USC Trojans Legend Matt Leinart Calls For One Big Change For Lincoln Riley's Team

Adamson asked Leinart about his thoughts on USC's upcoming season, and Leinart revealed his expectations for USC coach Lincoln Riley in 2025.

"You look at USC, UCLA. I mean, both teams need to get better. USC in particular. I'm actually very interested in this year. They made huge strides on defense a year ago. I think that we saw that. They were so close last year in a lot of games, and you can't have excuses. But those plays go the different way, maybe they’re 10-3 and in a playoff or 10-2 an in the playoffs, so they need to learn how to finish."

As Leinart alluded to, five of the Trojans' six losses in 2024 were by one possession, including a gut-wrenching loss to Penn State in overtime. In one-score games, USC finished 4-5.

As for how to fix USC's problem of finishing close games? The former Trojans quarterback talked about how Riley and the current coaching staff is emphasizing it over the offseason.

"I always say this and Pete Carroll at USC, our whole program was built on finishing. Whether it was schoolwork, whether it was in the gym, whether it was meetings just be the best and finish until the very end. You start to develop that mindset," Leinart said. "I know that's kind of been a big thing for them this offseason. Hopefully that translates into the games."

"I think they’re preseason ninth pole, which means nothing, but people are gonna overlook them this year. I think they’re going to be pretty good," the former Trojan continued.

How far will "pretty good" get in this year's Big Ten?

Penn State, Ohio State, and Oregon are considered to be a step ahead of the rest of the conference. Meanwhile, other teams like Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska could fight for spots in the College Football Playoff as well.

Leinart also shared his thoughts on Oregon coach Dan Lanning, and the former USC star was complimentary of the Ducks:

Yeah, Oregon was phenomenal. Coach Lanning has done a great job over there. They’re just dialed in whether it's NIL, recruiting, they got they got everything there. Eugene's great. He's done a great job. . . . It's some new faces, you know, interesting to see their quarterback and how he does, but he's got that team built to win," Leinart said.