Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks and Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans proved their old Pac-12 rivalry did not die; it just moved conferences. During the November 22 clash, Trojan fans had more on their minds than the scoreboard. They wanted the tea on Riley’s future. One fan even flashed a sign fishing for answers. But when Riley was asked about it, he fired back with a blunt, no-nonsense answer.

After the Ducks landed a 42-27 loss to the Trojans, obviously, fingers were pointed at Riley. Trojans Wire writer Adam Bradford tweeted, “For those wondering, there was an Oregon sign at GameDay that said ‘Extend Lincoln Riley’s contract.’ I asked about his thoughts on the fact that opposing fans do not view him as a threat at USC. Maybe harsh on my part, but I believe USC fans deserve answers.” Riley’s response? “That might be the dumbest question I’ve ever been asked as long as I’ve been a head coach,” the head coach dropped a blunt take. 

It’s been three years since Riley last signed a contract extension in 2022. So, that hasn’t stopped his name from popping up in every major coaching rumor mill  — Florida, LSU, you name it. It was Josh Pate who had turned up the speculation meter about the head coach’s exit. 

On November 5, on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Will Compton asked about the job openings. Pate said, “All right, here we go. Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley.” That has given rise to a lot of speculation. After USC’s 38-17 win over Northwestern, he responded to talk of him bolting USC. “I’ve been underwater for the last five days, I feel like. You guys know what I sacrificed to come here. I’m where I need to be,” said the head coach. Trey Wallace, too, joined the party. 

On an X post uploaded by @3ManFront, the reporter was heard saying, “I mentioned to you guys last week that there was going to be potentially a sitting head coach at a big school that looks around for a new stop. I keep hearing Lincoln Riley, guys. And I am not sitting here, don’t go crazy on social media posts that I am reporting Lincoln Riley to LSU.” Riley to LSU talks have been doing the rounds for quite some time now. 

Riley famously shut down LSU rumors in 2021, saying he wasn’t leaving Oklahoma after the Bedlam defeat. And to be fair, he didn’t go to LSU. Instead, he hopped on a plane to Los Angeles. With Riley getting ultra-defensive whenever chatter about his future surfaces, his next ‘to-do’ list might include schooling his players. After all, they just rubbed a USC alum the wrong way.

Matt Leinart sounded off about Lincoln Riley’s camp

The Big Ten got a taste of their smoke, complete with chippy moments and a handful of flags. However, the real eyebrow-raiser came when Riley publicly pinned one of those penalties on a starter. On November 22, sports journalist Shotgun Spratling tweeted, “#USC HC Lincoln Riley said that Desman Stephens II ‘just panicked and did something they don’t teach’ on the leaping penalty.” Riley’s Trojans racked up four flags for 58 yards, but the backbreaker came from Desman Stephens II. 

The USC linebacker got hit with a “leaping” penalty on Oregon’s missed field goal. Instead of walking away empty-handed, the Ducks got a free first down and cashed it in when their linebacker punched in a touchdown out of a wildcat look. The lack of discipline part was highlighted by the ex-Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, who played at USC from 2001 to 2005.

He tweeted, “Exactly how I saw this going.  Off Would keep it with striking distance but lack of discipline would kill Usc.   Offense has to be perfect and that’s hard to ask.  Defense played pretty good in second half but struggles to be consistent for a whole game.  It is what it is I guess.”

The real spark came after Jayden Maiava’s second-quarter pick, when Ja’Kobi Lane wandered deep into Duck country, hanging around Oregon’s sideline like he was trying to repossess USC’s football. A little tug-of-war, a little trash talk, and tempers popped, ending with Lane getting slapped with a 15-yard flag that sweetened Oregon’s interception return. Let’s see what route Lincoln Riley takes to straighten out his crew after that flag fest.