"This would be a chaos scenario": Pressure mounts on Lincoln Riley after consequence of back-to-back disappointing seasons revealed

Lincoln Riley is one of the most respected offensive minds in college football. The USC Trojans' head coach built his reputation at Oklahoma as a quarterback whisperer, and he played a crucial role in Heisman Trophy wins for Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

However, his time with the USC Trojans hasn't been as successful as he'd like. The Trojans are coming off a 7-6 season that saw them miss out on the expanded college football playoffs and only participate in a bowl game.

With that in mind, college football analyst Josh Pate believes that the pressure is on the Trojans' head coach entering the 2025 college football season. Speaking on Wednesday's episode of "Josh Pate's College Football Show", Pate said,

"The whole chaos scenario season that's upon us gave birth to another possibility. USC, the curious case of USC. If USC has that backslide continue, it's a big problem. This would be a chaos scenario, I really do believe that."

Pate believes that there will be heavy consequences of back-to-back disappointing seasons at USC with Lincoln Riley at the helm. The Trojans are one of the best-funded programs in the NIL, and little patience is expected for an underperforming roster.

Pate also spoke about the potential effect that another six-loss season could have on the 2026 recruiting class. The Trojans currently have the No. 1-ranked class in 2026, but that class could quickly be torn apart if there's a lack of faith in progress under Riley.

What are Lincoln Riley's toughest games in 2025?

Lincoln Riley's side ended the 2024 college football season with a 7-6 record. Their season was derailed by one-score losses to Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, and Washington. Wins in half those games would have resulted in a significantly different record at the end of the regular season.

The Lincoln Riley-coached Trojans need to learn how to finish off games, especially as they're set to face off against stiff competition in the 2025 campaign. Some of USC's hardest games will be against Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, and UCLA.

The Michigan Wolverines are a few years removed from winning the national championship under program legend Jim Harbaugh. They might have endured a rough first season under Sherrone Moore in 2024, but it'll be foolish to write off a squad as experienced in the upcoming season.

Notre Dame reached the 2024 national championship title game, putting up a solid fight despite losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Dan Lanning's Oregon Ducks lost just one game all season and are a nightmare to come up against in the regular season.

Of course, there's the derby game against the UCLA Bruins. This game will see both USC and UCLA battle for supremacy and the title of King of LA at the end of the regular season.