Lincoln Riley and USC not lacking in confidence despite recent records

USA Today

07-05-2025

Lincoln Riley and USC not lacking in confidence despite recent records Lincoln Riley is trying to project confidence. We will see if the optimistic tone is backed up by results.
The vibe around USC football this offseason has certainly been an interesting one. On one hand, with new general manager Chad Bowden at the helm, the Trojans are dominating on the recruiting trail, and currently hold the No. 1 class in the country for the 2026 cycle. On the other hand, however, USC has a record of just 14-11 over the past two seasons, which is far from what the expectation was when Lincoln Riley was hired.
Last month, college football analyst Josh Pate of CBS Sports paid a visit to Los Angeles and spent some time with Riley and Bowden. During his visit, Pate took note of the confidence around the program.
"If you walked in that building right now, but you didn't know what the record had been last year, you would think they're coming off a playoff appearance," Pate said on a recent episode of his popular Josh Pate's College Football Show. "You would think that they are regularly expected to compete for the national championship.
"And that's because they do expect that. But it's not baseless . . . they just believe in the moves they've made.
"They walk around like they've already ordered something, and they know it's arriving in the mail tomorrow. They have that kind of confidence . . . the vibe was that of a place where the internal feeling is so totally detached from the outside world."
USC fans are certainly excited about the moves that the Trojans have made this offseason. At the end of the day, however, that only does so much if the team is not winning on the field. After consecutive seasons of five or more losses, USC fans are expecting significant improvement from the Trojans in 2025.