Lincoln Riley enters his second Big Ten season as USC football coach under immense pressure.
The Trojans underachieved massively this past season by failing to make the College Football Playoff after high preseason expectations, alongside adjusting to life after Caleb Williams.
Although the Trojans managed to salvage their season by winning a bowl game against an upstart Texas A&M team, some college football pundits are beginning to have enough of the Trojans' too good to be true hype each season.
This includes FanSided's John Buhler, as the national analyst wrote a scathing critique about five college football coaches whose jobs could be jeopardized without immediate winning. Riley came in as Buhler's third-most-likely coach
"I have a very strong feeling this will be the final year that Lincoln Riley gets to lead the USC Trojans to waste everyone's time and money," Buhler wrote. "The move to the Big Ten has created a far more difficult travel schedule than USC realized."
Not only does Buhler suggest the Trojans' program-altering shift to the Big Ten is a concern, but this year's league schedule doesn't do them any favors either.
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Going unbeaten in nonconference is a must to make a bowl game, he says.
"No matter how you slice it, their upcoming slate is both brutal and daunting," Buhler wrote. "Any loss before the road date at Illinois would be inexcusable, probably a fireable offense if USC were to drop a game to either Missouri State or Clay Helton's Georgia Southern Eagles at home or on the road at pitiful Purdue."
Buhler says at a bare minimum, a floor for the Trojans is 8-4, which equates to a 5-3 Big Ten record.
Two of the Trojans' four losses could come from College Football Playoff teams, including Oregon and Notre Dame. Finding two more is a crapshoot, but Buhler predicts USC won't be favored when it attempts to spoil Homecoming for Bret Bielema and Illinois Sept. 27.
Nevertheless, the Trojans appear to be in a difficult spot despite Jayden Maiava likely earning the keys as the Trojans' starter.
Riley said he liked what he saw from Maiava in spring practice, and he hopes his improvements will translate to fall camp.
"Decision-making," Riley said regarding Maiava's biggest asset, per SI. "Especially in the last five, six practices, he's really been strong. Throwing the ball well, which he's always done, understanding what we're trying to accomplish offensively, not just his role in it. Understanding the big picture."
The Trojans host Missouri State in their opener Saturday, Aug. 30. This begins a stretch of four out of six games at home to begin the year, including games against Georgia Southern (Sept. 6), Michigan State (Sept. 20) and Michigan (Oct. 11).