In the long tradition of programs that win without convincing, USC's 25-21 victory over Washington on Saturday night raised more questions than it answered. The Trojans left the field with a winning record but a restless fanbase, as chants calling for Lincoln Riley's removal echoed from the student section — a reminder that in college football, how a team wins matters almost as much as whether it does. At 5-1, USC stands at a crossroads familiar to ambitious programs: possessing enough talent to survive inferior opponents, yet bearing the recurring flaws that tend to be exposed when the margin
USC fans chant 'Fire Lincoln' despite Riley's win over Washington
Winning 25-21 against a weaker team while committing the same penalties over and over
Mark
So USC won the game. Why are fans calling for the coach's head?
Mimi
Because winning 25-21 against a clearly weaker team while committing multiple illegal formation penalties and missing tackles isn't actually winning. It's surviving despite yourself.
Luke
But they did win. The record is 5-1. That's objectively not a failure.
Mimi
True, but the pattern is what matters. Oregon beat them because of a phantom roughing call, sure, but USC's defense couldn't stop them anyway. Washington shouldn't have been close.
Mark
What specifically frustrated the fans most?
Mimi
The penalties were inexcusable—illegal formation on back-to-back plays in the second quarter that cost them a touchdown. Then unsportsmanlike conduct flags that turned manageable downs into impossible ones. These aren't judgment calls; they're basic execution failures.
Luke
How many penalties are we talking about?
Mimi
The narrative mentions at least five significant ones that directly affected drives. But the real issue is the tackling effort on Washington's third-quarter touchdown was so poor the announcers called it "awful" on air.
Mark
Is Riley actually in danger of losing his job?
Luke
The buyout is massive, so probably not immediately. But if they lose to Ohio State or Indiana, the conversation changes fast.
Mimi
The chants are the real signal. When students are yelling "Fire Lincoln" during a win in 100-degree heat, the patience has run out.
Mark
What would actually fix this?
Luke
That's the question nobody can answer from the reporting. Is it coaching? Player discipline? Scheme? The story shows the problems but not the root cause.
Mimi
Maybe that's the point. After years of this pattern, fans don't care about the diagnosis anymore. They just want change.
O Pulso
- Even in victory, USC looked undisciplined — illegal formation penalties erased two touchdowns in a single drive, swinging momentum to Washington and turning a comfortable lead into a one-score game.
- The student section didn't wait for a loss to voice its verdict, chanting 'Fire Lincoln' throughout the night as the Trojans stumbled through self-inflicted mistakes against a clearly weaker opponent.
- A strip-sack scoop-and-score by sophomore Jakheem Stewart rescued the win, but Maiava's interception and a badly underthrown pass to an open receiver in the fourth quarter kept the performance from feeling like progress.
- The pattern — same penalties, same missed tackles, same inability to close — has calcified into a reputation, and USC's massive investment in Riley now demands answers that a 5-1 record alone cannot provide.
- With Ohio State and Indiana looming on the schedule, the question is no longer whether USC can beat inferior teams, but whether this program is structurally capable of competing with elite, well-coached opponents.
In the long tradition of programs that win without convincing, USC's 25-21 victory over Washington on Saturday night raised more questions than it answered. The Trojans left the field with a winning record but a restless fanbase, as chants calling for Lincoln Riley's removal echoed from the student section — a reminder that in college football, how a team wins matters almost as much as whether it does. At 5-1, USC stands at a crossroads familiar to ambitious programs: possessing enough talent to survive inferior opponents, yet bearing the recurring flaws that tend to be exposed when the margin for error disappears.
Lincoln Riley's USC team walked off the field with a 25-21 win over Washington on Saturday night, but the victory felt hollow almost immediately. The Trojans had just outlasted an inferior opponent in sweltering heat — a game they should have controlled — yet the performance was so riddled with penalties and missed tackles that the win barely registered as progress. From the student section, chants of "Fire Lincoln" filled the air.
The frustration had roots in the season's opening loss to Oregon, where the Ducks rolled up over 500 yards and a roughing-the-passer penalty on a third-down stop late in a tied game handed Oregon a free first down and, eventually, the win. One loss doesn't define a season, but the Washington game was supposed to be the corrective — and it wasn't.
The penalties told the real story. In the second quarter alone, two touchdowns were erased by illegal formation flags on the same drive, turning a potential 17-7 lead into a Washington 80-yard scoring march. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a lineman converted a manageable fourth-and-one into fourth-and-sixteen. A retaliatory flag on a receiver turned third-and-seven into third-and-twenty-two. These weren't isolated lapses — they were a pattern.
USC did win, saved largely by a strip-sack scoop-and-score from sophomore defensive lineman Jakheem Stewart. But Maiava's interception and a badly underthrown pass to a wide-open receiver in the fourth quarter undercut any sense of momentum. The buyout is massive, the NIL investment real, and the facilities upgraded — yet the return is a 5-1 record that feels more fragile than it looks. Whether Riley's job security can survive the upcoming gauntlet against ranked opponents is now the defining question hanging over the program.
Lincoln Riley's USC team left the field with a 25-21 victory over Washington on Saturday night, but the win felt hollow enough that students in the stands were already chanting for the coach's removal. The Trojans had just beaten an inferior opponent in sweltering heat—a game they should have controlled—yet the performance was so marred by penalties, missed tackles, and self-inflicted mistakes that the win barely registered as progress.
The frustration had been building since the season's opening. USC entered 2026 with a clear mandate: make the College Football Playoff and restore the program to national relevance after years of disappointment. The schedule was brutal—home games against Oregon, Ohio State, and Washington, road trips to Penn State, Wisconsin, Indiana, and UCLA—but elite programs are supposed to win those matchups. Against Oregon, USC did the opposite. The Ducks rolled up over 500 yards of offense, and even after backup quarterback Dylan Raiola replaced an injured Dante Moore, the Trojans couldn't stop them. Late in the fourth quarter, with the score tied 27-27 and USC's defense appearing to force a stop on third down, a roughing the passer penalty gave Oregon a free first down. Ten minutes later, it was another Riley-era loss.
One loss doesn't define a season in modern college football, and Washington presented a chance to prove the Oregon game was an aberration. But Washington was clearly the weaker opponent, and yet the "Fire Lincoln" chants echoed from the student section throughout the night. The frustration had a specific source: the tackling on a Washington touchdown in the third quarter that extended the Huskies' lead to 21-10 was so poor that even the broadcast announcers felt compelled to call it "awful." This wasn't a matter of opinion—it was execution so bad it demanded naming.
The penalties were the real story. In the second quarter, a 16-yard completion to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt was erased by an illegal formation flag. On the very next play, third and two, Jayden Maiava connected with Dixon-Wyatt for a 37-yard touchdown. That too was called back for illegal formation. Instead of a 17-7 lead, USC punted, and Washington marched 80 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-10. Later that same drive, after Maiava found Boobie Feaster for a five-yard gain on third and six, lineman Alani Noa was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pulling a Washington defender off his blocker. Fourth and one became fourth and sixteen. In the third quarter, Dixon-Wyatt drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike of his own for retaliating to a hit, turning third and seven into third and twenty-two.
USC did win, ultimately, thanks to a strip-sack scoop and score by sophomore defensive lineman Jakheem Stewart that shifted momentum. But the victory was undercut by Maiava's terrible interception in the second quarter and a woefully underthrown pass to a wide-open receiver in the fourth quarter when the game was still in reach. These weren't close calls or bad luck. They were the accumulated weight of a program that, under Riley, seems incapable of executing at the level required to beat top-tier competition.
The buyout is massive. USC has invested heavily in NIL, upgraded facilities, and built out the coaching staff around Riley. The return on that investment is a 5-1 record that feels more underwhelming than impressive, with little evidence the Trojans can beat well-coached elite teams like Ohio State or Indiana. The chants from the student section weren't the product of one bad game or even one bad loss. They were the sound of a fanbase that has watched this pattern repeat—the same penalties, the same missed tackles, the same inability to finish—and concluded that something fundamental needs to change. Whether the university agrees, and whether Riley's job security can survive the upcoming gauntlet against ranked opponents, remains the central question hanging over the program.
Citações Notáveis
The tackling effort on Washington's third-quarter touchdown was so poor that broadcast announcers called it 'awful'— Game broadcast commentary
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