Lincoln Riley to USC

When the playoff expands to 8 with 6 auto bids for conference champions and Lincoln Riley is in the playoffs with 8-4 Oklahoma, 6-6 Texas, and 9-3 Ole miss sitting at home watching Cincinnati @ App State in a first round games….


the SEC will learn they played themselves
 

When the playoff expands to 8 with 6 auto bids for conference champions and Lincoln Riley is in the playoffs with 8-4 Oklahoma, 6-6 Texas, and 9-3 Ole miss sitting at home watching Cincinnati @ UCF in a first round games….


the SEC will learn they played themselves

I think that's a valid point.

And I'm really interested to see who does and who does not want to take the LSU job. It just may be that there aren't that many people who aspire to be Saban's punching bag.

I wonder if there will be a sustained drain on head coaching talent in the SEC, because it is a no-win situation if you're not at Alabama.
 





I think that's a valid point.

And I'm really interested to see who does and who does not want to take the LSU job. It just may be that there aren't that many people who aspire to be Saban's punching bag.

I wonder if there will be a sustained drain on head coaching talent in the SEC, because it is a no-win situation if you're not at Alabama.
How many years do we think Saban has left? He is 70 years old. I know he has built a juggernaut but they will come back to the pack when he leaves. No one stays on top forever.
 

I wonder whether Linc Riley didn't hate the SEC move right from the start, and jumping to USC offered (among other perks) a great way out of that ugly scenario.
For sure.

when you play a game with no ties….
Someone is guaranteed a loss every game.


Assuming they move auburn east and have them play Bama every year as a crossover.


SEC WEST:
Alabama (7 games against teams below)
Texas A&M (6 games against teams below)
Texas (5 games against teams below)
Oklahoma (4 games against teams below)
LSU (3 games against teams below)
Ole miss (2 games against teams below)
Mississippi state (Play Arkansas)
Arkansas

That’s 28 losses for those 8 teams guaranteed:
Mathematically Mississippi state and Arkansas can only combine for 13 of them…..
 

Smart move for Lincoln Riley. What sounds better to a recruit. Sign a NIL in Los Angeles or Norman? Riley will legally recreate the 2003-2005 USC teams.
 

So...the SEC gets a coach-less team, a 5-7 texas and the B12 gets Playoff bound Cincy, a 10 win BYU team, 8 win UCF and 11 win Houston.

Uhm...


 




Short of collecting a massive check, I am failing to see why anyone would want the LSU job. You are essentially guaranteed to get fired. Ed O won a title 2 years ago and got fired. Alabama has tainted all of those schools, they just assume they go 50-4 over every 4 year stretch, sorry guys thats not a thing. I'm sure Riley was thinking that too, at USC they have had a pretty long leash on coaches and it shouldnt be hard for him to compete for conf titles. I think the same for Matt Campbell, I think he has a lifetime job at Iowa St, get a raise and just stay there. Why hop to a Washington/LSU, go 25-23 over 4 years and get fired.
LSU is certainly a pressure cooker, but there are also lots of advantages. And their last 3 coaches have all won national titles. Without looking it up I'm still positive no other FBS program can say that.

And most coaches end up getting fired, so I'm not sure I'd say they are unique in that respect.
 





Bob Stoops is coaching Oklahoma in the bowl game. I wonder if he'll consider being the full time HC again for a few years? He's still only 61.
 

Smart move for Lincoln Riley. What sounds better to a recruit. Sign a NIL in Los Angeles or Norman? Riley will legally recreate the 2003-2005 USC teams.
Norman is a great place for college football. People REALLY care about Oklahoma football in Oklahoma and the boosters will make things work. Norman isn't some small town in the middle of nowhere, it's a great college town that is also a suburb to OK City (1.5 million people in the metro area). It's full of boosters who will throw some cash around.

As far as USC? The fan base isn't the same. LA is a draw for people but people don't really care about college football in LA. If they can catch lightening in a bottle and re-create the Pete Carroll teams, maybe, but I don't think it's possible.

IMO, Lincoln Riley left because they just made Oklahoma into the Florida job. There are going to be unreal expectations because it's Oklahoma and losing to Georgia and/or Alabama is going to eventually get you fired (sooner rather than later). At Oklahoma, before the SEC, you could win 10 games on a down year. At USC, Riley is hoping to recreate that for long enough to bolt to the NFL. Oklahoma went from being a fantastic job (with tons of job security) to a pressure cooker by joining the SEC.
 

Bob Stoops is coaching Oklahoma in the bowl game. I wonder if he'll consider being the full time HC again for a few years? He's still only 61.
I've heard Mark Stoops which would be weird. Kliff Kingsbury stuff is also a bit odd.

If I were them, I'd back up the Brinks truck, offer Lane Kiffin a ton of money and if he turned it down do the same for Dave Aranda (who I think would turn it down to stay at Baylor and avoid the SEC meat grinder). If they both turn it down, it'll probably be Heupel.
 

I said something like this in the hire/fire thread, but just to throw my two cents here as well...I kind of wonder if Riley didn't like being the king in Norman. He was probably one of the most well-known guys in town, and wasn't able to go out in public very much without attracting attention. In LA he's not going to be nearly as high profile compared to other celebrities in town, and will be able to live a little bit more of a normal life. Stuff like that can be important to someone like him who has a young family, and wants to be able to take his kids to the park or go on a date with his wife without being bothered.

I'm sure some coaches crave that celebrity status, but not all. I remember an interview with Kliff Kingsbury when he was at Texas Tech where he talked about how all he really did was go to work, pick up some takeout, and watch TV at home. That was his life. Couldn't go anywhere in Lubbock without people recognizing him, and didn't really like the attention. He came off as sounding kind of miserable.
 

Norman is a great place for college football. People REALLY care about Oklahoma football in Oklahoma and the boosters will make things work. Norman isn't some small town in the middle of nowhere, it's a great college town that is also a suburb to OK City (1.5 million people in the metro area). It's full of boosters who will throw some cash around.

As far as USC? The fan base isn't the same. LA is a draw for people but people don't really care about college football in LA. If they can catch lightening in a bottle and re-create the Pete Carroll teams, maybe, but I don't think it's possible.

IMO, Lincoln Riley left because they just made Oklahoma into the Florida job. There are going to be unreal expectations because it's Oklahoma and losing to Georgia and/or Alabama is going to eventually get you fired (sooner rather than later). At Oklahoma, before the SEC, you could win 10 games on a down year. At USC, Riley is hoping to recreate that for long enough to bolt to the NFL. Oklahoma went from being a fantastic job (with tons of job security) to a pressure cooker by joining the SEC.
What you say about Norman vs LA isn't wrong. I've never been to Norman, but I don't think of it as a small town. I'm sure you are correct that Norman/OKC is much more football-crazed than LA. As I said in a previous post, I wonder if that wasn't actually a positive for Riley. At USC he's still at a blueblood program, but doesn't have to deal with the spotlight of being one of the most well-known guys in town.

As far as the NFL, I don't think he needed to go to USC in order to get a shot at the NFL. Riley's been mentioned as a candidate for NFL jobs previously, and I don't think there would have been anything stopping him from going straight from Oklahoma to the NFL either this offseason or next if that is what he really wanted.
 

What you say about Norman vs LA isn't wrong. I've never been to Norman, but I don't think of it as a small town. I'm sure you are correct that Norman/OKC is much more football-crazed than LA. As I said in a previous post, I wonder if that wasn't actually a positive for Riley. At USC he's still at a blueblood program, but doesn't have to deal with the spotlight of being one of the most well-known guys in town.

As far as the NFL, I don't think he needed to go to USC in order to get a shot at the NFL. Riley's been mentioned as a candidate for NFL jobs previously, and I don't think there would have been anything stopping him from going straight from Oklahoma to the NFL either this offseason or next if that is what he really wanted.
I worded that poorly, I don't think he is going to USC as a next step to get to the NFL. I think he thinks the meat-grinder that is the SEC could take some of his shine off. So going to USC and recreating what he did at Oklahoma (beating lesser opponents every year) is the safer bet.
 




Thanks for the information and reply to my question.

Is it possible some of Riley's Oklahoma recruits might struggle with academic eligibility at USC?
Doubtful. I knew a tutor who helped keep some players “eligible” during the Holtz era: they were in the easiest classes/majors and had lots of help with their work. The % of the non academically inclined is an overblown public perception sometimes as well.
 


So...the SEC gets a coach-less team, a 5-7 texas and the B12 gets Playoff bound Cincy, a 10 win BYU team, 8 win UCF and 11 win Houston.
SEC payout will be $60-70M per team per year, Big XII payout probably drops to less than $20M per team per year?
 

SEC payout will be $60-70M per team per year, Big XII payout probably drops to less than $20M per team per year?
Texas didn't need the money though. They're already one of, if not the richest athletic program in the country. And now have to play tougher competition when they already aren't very good where they are.
 


Texas didn't need the money though. They're already one of, if not the richest athletic program in the country. And now have to play tougher competition when they already aren't very good where they are.
Yeah, agree with this. Maybe they were also worried the Big XII would literally collapse and they'd be left scrambling as independents?

Texas also had an ESPN channel, so maybe it was an ESPN dictated move? That's all conspiracy theory stuff.
 

Texas wouldn't have to scramble. Literally any conference would want them. It's a helmet school, and it's a very good academic school as well.
 

Texas wouldn't have to scramble. Literally any conference would want them. It's a helmet school, and it's a very good academic school as well.
Yeah but still, not planned out ahead of time. Not having the "shots called" by Austin.

Appearances are all they have left, these days.
 




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