Lincoln Riley still can't stop disappointing Oklahoma fans in big games

Almost four years to the date after Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC, Sooner Nation once again, for the first time since, had to root for and rely on Riley to win a big game, and of course, he let OU fans down again. 

After beating No. 22 Missouri 17-6 on Saturday morning in Norman, the No. 8 Sooners control their own destiny and just need to beat LSU next week to make the College Football Playoff. However, the Sooners are currently projected to host a first-round playoff game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, but in order for OU to keep that home playoff game, more still needs to go right for the Sooners around the rest of college football the final few weeks of the regular season. 

Oregon beats USC in game with CFP implications

Oregon was a spot above the Sooners in the latest CFP rankings at No. 7, so was one of the few teams OU needed to lose Week 13 to help its CFP situation and have a better shot at eventually hosting. The Ducks also seemingly had the best chance to lose of those teams while hosting No. 15 USC, which forced OU fans to cheer for a Trojan victory that could have propelled Riley’s squad into playoff contention. 

Instead, the Ducks prevailed 42-27 and improved to 10-1 with one game left against Washington next week. Although Oregon has gotten through a much weaker schedule than the Sooners, who have beaten four teams currently ranked, the committee has still favored the Ducks because they have one less loss. And that likely won’t change by Selection Sunday since Riley failed to lead his team to a big win and hand Oregon a second blemish. The loss erased any hope for USC to sneak into the CFP.

It was a classic Riley special. The Trojans could barely get a stop as the Ducks put up 436 total yards. USC’s offense did enough to keep it competitive, but like OU fans were accustomed to while Riley was leading the Sooners, the defense just flat out isn’t good enough to beat any quality opponent in games that matter. 

Riley left Norman scared for the West Coast to avoid an SEC gauntlet. Yet, the Sooners, under Brent Venables, are the playoff contenders after enduring one of the toughest schedules in the country. Scheduling clearly wasn’t the problem. Riley still can’t get to the CFP with his soft schedule at USC or even win one of the few challenges on his slate to not only benefit the Sooners, but also get himself into the mix. 

OU still has a resume impressive enough to hopefully host a playoff game, but somehow, messes left by Riley are still making life harder for Venables and the Sooners in Norman.