Nebraska-USC pregame crowd is all the ammo Trojans need to fire Lincoln Riley

Once again, Jennifer Cohen did not hire Lincoln Riley. Mike Bohn did, and he no longer works at USC. As his third year leading the USC Trojans starts to wind down, we not only have to wonder if the Trojans are going to a bowl game this season but if Riley will still be coaching this team in a few weeks. After a 3-0 start, USC has unraveled into newfound Big Ten cannon fodder at 4-5 on the year.

From failures in recruitment to rampant failures on the field, Angelenos can think of dozens of things to do than watch this underwhelming team play underwhelming Big Ten football at home. Traffic is an ever-present problem in Los Angeles, but you have to wonder where everyone is at 1:00 p.m. PT on a Saturday afternoon in mid-November. The Coliseum was almost empty 20 minutes before kickoff...

I think it goes to show that Riley has lost touch with the fan base and the program. Three years ago, he was one of the hottest coaches in college football. He was regularly getting Oklahoma into the College Football Playoff and never winning a first-round game. Two years ago, Caleb Williams could do no wrong as the Heisman Trophy winner. Now it seems as though Cohen will be making a change.

What are the chances that the dozens of people in the stands made the trek from Lincoln, Nebraska?

Why did it unravel on Riley so quickly? It is a combination of arrogance and not putting in the work.

USC Trojans fans let weak attendance talk on Lincoln Riley future status

No matter what happens in USC's home game vs. Nebraska, I wonder if Riley has enough time to flip the narrative back in his favor. I could go on for days as to why it has not worked for Riley at USC up to this point. There is a lot at play here, but the biggest bugaboo I have with his tenure is he is unwilling to adapt his offensive philosophy, despite playing in a league, and in a climate, that often requires it.

There are gross limitations to winning big with scheme in major college football. The Air Raid was developed by Hal Mumme and Mike Leach to help close the gap between the teams they were coaching and the physically superior defenses they went up against. At the end of the day, no matter how well you execute, a more athletic team can execute a much simpler scheme to greater success.

Riley's offensive philosophy destroys his defenses. Even more damning, he has gone away from running the football with conviction like he did at Oklahoma. Even with the Air Raid at OU, the Sooners always had a punishing rushing attack you had to respect. Because of the weather in the midwest, the Air Raid does not really work. You win in that league by winning with running and with defense.

The most frustrating part about this is Riley has been at the helm of two of the most successful and storied programs in college football history in Oklahoma and USC. Simply put, you can get great athletes into both schools quite easily. They can run simpler offensive and defensive concepts. Let your players make plays. This is not all about you and your scheme. It is why he will lose his job soon.

To put a cherry on top, Riley has a bad reputation for being shamelessly arrogant and being a bit of a scaredy cat. He left Oklahoma in part that the Sooners would be joining the SEC. At the time, USC was still a member of the Pac-12. Now it competes in the Big Ten. They are going up against another reeling team today in Nebraska, a team that would love nothing more than to get back to a bowl game.

I just feel like I am watching a team that is playing with no passion, no heart and a ton of quit. Nebraska is trying to have its best season since 2016. USC is just trying to get to Christmas. It does not really matter what Riley's buyout is. The Big Ten has exposed him as a fraud. He needs to go to the NFL and be a coordinator, a quarterbacks coach or just an offensive analyst. Riley needs to go away.

Since I am in the content business, we can only hope that Jerry Jones hires him to lead the Cowboys.