USC's Lincoln Riley Says He Has to 'Do a Much Better Job' After Blowout Loss vs. UCLA

While the Lincoln Riley experience at USC has certainly had some success, the program has regressed in his second season at the helm.

And the Trojans hit a new low Saturday following yet another loss, this one to rival UCLA 38-20 at the LA Coliseum. It's the Trojans' (7-5, 5-4 PAC 12) fifth loss in the last six weeks and their lone win came by one point in a 50-49 shootout against Cal.

Riley knows that he has missed the mark over the past few weeks as the program's CFP aspirations have been totally flushed.

"I've clearly not done a good enough job in the second half of the season to get this team ready," Riley said via ESPN's Paolo Uggeti. "I've got to do a much better job."

USC will still go bowling but that wasn't the goal when it entered the season as the No. 6 ranked team in the country with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams leading the way.

However, Saturday's game was an amalgamation of all things that were wrong with this USC roster and coaching staff. Defense left plenty to be desired and there were too many sloppy, unforced mistakes.

And as good as Williams is—the front-runner for the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL draft—it wasn't enough to patch up the deficiencies all season long. Williams had 34 completions for 384 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception Saturday.

It may very well have been his final game in a Trojan uniform as he decides what to do with his future.

"He came here and took a chance on this place and took a chance on being a part of restarting this program and getting it going," Riley said of Williams. "He's a special player, special competitor, and obviously we'll see what goes on from there."

Regardless of whether Williams returns or not, Riley knows there are a lot more things that need to be fixed in Tinsel Town if he's going to lead the program to another championship.

The recent firing of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch clearly hasn't made an impact. So, now is the time for real self reflection from Riley and the rest of his staff.

"The reality is, you play better and you coach better, then you're not in that many [close games]," Riley said. "It sucks right now. It hurts right now, but I've never been more motivated and had more of a fire in my belly than I do right now."