Lincoln Riley started his third season as the head coach at USC with a seven-point win over LSU on Monday. It was a statement victory to begin the 2024 college football season.
However, if the 40-year-old got his way, the Trojans would’ve missed out on the opportunity all together!
Riley’s alleged cowardice almost cost him the opportunity to play the Tigers. He supposedly tried his absolute hardest to dodge the SEC but was unable to do so. His failed attempt to call off the game ended up being a tremendous triumph in his favor.
Saturday Down South reported in May that Riley did not want USC to play LSU. The game was scheduled in 2021 — before he was hired — and he tried to get it off of the calendar.
USC tried for nearly two years to find a way out of a contract to play LSU in Las Vegas because Trojans coach Lincoln Riley didn’t want the game, per multiple sources.
— Matt Hayes
A number of games, both college and NFL, were moved around to accommodate the high-profile Week 1 matchup in Las Vegas so there was very little chance it was going to be bumped or cancelled. Television scheduling also prevented the standalone Sunday night season-opener from falling through.
The Trojans still tried their best. They even offered to play another big-name program in its own (new) conference. That wasn’t happening either.
[FOX] wasn’t enamored with the idea of USC’s first game as a Big Ten member broadcast by rival ABC/ESPN.
— Matt Hayes
In the end, despite every effort to get it scrapped at Riley’s request, the game was played as scheduled.
That ended up being a really good thing for USC. It went into a hostile Tigers-heavy crowd at Allegiant Stadium and left with a seven-point win over the No. 13-ranked team in the country. Lincoln Riley appears to have his team in great position for a legitimate run at the College Football Playoff.
Sure, the Trojans might’ve started with the same 1-0 record if the game was cancelled, but they would not have a win over one of the premier SEC programs on their resume. Maybe LSU should’ve been the one to back out?