Lincoln Riley Hot Seat Talk Grows After USC-Washington

USC escaped Washington with a 25-21 win on October 4, 2026, but the final result did little to quiet the growing frustration around Lincoln Riley. Instead, the noise only got louder. During the game at the Coliseum, chants of "Fire Lincoln" could be heard from the student section, a striking sign of how quickly patience is fading despite the Trojans sitting at 5-1.

The reaction was not only about one afternoon. It reflected a larger sense that USC continues to fall into the same patterns under Riley. The expectations entering this season were clear: reach the College Football Playoff and restore the program's place among the sport's elite. USC invested heavily around the program, from NIL support to facilities upgrades and staffing, and the schedule offered multiple chances to prove that progress was real.

That is why the earlier loss to Oregon resonated so strongly. USC had an opportunity to show it belonged with the top teams in the country and failed to do so. The Ducks piled up more than 500 yards of offense, even after backup quarterback Dylan Raiola replaced Dante Moore following Moore's injury on a USC tackle. Although the game was tied 27-27 in the fourth quarter, a costly roughing the passer penalty extended an Oregon drive, and the Trojans eventually absorbed another damaging loss in the Riley era.

Saturday against Washington was supposed to be a response. Instead, it became another example of why concerns remain. Washington built a 21-10 lead, and one third-quarter touchdown stood out for all the wrong reasons because USC's tackling effort was so poor that the television broadcast openly called it awful. On a brutally hot, 100-degree day in Los Angeles, the crowd's frustration was understandable.

USC did rally, thanks in part to a strip-sack scoop-and-score by sophomore defensive lineman Jakheem Stewart, but the comeback did not erase the mistakes that nearly cost the Trojans again. Jayden Maiava threw a bad interception in the second quarter and later missed a chance to put the game away when he underthrew a wide-open Tanook Hines in the fourth.

Penalties were just as damaging. A 16-yard completion in the second quarter was wiped out by an illegal formation call. Later on the same drive, Maiava connected with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for what appeared to be a 37-yard touchdown on third-and-2, only for another illegal formation penalty to erase it. Instead of taking a 17-7 lead, USC punted, and Washington answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive to go ahead 14-10.

There were more self-inflicted setbacks. After Boobie Feaster gained five yards on third-and-6 to set up fourth-and-1 at the Washington 42, lineman Alani Noa was flagged for a dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pulling a defender off his quarterback. What should have been a manageable fourth-down chance became fourth-and-16 and another punt. In the third quarter, Dixon-Wyatt added an unsportsmanlike penalty of his own, turning third-and-7 into third-and-22.

Those moments are why the win felt hollow. USC is 5-1, but it has been an unconvincing 5-1, and there is little evidence yet that this team is ready to beat disciplined, elite opponents such as Ohio State or Indiana. Riley's buyout remains significant, so any decision would be complicated. Still, the mood around the program is shifting. At USC, narrow escapes and repeated mistakes were never supposed to define this season, and the chants against Riley showed just how much urgency now surrounds the program.