No. 14 Southern California officially kicks off the Lincoln Riley era Saturday when it welcomes visiting Rice to Los Angeles for both teams’ 2022 season opener.
The Trojans scored perhaps the most surprising coup of the offseason coaching carousel when it hired four-time Big 12 Conference champion Lincoln Riley to replace Clay Helton.
Riley led Oklahoma to three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances from 2017 through 2019, following in the impressive footsteps of College Football Hall of Fame predecessor Bob Stoops.
At USC, Riley inherits a much different situation with the Trojans coming off a 4–8 finish, the program’s worst record since 1991.
Helton’s turbulent tenure—which peaked with a Rose Bowl win in the 2016 season and Pac-12 title in 2017—ended after a Week 2 loss to Stanford….