Lanning Or Riley?

[Haywarduck]

Interesting article, and makes a good case for Riley out of the gate, but longterm, I am not too sure.

 

 

[1Ducker1]

Ive always looked at the Sooners as under achievers with just so so defense. Hope USC stays the course.

[Log Haulin]

  Riley gets a ton of love from the "experts". The guy has only coached bluebloods with some of the best talent available. His performance has been underwhelming considering.

 

  Let me see him coach a Oregon State or a Perdue. MC accidently won 10 games and Oregon doesn't have the talent Okie does. I am not impressed with Riley. 

[Jon Joseph]

Thanks Haywarduck for the post. 

 

One thing I think all of us on the Forum will acknowledge, Riley is a huge improvement over the clueless Clay Helton. He will recruit better players to SC than did Clay. He has masterfully used the portal to date including taking a key player form a competitor Oregon team. The players that are recruited will be better coached-up. SC will have a cogent game plan and from out of the box will have an O that will put up points.

 

He does have HC experience and will be delegating to many of the same coaches he delegated to at OK; his group of assistants know their roles and should fit together very well. He has won numerous conference titles in a conference that is top to bottom better than the Pac-12 in CFB (and CBB.) Has he won a playoff title? No. But other than Ohio State in year 1 no team outside of the southeastern part of the country have won titles; 7 in a row for the SEC or Clemson. He has brought his team to final 4 on 3 occasions. No active coach west of the Mississippi can say the same. Riley's hire signifies that a sleeping blue blood has awakened. $100M or so to bring Riley to LA and a far bigger budget for recruiting and support staffs. 

 

Dan Lanning. Talks the talk. Loads of potential. Put together an on-paper great group of assistants. Did a great job 'saving' the 2022 recruiting class. Has yet to be The Man come game time. 

 

I think SC/Oregon should provide great competition for conference supremacy for years to come but as of today I certainly understand why Riley gets the nod from most quarters.

[30Duck]

Riley is the big splash USC needed, and he got Williams to follow him. It looks good now, but the floor and ceiling are very close. USC fans want a championship in 2022. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 2/7/2022 at 10:55 AM, Log Haulin said:

  Riley gets a ton of love from the "experts". The guy has only coached bluebloods with some of the best talent available. His performance has been underwhelming considering.

 

  Let me see him coach a Oregon State or a Perdue. MC accidently won 10 games and Oregon doesn't have the talent Okie does. I am not impressed with Riley. 

I note that he was the man at the top of the group that recruited the bluebloods he coached at OK. His playoff game performances have not resulted in a win but he took Oklahoma to the Final 4 on 3 occasions. No other active coach in the Pac-12 has one let alone 3 playoff appearances.  Purdue/Oregon State? People say the same about Saban. Saban did not win a conference title in the B1G at Michigan State. But when he reached recruiting nirvana he won titles at 2 schools. You take your team to 3 final 4s as a HC and you don't end up coaching at OR ST or Purdue. In the Pac-12, Oregon, compared to OK in the B12,  did have the same talent in the Pac-12. Oregon had the highest ranked roster in the Pac-12 the last 2 seasons. Mario went 4-3 and then was blown out back to back by Utah after losing a game against a pathetic Stanford team. 

 

My question is, with the talent Mario brought in what would Riley have done as the HC at Oregon? 

 

Riley is going to have to prove it in the Pac-12 but he is a very well qualified opponent who should not be taken lightly when it comes to recruiting and on game day. He comes to SC with far better CFB bona fides than did Pete Carroll.

 

However, I do love your attitude. Let's kick this guy's booty.

 

 

[Jon Joseph]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:26 AM, 30Duck said:

Riley is the big splash USC needed, and he got Williams to follow him. It looks good now, but the floor and ceiling are very close. USC fans want a championship in 2022. 

Riley may well have the fire power to win the South in 2022? UCLA killed a bad SC team last season but UCLA has lost a lot of quality guys (and did not beat a team with a winning record in 2021) and SC's roster has improved, at least on the O side, dramatically. Probably comes down to whether he has the beef to win a fist-fight vs Utah? SC will put up a lot of points. Will the SC D be able to stop anyone?

 

I don't think SC plays in the conference champ game in 2022. But with the portal in play and D guys available in the portal watch out for 2023. He can win the Pac-12 like he did the B12. Put up plenty of points and make the occasional stop. He faced better rosters in the B12 than he will generally face in the Pac-12.

 

I hate to so opine, but Riley's hire was a big splash the entire under-the-CFB-radar-conference needed. You can bet that GK was overjoyed that SC finally opened the wallet.

[Flyin Vee]

Can we just anoint them as off-season pac12 champions now? My bold prediction is that the ducks and Utah square off again in the championship game, only with a different outcome.

[The Kamikaze Kid]

On 2/7/2022 at 9:52 AM, Flyin Vee said:

Can we just anoint them as off-season pac12 champions now? My bold prediction is that the ducks and Utah square off again in the championship game, only with a different outcome.

Whoa, wait a minute! I thought the Fuskies were the reining undisputed off season champions every year!

[David Marsh]

Oregon with Lanning has so much potential that it is really difficult to really know just what we have. 

 

Oregon probably has the best overall roster in the Pac-12 because it has been four years in the making. This last class was ok but good enough considering the amount of chaos and some positions of need have been addressed. The coaches at the top ooze with potential but lack a lot of experience. They are, however, coaches who have moved up to high positions within quality programs. If they live up to their potential they won't need long to eclipse USC's staff. 

 

USC has had a lot of turnover in terms of players this last season. They have also brought in a ton of transfers. This will help them for the next year and maybe two and then they will need to recruit and develop their own talent to get the most out of their program. They could do that and are expected to do that as well. 

[Guest Axel]

Experience vs. potential. Which is more potent? The answer is in the word: POTENTial. 

 

Lincoln Riley has experience; Dan Lanning has potential. I'll take Lanning and his potential over Riley and his experience. 

 

Put another way, if I'm hiring to fill a position, I'll take a candidate with potential every time over a candidate with experience. I would not trade Riley and his staff for Lanning and his staff. 

 

"3-Card-Monte" Mario has blown town, and we've been dealt Dan Lanning and a staff of Aces. We have no fear of those Jokers from USC. Our potential will trump their experience. 

[WiseKwacker]

Wait and see. Wait and see. 

 

As a former boss once told me, "Withhold judgment until evaluation is complete."

[Kurt Rambis]

With any level of competence from the coaching staff, USC recruits itself.  Major city location, great scenery, major media center, deep surrounding talent pool, lots of history.  Get enough 5-stars and even a moderately talented staff can win 10 - 11 games.  Given the brand, that and a Pac-12 title puts SC in the playoffs.

 

To put it simply, there are a whole lot of advantages SC has with Riley.  It's going to be a tall task for Lanning and the Ducks to overcome that.  Not saying they won't or can't, but don't kid yourself that Riley just isn't that good.  Phenomenal recruiter, great track record, media darling, great personal brand name, and I've gotta believe it's a heckuva lot easier to recruit to LA than to Norman.

[Drake]

Coaching aside, USC is a formidable opponent. Beating USC elevates Oregon football no matter who is coaching them.
 

Riley is a good coach. If Oregon hired him I think we would be excited as well. Lanning has already proven to be a formidable opponent to SC recruiting wise. May see some growing pains as he gains HC experience , but I think we have a good one.

Young staff that knows what it takes to win. Going to be some great Oregon vs. USC games ahead. A lot of people will be circling those matchups on the calendar to make sure they don’t miss those battles.
 

I love it.  

 

 

[30Duck]

 

[Duck 1972]

Got to have his head checked on that one.

[Log Haulin]

On 2/7/2022 at 8:39 AM, Jon Joseph said:

I note that he was the man at the top of the group that recruited the bluebloods he coached at OK. His playoff game performances have not resulted in a win but he took Oklahoma to the Final 4 on 3 occasions. No other active coach in the Pac-12 has one let alone 3 playoff appearances.  Purdue/Oregon State? People say the same about Saban. Saban did not win a conference title in the B1G at Michigan State. But when he reached recruiting nirvana he won titles at 2 schools. You take your team to 3 final 4s as a HC and you don't end up coaching at OR ST or Purdue. In the Pac-12, Oregon, compared to OK in the B12,  did have the same talent in the Pac-12. Oregon had the highest ranked roster in the Pac-12 the last 2 seasons. Mario went 4-3 and then was blown out back to back by Utah after losing a game against a pathetic Stanford team. 

 

My question is, with the talent Mario brought in what would Riley have done as the HC at Oregon? 

 

Riley is going to have to prove it in the Pac-12 but he is a very well qualified opponent who should not be taken lightly when it comes to recruiting and on game day. He comes to SC with far better CFB bona fides than did Pete Carroll.

 

However, I do love your attitude. Let's kick this guy's booty.

 

 

  Okie got into the playoff as a 2 loss team out of the Big 12. Every invite. It shows the love the "experts" give to Sooner that isn't extended to most schools. Certainly not a 2 loss Oregon. 

 

  Yea, Riley took Sooner to 3 CFP appearances and got beat every time. He got there with a regular season record that did not deserve an invite. 

 

  Riley knows Oklahoma is joining the SEC. In the SEC Okie will be a 3 loss team at best year after year. He had to jump to SC if he expected to continue to grow his resume. SC is like Okie, 2 loss with a conf championship and they are in. Oregon, 2 loss and conf championship and it's  a new years 6. 

 

  Riley has put himself in a great situation every time. He should be commended for it. It doesn't make him an elite coach. Sooner hasn't won a title in over 20 years, neither will SC. Oregon will win their first before SC will win their next.

[Jon Joseph]

On 2/7/2022 at 6:47 PM, Log Haulin said:

  Okie got into the playoff as a 2 loss team out of the Big 12. Every invite. It shows the love the "experts" give to Sooner that isn't extended to most schools. Certainly not a 2 loss Oregon. 

 

  Yea, Riley took Sooner to 3 CFP appearances and got beat every time. He got there with a regular season record that did not deserve an invite. 

 

  Riley knows Oklahoma is joining the SEC. In the SEC Okie will be a 3 loss team at best year after year. He had to jump to SC if he expected to continue to grow his resume. SC is like Okie, 2 loss with a conf championship and they are in. Oregon, 2 loss and conf championship and it's  a new years 6. 

 

  Riley has put himself in a great situation every time. He should be commended for it. It doesn't make him an elite coach. Sooner hasn't won a title in over 20 years, neither will SC. Oregon will win their first before SC will win their next.

 

I don't believe any 2L team has made the final 4.

[Log Haulin]

On 2/7/2022 at 5:21 PM, Jon Joseph said:

 

I don't believe any 2L team has made the final 4.

You might be right. Going off the top of might head here. Thought I heard someone talking about a couple months back. Might have been the last couple years they were 2 loss. Once Stoops guys filtered out Riley failed to make CFP.

[DUCKED]

On 2/7/2022 at 5:21 PM, Jon Joseph said:

 

I don't believe any 2L team has made the final 4.

More likely the second loss came in the playoff…..

[Guest Axel]

Lincoln Riley, in his first three seasons as Oklahoma's head coach, led the Sooners to three consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal games. The Sooners lost all three games--to Georgia (2017 season [double overtime]), Alabama (2018 season), and LSU (2019 season). 

 

Oklahoma's record to earn selection into the CFP was 12-1 in all three appearances. The Sooners therefore finished with identical 12-2 records in each of those three seasons.

[30Duck]

No two L team has made it to the Final four. There have been four match-up's of an undefeated and a 1 loss team, it's 2 -2. The first time it happened, "It could've gone either way", Oregon 59 FSU 20. The second time, undefeated LSU, beat Oklahoma. In 2020, undefeated Alabama beat Notre Dame, and last year, eventual champion, Georgia, beat undefeated Cincinnati. 

[Duck 1972]

"You say Tomato, I say Tamatoe, let's call the whole thing off".