Lincoln Riley is trying to pretend he still has what he had at Oklahoma

Lincoln Riley isn’t in Oklahoma anymore, but he sure is talking like he is.

USC was the joke of Week 0 after an embarrassing attendance for its season-opening win over San Jose State on Saturday, making it obvious that Riley didn’t leave Oklahoma for the “Mecca of college football.” There were excuses of a lackluster opponent and high temperatures, but on Friday against UTEP, with a high temp of 96 degrees, Sooner Nation will not only fill Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to the brim, but many will also miss work to tailgate all day in the beating sun.

It just means more, and that’s exactly why Riley left: because he wanted less. That includes fans in the stands.

The Trojans were roasted so badly for their sparse crowd that it prompted the university to issue a poorly worded (and poorly received) statement defending its fan base. Riley then, during his weekly press conference, whined as only he can.

Lincoln Riley sounds desperate in false plea over USC attendance

"This is USC, right? People are going to pay attention, and people are going to have an opinion. That's part of being a blue-blood school,” Riley said. “I don't buy into the false narrative. I think that comes from a lot of people who don't follow our program, and most of those who have never set foot in The Coliseum.”

That’s the point, Riley, almost no one is setting foot in The Coliseum, which has become a relic, other than one day a year, and keeps withering away with capacity cuts. Had his statement started with, “This is Oklahoma,” then it really would have been about a program still with blue-blood status, which wouldn't need reasoning for poor attendance because it doesn’t happen.

It’s like a child playing make-believe. Riley is trying to pretend he still has at USC what he had in Oklahoma. But we can see reality with our own eyes, without even needing to set foot inside the Coliseum.

Just look at the irony as Riley cries about a "false narrative" as the video proves an accurate narrative:

Riley then continued with a blatant lie during his desperate plea: “The reality is during my years here, the attendance has gone up every single year here, as has our play in The Coliseum, including running the table last year in front of a lot of epic atmospheres. And I expect that to happen again this year."

USC’s average home attendance in 2024 was 71,571. In 2025, it dipped to 67,782. That seems to be a decrease during a time when Riley swears there has been only an increase. And 2026 isn’t off to a great start either, obviously, with an opening-week attendance of 51,144, and even that seems generous.

Thankfully for the Trojans, they do have a loaded Big Ten slate ahead. Those matchups will certainly fill more seats, since apparently folks in L.A. go to USC games to watch the other team, not the Trojans.

The true test will be Friday night, when the Trojans host Fresno State. It’s another underwhelming opponent, but it’s not in the heat of the day. USC fans were also just called out by the college football world, so now is the time to at least pretend you care and try to prove a point.

Just like USC, the Sooners also have College Football Playoff aspirations as a top-15 team with a Heisman Trophy long shot at quarterback. OU is also entering Year 5 with its head coach, through a much more turbulent tenure at times.

At about the same time Friday night, Memorial Stadium will be full, even with UTEP in town, and even with 90-degree weather, but there are no promises the conditions will be good enough at The Coliseum.

Oklahoma is the reality of Lincoln Riley's dreams.

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