LOS ANGELES — The USC football team lost to Oregon late Saturday night, the third time in three tries the Trojans under head coach Lincoln Riley failed to beat the Ducks.
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Over Riley’s five seasons, USC has lost a third of the games and failed to reach the College Football Playoff, frustrating fans.
No. 12 USC fell 41-27 to No. 20 Oregon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which kickstarted a stretch of six contests, including four against ranked opponents, bookended by consecutive matchups against No. 5 Indiana and No. 7 Ohio State.
It’s fair to wonder: will Riley make it through?
Five more years remain on his contract, which pays $11 million annually, the sixth-most of Big Ten coaches and 17th nationally, according to CBS Sports. But his contract includes a buyout north of $70 million.
The Trojans have fired coaches before the end of their contracts, including Riley’s predecessors Clay Helton, Steve Sarkisian — for reasons on and off the football field — and Lane Kiffin. Helton carried the greatest buyout of just over $10 million, according to 247Sports. None of those decisions were authored by current athletics director Jen Cohen, who arrived at USC in 2023.
USC can still qualify for the CFP if it runs the table, or wins out and competes valiantly against a presumably highly-ranked Buckeyes team. Riley insisted Saturday, “we have a damn good football team.”
So, with his hefty buyout, it would be shocking for Saturday’s outcome to result in the instant reaction of a Pat Haden-style firing.
But it’s the lack of progress that raises questions about Riley’s future.
He’s yet to win the big games, including a 6-14 record against Associated Press Top 25 teams. He hasn’t figured out the defense, cycling through three different coordinators as the Trojans haven’t cracked the top 10 among yards allowed per game in the three seasons in the Big Ten. The Trojans finished 10th and seventh in the Pac-12 in that metric in Riley’s first two seasons.
Again, that was supposed to change after Riley hired Gary Patterson, a legendary defensive mind who was TCU’s head coach for 22 years.
Patterson has yet to speak to the media during the regular season, and his unit allowed 35 points to Rutgers on Sept. 19, and on Saturday conceded 504 total yards and four end-to-end drives to an Oregon offense operated by backup quarterback Dylan Raiola.
Answering a question about Patterson’s side of the ball following the game, Riley said:
“I don’t make big picture statements after games. We need to stay focused on us, like in this moment, in this game. It’s not about any of the games before, any of the games coming up. That’s a fantasy world. We’ve got some things we’ve got to correct.”
Raiola was thrust into the spur of an extremely emotional moment after Oregon’s starter Dante Moore exited the Coliseum in an ambulance because of Desman Stephens II’s brutal hit. (Stephens was subsequently suspended for one game, USC announced Sunday morning.)
Albeit, Raiola isn’t just any backup. The junior was a five-star recruit in 247Sports’ rankings. The No. 2 overall quarterback in the 2024 class. At Nebraska, he started against Big Ten defenses for two seasons, totaling 4,819 yards, 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Additionally, when a backup enters midway through a game, it can confuse a defense that prepared for the starter, or “change the flow of the game a little bit,” as Riley put it.
So coming out of a halftime break, in which USC could have adjusted, the Trojans opted for soft zone, cover-2 shell alignments, and man-to-man looks that rarely included press coverage.
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Raiola took the opportunity to release the ball quickly to playmakers. He connected with Dierre Hill Jr. four times for 105 yards, as the running back posted 109 yards after the catch. Those easy completions allowed him to settle in. He later delivered a 34-yard strike to Jamari Johnson to convert a third-and-9 late in the third quarter. He diagnosed a favorable matchup, finding Dakorien Moore for a 29-yard touchdown that put the Ducks ahead for good with 8:35 remaining.
“We gave up some big plays,” Riley said. “We missed some tackles that created some of the explosives. We got to play better. We got to play tighter. Some of the opportunities to get off the field, got to be better there.”
In the end, it was a scene USC fans have grown all too familiar with during Riley’s tenure. In fact, the scoreboard in Autzen Stadium read 42-27 in favor of Oregon when these squads met in 2025, almost the exact outcome of Saturday’s game.
While Riley is confident this iteration of Trojans can turn things around now, there are few tangible reasons to trust that.
STEPHENS ISSUES APOLOGY
USC linebacker Desman Stephens issued an apology on Sunday for his dangerous late hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his celebration afterward.
Stephens, who has been suspended for one game, apologized and expressed empathy for Moore and his family in a statement issued by the Trojans on Sunday morning.
Coach Lincoln Riley called Stephens’ actions “unacceptable” while announcing the suspension for his starting linebacker, who won’t play next weekend against Washington.
Stephens, a junior from Clarkston, Michigan, was ejected for targeting after he dived in to hit Moore while the quarterback slid to the turf in the red zone during the second quarter of Oregon’s 41-27 victory Saturday night at the Coliseum.
Moore’s head snapped back and hit the turf hard, and he was motionless on the grass while the Ducks confronted the celebrating Stephens in a melee on the field. Moore eventually left the field on a stretcher and in an ambulance with a neck brace.
“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during yesterday’s game,” Stephens said. “Seeing a player injured like that is incredibly serious, and my reaction in the moments afterward was completely inappropriate and inexcusable.
“Regardless of what was going through my mind at the time, there is no justification for smiling or celebrating while another player receives medical attention. I take full responsibility for my actions. That is not the person or teammate I want to be, and I will learn from this.
“I am deeply sorry to Dante, his family and everyone who saw my reaction. It is not representative of USC or our program. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.”
Stephens’ hit was late and dangerous, with Oregon coach Dan Lanning calling it “disgusting.” Stephens drew even more ire for celebrating on the field and then smiling on the bench — and for returning to the Trojans’ sideline in the second half after being ejected.
Riley defended Stephens’ return to the sideline Saturday night, saying he was allowed back because “he’s on our football team.”
“Desman’s actions in last night’s game are unacceptable and are not reflective of USC football nor of his personal character,” Riley said in a statement Sunday. “He understands his mistake, accepts the consequences of his actions and will learn from this. The entire Trojan Family wishes Dante a full recovery, and we send our best regards to him and his family.”
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— The Associated Press contributed to this report