Lincoln Riley is being labeled a fraud. Dan Mullen, out of coaching after flaming out spectacularly at Florida, even asked if the USC head coach should be on the hot seat instead of UCLA’s Chip Kelly.

Things have completely fallen apart for the Trojans, who closed out the regular season at home on Saturday with a 38-20 loss to UCLA. The Bruins entered the game with losses in back-to-back games. But beating USC means the once-promising Trojans campaign will end with losses in five of its last six games.

Riley fired his defensive coordinator after a 52-42 loss to Washington. The Trojans have given up 36 and 38 points in the two games since.

More concerning? Many looked at the Trojans against the Bruins on Saturday and accused the team of quitting.

USC falls to 7-5 with the loss. It entered the year ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. After an 11-3 season in Year 1 under Riley, many believed USC should contend for a spot in the College Football playoff. It had the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback (Caleb Williams) and retooled the offense with what looked like a wealth of skill talent.

The Trojans opened the year 6-0. But anything less would have been a shocker. The last six games — Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA — were going to make or break the team.

At this point, it’s safe to say the Trojans have broken.

And Riley is on the hook for that. Social media absolutely lit him up as the game wound down.

https://twitter.com/A_G_Haubner/status/1726014956007760236