2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Down to two men, and Lincoln Riley is one of them
We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving. That means the college football regular season is almost over. That means it’s the time of year to discuss college football awards for the season.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams is centrally involved in the Heisman Trophy race. USC’s defensive line coach, Shaun Nua, is a Broyles Award semifinalist. USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu is a prime contender for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. USC is well-represented in various awards races.
One other award in which the Trojans have a prime candidate: 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Let’s look at where Lincoln Riley stands in the larger race:
ELIMINATING OTHER CANDIDATES
Before evaluating a Riley-versus-DeBoer top two, let’s go through other candidates and explain why they’re not in the hunt.
Start with Kyle Whittingham. His Utah team was the defending champion. It did not even return to the Pac-12 title game. That’s an easy call.
JEDD FISCH
Arizona won’t go to a bowl after losing to Washington State. Fisch needed a bowl bid to boost his candidacy.
CHIP KELLY
Chip was eliminated by this UCLA loss to USC.
JAKE DICKERT
Washington State’s losses earlier in the season to Oregon and USC undercut Dickert’s candidacy.
DAN LANNING
Lanning made crucial mistakes against Washington which significantly hurt his candidacy. Had Lanning finished 12-1, he would have had a strong argument to make … but that did not happen.
JONATHAN SMITH
Smith lost to USC this year. If he beats Oregon this coming week, he will be in the conversation.
Yet, it will be tough for Smith to deal with Oregon. If he loses to the Ducks, there’s zero chance he will win Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Even if he beats Oregon, he still won’t make the Pac-12 Championship Game.
DEBOER VS. RILEY
DeBoer and Riley should be the top two because they both inherited big messes at their programs this past offseason. USC fans know how badly Clay Helton mismanaged the Trojan program. They might not know that Washington was a similar disaster under former coach Jimmy Lake. DeBoer rode into Seattle and has very quickly generated strong results, much as Riley came to Los Angeles and instantly changed the culture.
DEBOER VS. RILEY, PART 2
Washington’s defense looked ugly for much of this season.
USC’s defense looked ugly for most of this season.
DeBoer and Riley worked with well-known limitations on defense and surmounted them.
10-2
If USC loses next week to fall to 10-2 and Washington wins to improve to 10-2, the fact that USC is playing in the Pac-12 Championship Game might be a tiebreaker. Washington has a scenario to reach the Pac-12 title game, but it’s a longshot.
USC NOT PICKED TO MAKE PAC-12 TITLE GAME
Remember: Utah and Oregon were ranked ahead of USC in preseason polls and projections: the AP Poll, the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, and the Pac-12 media poll. USC was picked third in the conference. The Trojans defied those projections and went to the Pac-12 title game in Year 1. That’s worthy of respect.
HIGH-END WINS: 1-1
Washington won at Oregon, USC won at UCLA. Both DeBoer and Riley have a huge win, but USC can get a second big win against Notre Dame or in the Pac-12 title game. If the Trojans win just one of two, Riley should earn the nod in a two-man race.
NEXT WEEK
If Washington beats Washington State and USC beats Notre Dame, both coaches come across looking better, but Notre Dame is a bigger win. Riley would have the edge.
