Lincoln Riley aspires for USC to be like Alabama in the worst way possible

While I do think that USC will have a great first season in the Big Ten, I can't say I am rooting for their opportunistic head coach Lincoln Riley. With the help of D'Anton Lynn coordinating the defense and Miller Moss being far more relatable than Caleb Williams ever was under center, I am hoping USC plays well during its first Big Ten season. However, I am afraid that Riley may need to leave here soon.

During his press conference with the Big Ten media, Riley seemed to have been less prepared to speak than even first-time head coach DeShaun Foster at UCLA. While Foster was trying to figure out what to do with his hands like Ricky Bobby after his first NASCAR race, Riley gave off the vibe that this was his first rodeo, too. He left Oklahoma to avoid the SEC. Now at USC, he is playing in the Big Ten.

He said he was not going to respond to his former boss Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione saying "the (OU) coaches that weren't (excited about joining the SEC) aren't here anymore."

Then, Riley went on to say he plans to adopt Alabama's future scheduling model akin to Nick Saban.

"Alabama didn't schedule for their fans, they scheduled to win championships."

Well, USC and Oklahoma didn't play in the SEC West. There were only four spots available in the College Football Playoff throughout the entirety of Saban's Alabama tenure. Yes, he did find a way to make it easier for him in the first two-thirds of his coaching career, but he also won championships. To date, Riley is 0-3 in three playoff appearances and has not made it in since leaving OU for USC.

I understand the advantages to scheduling cupcakes in the non-conference, but this is a terrible look.

Lincoln Riley is going about it all wrong in trying to emulate Alabama

The last few years have done irreparable damage to Riley's brand. We went from Oklahoma's offensive wunderkind head coach, to a man Sooners not so politely refer to as TBOW. His former USC boss Mike Bohn was asked to leave in disgrace. In comes Jennifer Cohen from Washington, the same woman who hired Kalen DeBoer to save the Huskies from the big Jimmy Lake mistake on the lake.

In the same year, Riley had the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, it was DeBoer who took his Pac-12 team to the playoff. Washington was in as bad of shape as when Riley arrived in Los Angeles. It is amazing what happens over the course of two years. DeBoer is well thought of in the coaching profession, while Riley is seen as a man who cuts corners and is perpetually afraid of a real challenge.

Truth be told, Trojan Family deserves better. As long as Cohen is empowered to make a difference, she will make USC athletics proud. While I think USC is going to win closer to nine games than to seven, we cannot have finger-pointing and excuse-making running rampant in the new Big Ten. Doing that will cost Riley his job. The same principles apply to Ryan Day as conference favorite Ohio State.

What I will always give other Big Ten schools not named Iowa credit is many of them relish playing tough opponents in the non-conference. Ohio State does this, Oregon does this, Michigan does this and Washington does this. Outside of Iowa, and now USC per Riley's wishes, pretty much the entire conference does this. For Saban to do this a decade ago, it worked, but the times have changed.

Yes, there may be more spots available to make the College Football Playoff, but only the four best conference champions are getting first-round byes. Do you think USC is beating Ohio State, Oregon or even Penn State this year? They could, but I am not banking on it. Teams ranked No. 5 to No. 12 know it is win or go home. Desperation will prevail in the first-round games. I question Riley's mettle.

He had all offseason to figure out how to respond to questions at the podium and this was a disaster.