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Lincoln Riley states his real reason for leaving OU and going to USC.

Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:36 pm
Posted by Tideroller
Lower Alabama
Member since Jan 2022
2289 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:36 pm
He says it didn't have anything to do with coming to the SEC but rather that he could never recruit to a high enough level to win it all at OU.
quote:

“I’ve walked into four playoffs, and I’ve never had better than maybe the third-best roster [of the four semifinal teams],” Riley admitted.

“Every other year, we were four of four. We had really good rosters, but they weren’t the same. … I can’t imagine that there could be a setting that we could build a better roster than we can here.”


That's a pretty big admission but I'm not sure I buy it altogether. It's also basically what Brian Kelly was saying about leaving ND. It will be interesting to see if the difficulty recruiting to a specific school (IE OU or ND) really was the problem by watching what happens at their new stops.

LINK
Posted by SummerOfGeorge
Member since Jul 2013
102699 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:38 pm to
LOL - yea, cause his problem at Oklahoma was skill players on offense.

He's gonna sign the same types of kids at every position as he did at Oklahoma. He signed elite skill kids year after year at OU at QB/WR. They weren't his issue. His issue was the other side of the ball, specifically in the front 7, and he won't sign anything any differently out there either.
This post was edited on 6/9/22 at 1:39 pm
Posted by j1897
Member since Nov 2011
3559 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:39 pm to
He's 100 percent right, OU is not gonna like this move.
Posted by DFWAggie09
DFW
Member since Oct 2011
1483 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:40 pm to
Lol, I call BS. Didn't he basically recruit his current USC class while at OU?

Oklahoma wasn't the problem in recruiting, it was the players Riley wanted to recruit, i.e. zero defense.
Posted by Krampus
Member since Nov 2018
5207 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:41 pm to
And all of his rosters at OU were, by far, the most talented in the Big 12.

So what he's saying is he can only win when he has a team that more talented across the board than his competition.

Will probably work out about the same for him at USC as it did at OU. Lots of wins and conference titles. But he still won't compete with SEC teams in the playoffs.
Posted by lewis and herschel
Member since Nov 2009
11363 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:42 pm to
Not sure USC can anymore. Carroll was pre SEC Domination and the conference recruits blue chips at a high rate nationwide.

West coast kids coming south these days to play against the best.
Posted by Hback
Member since Aug 2017
9169 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:42 pm to
quote:

His issue was the other side of the ball


Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
118891 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:44 pm to
quote:

He says it didn't have anything to do with coming to the SEC


So he went to the weak12. Yeah, right.
Posted by thatthang
Member since Jan 2012
6760 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:47 pm to
quote:

Not sure USC can anymore


They can if they decide to play NIL games...
Posted by SummerOfGeorge
Member since Jul 2013
102699 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:47 pm to
Won't matter how many NIL games they play if they don't teach sound defense.
Posted by 0
Member since Aug 2011
16624 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:47 pm to
quote:

It's also basically what Brian Kelly was saying about leaving ND


The difference is in the 15 years before BK got there, they mostly sucked. He might not have gotten them over the hump but he elevated them back to at least a top 10 / 15 team every year.

Riley took over a program that has won a national championship and played for 2 more in that same 15 year period.
Posted by tgrmeat
Member since Sep 2020
4312 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:49 pm to
Whose fault is that? Oklahoma is a plenty big enough name to recruit to.
Posted by 3down10
Member since Sep 2014
22511 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:51 pm to
quote:

He says it didn't have anything to do with coming to the SEC




The teams he is talking about not being able to compete with are SEC teams. He knew what was going to happen when he would have to start playing those same teams in conference instead of the weak Big12 teams he was use to.


Posted by Krampus
Member since Nov 2018
5207 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:52 pm to
quote:

OU is not gonna like this move.


Agree 100%. OU has become accustomed to being the only big dog in their conference, with the deepest and most talented roster every year.

It's going to be an adjustment when they get to the SEC and have, at best, the 4th or 5th best roster in the league.

The expectations of 10+ wins and a conference title in almost every season is going to hit a brick wall of reality.
Posted by lsufball19
Franklin, TN
Member since Sep 2008
64467 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:56 pm to
quote:

Won't matter how many NIL games they play if they don't teach sound defense.


yup. When your team gives up an average of 50 points in 4 playoff games, you may want to rethink how you build your teams to compete when you get there.
Posted by Grateful Reb
Member since Apr 2011
8070 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 1:59 pm to
NIL is an absolute godsend for a team like USC.
Posted by multicampus
Member since Oct 2021
1191 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 2:01 pm to
Remember, Riley was a 100% lock to be LSU's coach but he went to USC due to being scared of the SEC.

It's the internet. You can have it both ways.
Posted by Ag Zwin
Member since Mar 2016
19911 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 2:04 pm to
Oklahoma is the next Nebraska.
Posted by Naked Bootleg
Member since Jul 2021
1803 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 2:06 pm to
quote:

Won't matter how many NIL games they play if they don't teach sound defense.


That's the funny part: he brought that same defensive coordinator with him and his "speed D" concept requires lighter, quicker D-linemen.

While acknowledging Los Angeles is a very large and wealthy metro area, I'm not convinced there's a bigger college football NIL market there than most typical football-crazy states. Most LA folks don't give a shite about the Trojans. Their Carroll heyday was a "build it, THEN the fans will come" situation, but LR is no Pete Carroll. The dude's never built a program, in fact he was handed a well-oiled machine (albeit with a shite DC.. thanks Bob) which regressed year over year under his leadership. The USC experiment will be fun to watch.
Posted by Naked Bootleg
Member since Jul 2021
1803 posts
Posted on 6/9/22 at 2:07 pm to
quote:

Oklahoma is the next Nebraska.


You wish
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