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By Cole Sullivan
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The USC Trojans held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night in the Alamo Bowl against the TCU Horned Frogs. However, they lost the lead and entered overtime tied at 24 apiece.
After kicking a field goal on their first possession to take a 27–24 lead, USC had TCU backed up on 3rd-and-20, just short of field-goal range—a prime opportunity to close out the game. But after missing several tackles on a screen pass, TCU wide receiver Jeremy Payne took it 35 yards to the house, sealing the victory.
In four years as USC’s head coach, Lincoln Riley has just two bowl wins and has yet to reach the College Football Playoff. According to Riley, however, the window for success in Southern California is opening—but his postgame comments following the loss were met with intense backlash.
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“This place is doing all the things you need to do to bust that door down, and I really believe a window here has opened up,” Riley said postgame. “It’s taken a lot of effort and commitment from a lot of people over four fun but challenging years to get it open, and it’s open now.”
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"It shouldn’t take USC 4 years to do anything. Riley fleeced them. He’s a terrible coach," a fan said.
Someone else added, "Nothing says our cfp window is wide open like losing to TCU in the Alamo bowl."
Another person wrote, "He has had 4 years, gutted another program and no better for it but hey the window is open."
"Could this guy be any more clueless?!? 35-18 over 4 years! Sound familiar Clay Helton?!?" Another person shared.
One more fan commented, "feel sorry for USC fans that will have to endure Lincoln Riley for a few more years. You’ll always be pretty good and flashy, but he’ll always run from (Notre Dame) and lose big games. I’d rather do a full rebuild than be perennially unable to win it all."
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Riley has lost three or more games in each of his four seasons with the Trojans, including back-to-back years with five and six losses in 2023 and 2024.
This season, it seemed like they were starting to turn a corner, but in all their big games against ranked opponents—Illinois, Notre Dame, and Oregon—they came up short. That trend has only reinforced the growing concerns about Riley’s tenure.
That said, USC now has the top recruiting class in the country for 2026, according to ESPN, which certainly leaves the program with no more excuses for not competing year in and year out in the Big Ten.
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