‘Tie-Dyed Sneakers’: What Went Wrong At USC

The 2023 season for the USC Trojans was an unmitigated disaster.

In year two under Lincoln Riley and with returning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, expectations before the season were justifiably sky high. Despite a relatively tough schedule, a Pac-12 Conference title was viewed as a near certainty.

That didn't happen.

A questionable 2022 defense, buoyed by beneficial turnover margins, turned into a disaster. Players were frequently out of position, missed tackles were prolific, and USC frequently allowed opposing players to set records for offensive production. Sure enough, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was fired after another embarrassing loss to Washington. And things did not get better from there.

The Trojans were dominated by UCLA at the Coliseum, putting up just three total rushing yards and allowing 38 points to the offensively challenged Bruins. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of explanations for what went wrong with USC in 2023. Starting with an attitude that doesn't seem to be totally aligned with football.

According to The Athletic, opposing coaches and staffers felt like the team wasn't ever fully committed thanks to off-field distractions.

“I don’t know if the priorities of everyone in that building, especially in the locker room, will ever match up to what it was like under Pete back in the early 2000s,” one Pac-12 staffer reportedly said. “There’s just so much going on with NIL, all the distractions in L.A. Like, I don’t know if everyone in that building will all have football as priority No. 1. Whereas at Oregon, there’s nothing else to do out there … besides play football and win. They have everyone on the same page.”

Others mentioned how that attitude manifested itself in how the players dressed walking into the Coliseum. And he may have a point.

LOS ANGELES - USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks at the replay board during the team's 38-20 loss to UCLA at the LA Memorial Coliseum on November 18.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

USC Players More Focused On Individual Accomplishments

According to one of The Athletic's sources, opposing coaches viewed the pregame ritual, the "Trojan Walk" into the Coliseum, with disdain. Riley, attempting to allow players to be themselves, didn't enforce a team-wide dress code. Leading to some...interesting choices.

“It’s like they think they’re NBA stars walking into an arena,” one head coach said. “They’re wearing designer shorts with dress shoes. Another guy is in tie-dyed sneakers. This team looks like they’re an AAU team.”

That's not something you see at Alabama. And according to other analysts, the reliance on individuals and transfer portal additions wasn't a good sign for team culture.

“We knew they were a big transfer portal team,” one analyst said. “With that, when teams like that are going well, you have momentum and things are good. But then you have situations like USC had, where people become independent contractors. That can really set you back if you don’t have a good culture.”

There's always a bit of "chicken or the egg" with attempting to diagnose culture issues. When teams are winning, they seem to have a good culture regardless of how the players dress. When they're losing, there are culture problems. But there is something to be said for how top programs seem to do a better job of creating team chemistry through discipline and standards.

Riley wants to create a welcoming environment where players want to play, but players, despite NIL advantages and the ability to live in LA, also want to win. And USC now enters the Big Ten with one of the toughest schedules in the country, an entirely new defense, replacing Caleb Williams, and the same transfer-oriented issues.

Continuity Is Key

Top programs bring in transfers and lose them too, of course. But not nearly at the same rate as the USC turnover the past two season.

Part of that was necessity, with Riley inheriting a barren cupboard of talent and immediately coaxing 11 wins out of a transfer-heavy roster. But now that he's entering his third season, Trojans fans would like to see some more high school recruiting success. Success that so far has been elusive.

Even some of the biggest recruiting wins, like quarterback Malachi Nelson, are leaving.

Riley was immensely successful at Oklahoma, but there are clearly substantial changes needed before he can turn USC back into the powerhouse it once was. And it may start by treating players more seriously and ensuring none of them are wearing tie-dyed sneakers.