Urban Meyer concerned about Lincoln Riley at USC
Feb 2, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Former football head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines of Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Urban Meyer has some concerns about the USC Trojans football program under Lincoln Riley.
Meyer was a guest on Colin Cowherd’s show on Wednesday and dug into the Trojans. USC is 6-6 this season and just lost two top players in Zachariah and Zion Branch. Though he went 11-3 in his first year at USC, the Trojans dropped to 8-5 last season despite having No. 1 pick Caleb Williams at quarterback. Falling to 6-6 this year was even worse, and on top of that, the Trojans are losing players.
Meyer, who says he is a fan of Riley, is worried about what is happening with USC. He believes the Trojans are losing momentum and that it will be hard for Riley to turn things around.
“Here’s the problem: once you lose momentum, it’s hard to get back. And USC’s lost momentum. They had it when they hired [Riley], and a lot of energy. They officially have lost momentum in Southern California. What does that mean? Normally it doesn’t end well,” Meyer said.
“I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because it’s not his first rodeo; he did a really good job at Oklahoma. I think he’ll get it back, I really do. But the minute you lose momentum, you gotta really turn up the heat now to get that momentum back. You gotta get some prized recruit. You gotta win some games, because if you continue to lose momentum, this is going to end poorly.”
— The Trojan Blade (@TheTrojanBlade) December 18, 2024
Riley left Oklahoma because many suspected he was concerned about how the Sooners would fare in the SEC. And guess what happened? USC ended up joining the Big Ten, making Riley’s life more difficult.
The first place for USC to start regaining momentum would come on Dec. 27 when they face Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl. Meyer indicates that’s an important game for the Trojans to win.
