Lincoln Riley Faces Pressure as USC Takes on Ohio State

Kev, I've been saying this for the last couple years here now on Lincoln Riley here. I mean, there's got to be a change in Southern Cal, no? I mean, they've invested so much in this guy, but when it comes to big-time wins, top 25 wins, this guy's a no-show, man. The big issue that he now finds himself with is the success of Chesney, I think. I don't think that's an oversimplification of what's going on. UCLA is going to make the playoff. It would, at this point, be legitimately stunning if they didn't make the playoff. And USC last week lost to Wisconsin. And trust me, I have plenty of losses, so I don't say this braggadociously. That was an easy one. We were getting the Badgers plus three last week. That wasn't... I didn't have to spend too much time breaking that down. It's like USC are laying a field goal traveling across the country. They don't do well in this spot. Ever. And it's like, oh, well, they just beat Penn State. Yep. Even more reason to think that they were going to struggle against Wisconsin. Now, I'll say, this actually, more than any of them, is the moment. Because Ohio State are Ohio State, but Ohio State are playing a kid who's never really played before. And Lincoln Riley, good, bad, or in the middle, can usually put up points. If they get to... I mean, they're not supposed to get to the 30s here. I mean, the sportsbooks don't think USC are really going to score in this game, which is a little... I don't know about you. I'm surprised at how little faith they have in the USC offense heading into the game. I just think there's too much Ohio State defense here. And get the ball to Smith. Just get the ball in Smith's hands. I can't believe, too, Kevin, that Ohio State doesn't have a viable backup quarterback. I don't understand that even a little bit. Like, what is that? How is that possible? Like, all the money going around, they couldn't remember to put a couple of dollars in the backup QB slot? How is that possible? It's a program that had Joe Burrow as a backup at one time. And you're toting out there a guy who's 5'9", and I'm watching that game a couple weeks ago when Julian Sayin ended up getting hurt. I'm like, give that guy a phone book to stand up. I can't see him behind the center here.