Lincoln Riley is the biggest loser in USC's failure to chase down Oregon

Writing a "winners and losers" recap is usually pretty straightforward, and I try to avoid calling people out because I know how much effort everyone puts in. But not today.

After losing 41-27 to Oregon, making it five straight losses to the Ducks there are no winners to talk about, just one glaring loser. This team is at another major breaking point in the Lincoln Riley era.

Loser: USC's culture and behavior

I’d love to just stick to the football side of things today because there was so much talent on the field showing exactly what SoCal recruiting is all about. But because of how a few players acted, and one guy in particular, we’ve got to talk about the culture in this program, or honestly, the lack of one.

Look, everyone knows about the Desman Stephens II targeting ejection. The hit itself wasn't necessarily malicious. We see those calls all the time but his behavior afterward was completely out of line. He’s already been suspended for the Washington game and apologized, but honestly, that’s just checking boxes at this point.

College kids make mistakes, but this is about accountability. The fact that a player in Riley’s program felt comfortable acting in a way that embarrassed the university points to a much bigger culture problem, and it's time for Riley to own up to it.

Losing games is one thing, and I get that everyone's losing patience with Lincoln Riley’s inability to win big. That’s tough, but it happens. The real problem here is the complete lack of character we saw on the field. It’s unacceptable for a USC player to make a bad situation even worse instead of owning up to it. The injury was an accident, sure, but the way he acted afterward? That’s not an accident.

The behavior of being unapologetic, lacking remorse or even care enough to clear the area for first responders to stabilize an injured player who was temporarily incapacitated was nothing short of just plain dumb. Dumb, selfish and frankly has no business being near or around a football field. 

Between losing big games and having players embarrass the school on national TV, it’s clear Riley’s problems go way deeper than the win and loss column. Where do we even go from here? Losing is one thing, but letting your guys disgrace the university and the whole Trojans community is a different level of unacceptable that needs to be addressed right now.

Suspending him was the right call, but it doesn't fix the bigger issue of how things got this bad in the first place. USC is at a real turning point now. The season isn't over, but the team has some serious soul searching to do. With Washington coming to the Coliseum, they don't have time to dwell on it, they just have to "Fight On." But if Riley can't start winning the big ones or get a handle on his locker room, the school might have to start thinking about a change at the top.

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