A win over Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday night would have been a nice boost for USC’s College Football Playoff Chances. But the Trojans did not win. In fact, they were not close, losing 48-20. And their coach, Lincoln Riley, is getting a lot of blame pointed his way.
What’s interesting is that a look at the team stats would indicate a close game leaning in USC’s favor. The Trojans won the time of possession-battle by nearly 10 minutes. USC also picked up 23 first downs to Notre Dame’s 13 and was 6-for-13 on third down while the Fighting Irish were only 3-for-10. The Trojans also outgained Notre Dame 302-251. So what happened? Why did USC not only lose, but lose by 28 points? The Trojans were sloppy. Really sloppy.
The Fighting Irish weren’t exactly clean in the penalties department, committing five for 53 yards. That said, USC was worse, being penalized nine times for 75 yards. Defensively, the Trojans didn’t sack the quarterback once while Notre Dame recorded six sacks.
And the Fighting Irish didn’t need a lot of yards to score. Their first two touchdown drives traveled a combined 14 yards, thanks to a pair of interceptions from Xavier Watts. A third touchdown drive needed only 50 yards, thanks to another interception. Watts later scored a touchdown of his own on a scoop-and-score.
Xavier Watts set up two Notre Dame touchdowns with interceptions. Here, he gets to the end zone on his own with a scoop-and-score. pic.twitter.com/sHoQWOodjq
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 15, 2023
While USC didn’t turn the ball over once, they were turned over five times. The first four led to Notre Dame touchdowns while the fifth led to the Fighting Irish going into victory formation. All of that, plus a kickoff return for a touchdown when it looked like the Trojans might be making a game of it, added up to a rough night for USC.
And Riley was widely criticized for the team’s performance.
This has been coming for weeks. But Lincoln Riley has generally been too arrogant to acknowledge it with his comments about fans having "untrained eyes."
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) October 15, 2023
Notre Dame has 38 points on just 234 yards thanks to –
• A 12-yard TD drive off an INT
• A 2-yard TD drive off an INT
• A 50-yard TD drive off an INT
• A kick return TDThat's 28 points that took 64 total yards.
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) October 15, 2023
Hey Lincoln Riley, are you a national championship contender?
— Transfer Portal (@NCAAPortal) October 15, 2023
Lincoln Riley coaching USC in the Las Vegas Bowl when Caleb Williams opts out pic.twitter.com/lgi2IbPTl0
— College Football Lounge (@CFBLounge) October 15, 2023
USC playing like Lincoln Riley is about to suddenly decide overnight to take the Chicago Bears job
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 15, 2023
Lincoln Riley is one of the best offensive minds in the sport but it sure feels like he has let 'Caleb run around and do stuff until something emerges' become about half of the playbook.
— Josh McCuistion (@Josh_Scoop) October 15, 2023
Oklahoma does not miss Stinkin' Lincoln Riley, who still hasn't figured out there's this thing called defense. Notre Dame sure played it tonight on Caleb Williams.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 15, 2023
[Photo Credit: NBC]
