The past 2024 season must have been a mixed bag for USC fans. They were able to beat tough SEC teams like LSU and Texas A&M, but also lost to BIG mid- and lower-tier teams like Maryland and Minnesota. Not to mention that they took the lead in the final quarter of 11 of the 12 regular season games, and finally only had 6 wins and 6 losses, which is confusing.
In the three years that coach Riley led USC, the team’s performance got worse and worse, from 11 wins to 8 wins and then to 7 wins, and they will soon not be able to play in the bowl game😂 Seeing that Freeman of the mortal enemy ND was able to lead the team to the finals in the third year, Riley’s 10-year contract of more than 100 million may not be the biggest fraud in history… But to be honest, after the season, it is not difficult to see from the series of actions made by USC that LR has begun to take it seriously and exert his strength. The real sense of crisis forced him to face his shortcomings, such as defense and recruitment. Spend money to hire the right people to do the right things. Perhaps the changes in this offseason will eventually allow USC to return to the ranks of strong teams.
First of all, Riley doubled down on the defensive end again. Even if it means letting go of several starting WRs and RBs, most of the NIL funds should be used to strengthen the defense, especially the DL. After all, if there is no physical first line of defense in the BIG, the overall defense difficulty will be greatly increased. In addition, facing the poaching of his alma mater PSU, LR spent a lot of money to renew the contract and successfully retain DC Lynn, which is also crucial. It is hard to imagine what a disaster it would be to reshuffle the defense if this rising star in the coaching circle is lost. In the end, PSU went to OSU to poach Knowles, which also indirectly shows the huge investment of USC and Lynn’s confidence in the future of USC.
Next, it is necessary to mention that Riley poached GM Bowden from ND, which shocked many people in the circle. It is said that USC offered nearly 3 times the salary, but both sides are private schools so this remains to be verified, but a substantial salary increase is inevitable. In the past few years in ND, Bowden has used limited NIL funds to help the team not only improve its high school admissions ranking every year, but also recruit a lot of cost-effective transfer students. It can be said that he has made an indelible contribution to the success of this year’s ☘️. LR is not good at recruiting, not to mention the increasingly professional CFB. He probably knows nothing about labor-management negotiations. Bowden’s arrival can completely make up for LR’s shortcomings in this regard, and I believe that Bowden will have more room to play with the help of more NIL funds.
The 25 season is crucial for both USC and Riley. If it is still an 8-4 season, it is estimated that there will be little time left for Riley. Personally, I think 9-3 is acceptable, and don’t think too much about the playoffs.
