Like his players, USC coach Lincoln Riley has come under fire

Lincoln Riley beamed.

The USC coach said he saw it It when his team came back from a 17-point deficit against Texas A&M to win 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

He said he could feel It in the locker room.

“There’s a toughness and toughness that’s developing in this program,” Riley said.

But how much should be made of it?

As much as Riley raved about the Trojans’ resilience, the reality was that they were a 7-6 team this season.

Mental toughness is important, but so is physical talent, and it looks like USC could continue to lack that in various areas of the field next year.

On the offensive line. On the defensive line. In secondary education. At quarterback.

Sophomore receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon had standout games against Texas A&M, but don’t forget that Miller Moss threw six touchdown passes in the Holiday Bowl last year. Moss was replaced as USC’s starting quarterback last month and has since transferred to Louisville.

Moss’ replacement, Jayden Maiava, was inconsistent in his three regular-season starts, and he was inconsistent again Friday night when three of his passes were intercepted before leading the Trojans’ comeback.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava appeared to fold under pressure from Texas A&M defensive lineman Cashius Howell during Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl.

(David Becker/Getty Images)

Riley can be praised for developing a never-give-up culture, but he doesn’t have many believers outside of his own locker room.

The 400 sections that comprise the top seats at Allegiant Stadium were completely empty Friday night. So were the 300 sections.

Elsewhere in the 65,000-seat venue, there were rows and rows of empty seats that served as a visual representation of what was happening to USC in its third season under Riley.

The fans lost hope.

At this point, it seems far more likely that Riley will remain on this downward trend than he will lead the Trojans back to national prominence – or even prestige.

They were 8-5 last year and 11-2 before that, and why would anyone think their slump won’t continue?

The Trojans are 20 years removed from their since-vacated national championship in 2004. With each passing season, the Pete Carroll era seems more like an aberration than a realistic standard to which the program should be held.

Redshirt sophomore safety Kamari Ramsey said he chose to return to USC next season rather than declare for the NFL draft in part because he believed in the direction the Trojans were headed would.

“Obviously this season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but the fight we showed in every game, with wins and losses, just showed me what kind of program we are,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey isn’t necessarily an outlier, but his view isn’t shared by everyone either. USC just lost 19 players to the transfer portal.

Riley’s first two recruiting classes included a dozen top-100 players. Nine of them have disappeared.

Riley has done what he can to call this season a step forward, and he argued the Las Vegas Bowl win was proof of that.

USC’s Mason Cobb (13) and Braylan Shelby (34) react after a play against Texas A&M during the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.

(David Becker/Getty Images)

“We didn’t flinch,” he said. “We’re a pretty battle-hardened group. We’ve been through a lot this year. We played in a lot of big games.”

In his opinion, five of the Trojans’ six losses were by a touchdown or less.

“There was nothing that could happen in that game where I thought we would completely cringe,” Riley said.

Instead of lamenting Maiava’s erratic play in the first three quarters, Riley praised him for his performance in the fourth quarter.

“He stuck with it,” said Riley, who added that he was “very confident” that Maiava would move forward as his quarterback.

Riley needs to practice what he teaches.

The excitement generated by his first season at USC feels like something from the distant past. The anticipation was gradually replaced by fear.

The Trojans cannot maintain the momentum. They lose players in the transfer portal. They lack talent compared to the top teams in their new conference.

Riley can’t waver.