Colin Cowherd, college football world explodes with Lincoln Riley to USC news

Lincoln Riley pulled a shocker on Sunday afternoon, opting to leave Oklahoma for Southern Cal after the Sooners lost to Oklahoma State.

Riley’s departure cannot be directly linked to Oklahoma loss to their in-state rival, but it surely didn’t help. The Sooners coach was previously linked to LSU, which fired National Champion head coach Ed Orgeron midseason only to miss on their biggest target.

Bruce Feldman and other college football media outlets reported that Riley was leaving for USC on Sunday afternoon. Riley has long been linked with the NFL, and arguably larger jobs at the collegiate level. Yet, is the USC job THAT much more secure than Oklahoma, if at all? The Sooners are heading to the SEC in just a few years, which also may have influenced this decision.

Lincoln Riley news: College football fans and media react

College football fans and media, largely hanging around for a casual NFL Sunday, were not prepared for the Riley to USC coaching news. This is especially true given the fact that Riley had turned down the LSU job publicly just hours earlier.

Clearly, Southern Cal stepped up to the plate in a big way.

Even former USC quarterback and FOX college football analyst Matt Leinart was around for the party.

USC has been done for quite some time, and let Clay Helton out of his misery this season. Pete Carroll isn’t walking through that door, but Riley is the next-best thing at this rate.