Oklahoma football fans mock ex-head coach Lincoln Riley for canceling a major home-and-home series with a leading SEC team – 2024 offseason.
The Oklahoma football program is on an upward trend under head coach Brent Venables. Despite a rocky start in 2022, Venables, a two-time College Football Playoff National Championship winner at Clemson, led the Sooners to a solid 10-3 record last year and secured a spot in the Alamo Bowl against the Arizona Wildcats. Impressively, this was only the second time in nearly ten years that Oklahoma’s defense held opponents to under 24 points per game, highlighting Venables’ defensive focus.
However, the departure of Lincoln Riley in 2022 still hurts many OU fans, despite the team’s recent achievements. Riley left for USC two seasons ago, taking star quarterback Caleb Williams with him. The sense of betrayal remains strong among the Oklahoma supporters. So, when the news broke on Wednesday that Riley’s new team, USC, officially canceled their home-and-home series with SEC powerhouse Ole Miss, Oklahoma fans quickly and harshly reacted on social media, voicing their displeasure with their former head coach.
Oklahoma Football Fans: Take Aim at Lincoln Riley Amid Cancellation of Tilt with SEC Opponent
Various sources in 2021 indicate that Lincoln Riley’s decision to leave Oklahoma for USC was driven by his discontent with the team’s move to the SEC. According to George Wrighster of Fox Sports, Riley’s departure was motivated by his reluctance to join the SEC. Wrighster reported, “I’ve heard from multiple people that for Lincoln Riley, this was about him not wanting to go to the SEC. He wasn’t happy that Oklahoma was moving, and that gave him a wandering eye.” Riley’s move to the USC Trojans occurred a year before Oklahoma’s official transition to the SEC.
Despite Riley’s move to the Pac-12 and then the Big Ten, the head coach couldn’t completely sidestep the SEC, as USC was set to play a home-and-home series with Ole Miss beginning in 2025. However, on Wednesday, it was announced that the two teams would mutually cancel the future matchups, disappointing college football fans. Oklahoma football supporters are criticizing Riley and USC for canceling what could have been a standout out-of-conference game.
