Evaluating current collegiate landscape with past great USC teams

Going even beyond college football, in sports, there are programs that will cling to victories from a bygone era too much. When discussing USC football, it has been since the 2004 season that the Trojans last earned a title. Now, 20 years later, the program has been in a rough stretch since coach Pete Carroll last roamed the sidelines.

Fans of other teams, of course, dismiss the effects of the targeted NCAA sanctions. Still, for many, the Trojans are a has-been.

It would be one thing for USC to continue to act as if they were in the early 2000s. This is far from the case, however. Instead, coach Lincoln Riley does a nice job of balancing where the program once was with what's needed in order for the Cardinal and Gold to win now.

He tends to reference and give examples of past teams, both from USC and his prior stops. This has been true while also watching the Trojan HC give an honest evaluation of the areas that he feels the program has come up short in. It is this acknowledgement that differentiates a program that lives in delusion, clinging on to the glory days, versus one that has an honest overall overview of where they are in modern times.

Other fan bases may laugh or poke fun at USC for the lack of recent success. That's fine for now. What should embolden Trojan fans heading into the 2025 season is the fact this staff is taking the necessary measures to once again return to form.

Comparing current and past USC situations

Compared to the coach Carroll days, there are several significant differences from when the current Las Vegas Raiders head coach was at the Coliseum. That is to say, it would be unreasonable to expect an identical level of repeated success.

Setting realistic expectations and having USC meet what would be the modern equivalent, however, would be entirely in bounds. Because of the current approach that is underway in Los Angeles, there is a good chance of seeing the program get back to where it needs to be in that regard.