It is no secret that the past two seasons have been nowhere near good enough for USC football. The Trojans are just a combined 15-11 over the past two campaigns, dropping at least five regular season games in both years. Recent victories on the recruiting trail have certainly given USC fans optimism about the future of the program. Ultimately, however, Lincoln Riley needs to start winning on the field, and soon, in order to fully prove that he is the right person to lead the program moving forward.
On a recent episode of his college football podcast “The Joel Klatt Show,” Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt discussed the pressure on Riley at USC this season.
“He’s gonna have to win this year,” Klatt said of Riley. “You can’t go 7-5 again. You just can’t.”
Klatt, however, did have some optimism for the 2025 Trojans.
“You look at last year . . . they showed they’re capable.” Klatt said. “Those close losses could turn into close wins this year. And if they do, they could be a team making their very first playoff appearance.”
As Klatt mentioned, USC had numerous close losses last season. Whether the Trojans are able to turn those losses into victories in 2025 could very well determine whether the season is a successful one.
