Lincoln Riley is the only one that doesn't recognize he's failed at USC

When the USC Trojans were able to lure Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma it was the blockbuster level of move that you hardly see. The Trojans were able to lure away a head coach who looked like he would lead a program for 40-50 years from another blue blood program shocking college football. Going all-in like USC went for Lincoln Riley comes with one expectation: Win Championships.

The USC Trojans have been dying to return to their early 2000's form where they won back-to-back National Championships and 7 straight Pac-10 titles. Considering the fact that USC gave Riley a 10-year deal with $110 Million, the expectation is to get this program back to where it should be on a yearly basis.

On Tuesday Night, the USC Trojans ended the 4th season under Riley in a perfect fashion that sums up his tenure, allowing a 35 yard walk-off touchdown in overtime on a play where the Trojans couldn't tackle.

Granted, these teams are a shell of themselves with countless opt-outs on both sides of the matchup, but it's exactly what USC fans have grown used to seeing. The loss that sent the Trojans into the offseason left USC Trojans legends fed up with what they've seen.

USC great LenDale White bashed the current state of the program on X/Twitter in a NSFW rant.

Former USC Captain Petros Papadakis simply posted that "The walls of Troy have fallen".

Former USC long snapper Jake Olson called out Lincoln Riley for looking "clueless at times."

Former USC safety Su'a Cravens called out the program and the current product for being embarrassing.

Through his 4 seasons leading the Trojans, Lincoln Riley is just 35-18 with a 24-12 record against conference opponents. Given how much USC is paying Lincoln Riley, the results haven't come close to being good enough given the expectations. For reference, the coach Lincoln Riley replaced in Clay Helton posted a 34-18 record in his first 4 years on the job.

While you can't point to USC joining the Big Ten as a reason the Trojans haven't gotten over the hump, and how the roster is more complete now, the support from former players appears to be at an all-time low.

This loss comes after the historic rivalry between USC and Notre Dame was cancelled, and former Trojans didn't call out their bitter rival for being at fault.

The overwhelming sentiment from the players and the fans would be that Lincoln Riley hasn't come close to living up to the hype. The program is viewed as soft from outsiders and the players who once donned the same uniform. Despite all the disappointment, Lincoln Riley declared after the game that a window just opened up for the Trojans.

Claiming it takes 4 years to turn a program like USC is showing everyone that you're clearly in over your head and doing it wrong. Curt Cignetti took over a program with lesser resources and far less advantages than USC and made the College Football Playoff in Year One and has the best team in the country in year two.

Everyone on the outside looking in believes that Lincoln Riley has failed at USC to this point, and some internally likely feel the same way. It doesn't matter that Riley feels a window is opening for the program, the fanbase simply wants to see the results.

If the defense struggles, but USC wins every game in a shootout the fans won't care, the same can be said for not renewing the Notre Dame series. Riley knew the expectations when he won the job which makes it a failure that he's yet to reach the College Football Playoff 4 years into his tenure.