes reeled off a 26-yard run on second-and-15 to set up the game-winning Utah field goal.
And when Barnes wasn’t torching the USC defense, it was Sione Vaki who routinely excelled in one-on-one matchups against Trojan defenders. Vaki, a starter at safety, hadn’t touched the ball on offense before a few weeks ago as running back injuries piled up. That didn’t stop him from catching five passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and posting 68 rushing yards vs. USC.
The USC defense — which is still overseen by Alex Grinch, Riley’s longtime assistant who he retained even after a disastrous 2022 season — deservingly catches a lot of flak, but the offense deserves its fair share of blame. The receiver weapons just aren’t of the same caliber compared to last year’s team and the offensive line is mediocre at best. Williams’ Houdini act can only work so many times. He led touchdown drives on USC’s first two possessions against Utah, but the Trojans didn’t reach the end zone again until they took a 32-31 lead with 1:46 to play. USC had a stretch with four consecutive punts and a fumble. And that go-ahead touchdown was set up by a long punt return from star freshman Zachariah Branch to the Utah 11.
Of course, that lead wouldn’t last. Just like last year in Salt Lake City, the defense couldn’t close out the win as the Utah drive was aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty by Bear Alexander, USC’s prized transfer addition from Georgia.
Barnes is limited as a passer, so USC knew the Utes would employ a heavy ground attack. Nonetheless, Utah was able to gash the Trojans for 247 rushing yards, with Ja’Quinden Jackson (117 yards on 26 carries) leading the way alongside Vaki and Barnes.
If this is how things looked for USC against a beat-up Utah team, how will the Trojans fare in games against No. 5 Washington and No. 8 Oregon in November? It’s Riley’s challenge to keep this train on the tracks with those challenging games ahead in the coming weeks.
But there is also some context to remember here. The USC program Riley inherited was in a mess and he’s 17-5 since taking the job. There is still a building aspect to this job from both a roster and overall infrastructure perspective. Riley inherited a well-oiled machine when he took over for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, so this is uncharted territory for him.
Will he make the adjustments needed with the transition to the Big Ten fast approaching? There have been some unnerving issues with Riley’s teams dating back to his Oklahoma days that are already surfacing through just 22 games at USC. Like his Sooners teams, the Trojans are an offense-centric group that still lacks toughness, and Grinch’s defense hasn’t taken much of a step forward, not to mention the shenanigans with the media.
There are likely some difficult decisions ahead for Riley.
— Sam Cooper
Who has the best playoff shot in the Pac-12?
The Pac-12 is down to four teams with a realistic shot of making the College Football Playoff.
No. 24 USC is now 6-2 after losing to No. 13 Utah on Saturday night. Though the Trojans still have a shot of making the Pac-12 title game, we can safely eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention.
Utah is still alive for the playoff, but coach Kyle Whittingham announced after the game that the Utes would not have QB Cameron Rising or TE Brant Kuithe in 2023. The two haven’t played this season as they’re recovering from knee injuries.
The Utes are currently a game back of Washington in the Pac-12 as the Huskies are 4-0 in Pac-12 play and 7-0 overall following a tough win over Arizona State late Saturday night. Washington didn’t get an offensive touchdown in the 15-7 win.
Oregon State and Oregon are both 3-1 and tied with Utah behind Washington. It’s going to be quite the final five weeks in the conference. Here’s how we’d rank the top four’s chances of making the playoff.
1. Washington (7-0, 4-0)
Remaining games
@ Stanford
@ No. 24 USC
vs. No. 13 Utah
@ No. 11 Oregon State
vs. Washington State
The Huskies get the top spot simply because they are the only team in the conference without a loss. As we said before Week 8, the unfortunate scenario for the Pac-12 may be the most likely — the conference is too good and everyone has at least two losses. The upside from Washington’s ugly win over Arizona State is that it’s the second time the Huskies have shown they can win without having to rely on the excellence of Michael Penix Jr.
2. Oregon (6-1, 3-1)
Remaining games
@ No. 13 Utah
vs. Cal
vs. No. 24 USC
@ Arizona State
vs. No. 11 Oregon State
If Oregon can win on the road in Week 9 at Utah, the Ducks may have the best chance to advance to the playoff. We like the Ducks’ chances against both USC and Oregon State at home and Cal and Arizona State should be wins, though Oregon fans remember the last time ASU derailed the team’s playoff hopes.
3. Utah (6-1, 3-1)
Remaining games
vs. No. 8 Oregon
vs. Arizona State
@ No. 5 Washington
@ Arizona
vs. Colorado
The Utes have the easiest schedule remaining of the group. But Cameron Rising’s absence for the rest of the year makes it hard to count on the Utah offense against better defenses than USC’s. Bryson Barnes has done what he’s asked and Sione Vaki is rivaling Travis Hunter as college football’s best two-way player. But injuries cap Utah’s ceiling.
4. Oregon State (6-1, 3-1)
Remaining games
@ Arizona
@ Colorado
vs. Stanford
vs. No. 5 Washington
@ No. 8 Oregon
There’s a good chance Oregon State will be 9-1 before games against Washington and Oregon, but don’t sleep on Arizona. The Wildcats are one of the most improved teams in the country in 2023. Just look at how they played USC and how they blew out Washington State. The Beavers’ chances hinge on former Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei.
— Nick Bromberg
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Sam Pittman appears in trouble at Arkansas
Is time running out for Sam Pittman at Arkansas?
Arkansas fell to 2-6 with an ugly 7-3 loss to a Mississippi State that was playing without its starting QB on Saturday. It was the team’s sixth consecutive loss and it was an ugly one. Arkansas could muster only 200 yards of offense against an MSU defense that allowed more than 400 yards and 28 points to Western Michigan in its previous outing.
Arkansas got on the board with a 24-yard field goal on its first drive and never scored again. The Razorbacks did not even reach the red zone after that initial drive in a brutal loss for Pittman, who is now 21-23 overall and 10-21 in SEC play in his four seasons coaching the Razorbacks.
With things trending in a very negative direction, Pittman made a change to his coaching staff on Sunday by firing offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos. Enos was hired away from Maryland back in January after Kendal Briles left Arkansas to become the offensive coordinator at TCU.
After only eight games on the job, Enos was let go with wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton set to take over as Arkansas’ play-caller for the rest of the season. The Razorbacks averaged 471 yards and 32.5 points per game last year but are now last in the SEC in total offense as they’ve been held under 300 yards in three consecutive games.
The hiring of Enos, who was embroiled in controversy earlier this season when it leaked that he was arguing with fans via email, could prove dire for Pittman. Pittman was an offensive line coach for decades before finally landing a head-coaching job at Arkansas. When you’re a coach like Pittman who does not call plays, you need to be a really strong evaluator of those who you bring into your program.
Missing the mark with Enos could prove costly for Pittman unless the Razorbacks can rally down the stretch. The schedule has been very difficult to this point and doesn’t get much easier after the bye week. Next is a trip to Florida on Nov. 4 before closing the season with three straight home games vs. Auburn, Florida International and No. 16 Missouri.
Getting to a bowl game will be a tall task.
— Sam Cooper
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