CHICAGO -- Heading into his fifth season as USC’s head coach, Lincoln Riley is not shying away from the pressure that is mounting as the Trojans still search for their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
After a banner debut season in 2022 when he led USC to an 11-3 record, Riley has gone 24-15 over the last three years. This season, with plenty of returning starters including quarterback Jayden Maiava, and the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, the expectations for Riley and Co. to deliver are at a fever pitch.
“It’s my job to stay steady. You know, it’s my job to not get wrapped up when somebody says something nice about me, and not get wrapped up when somebody says something negative about me,” Riley told ESPN at Big Ten media days Tuesday. “Like I just understand that’s just part of it, and my job is to build it into what I know can win. My track record’s pretty good at that.”
The former Oklahoma coach made three CFP appearances with the Sooners, never succeeding in getting past the semifinals. He, perhaps more than most, is all too familiar with the expectations that come at “blue-blood” programs like Oklahoma and USC and the way perception can shape opinion.
“I haven’t known anything different,” Riley said. “I was heavily doubted when the thing happened at OU ... I’ve understood that I live in a world that’s constantly blown out of proportion. You know what I mean? Like one way or another, whether it’s good or bad or in between. Especially as a head coach, that’s just all I’ve ever known.”
Since arriving in Los Angeles, Riley has touted that he made the move in order to win championships and return USC to former glory. He has also mentioned often how the program he inherited needed a lot of work to get to a point where it could compete for said benchmarks despite producing an 11-win season and a Heisman winner in Caleb Williams that first year.
Riley is more bullish than ever about USC’s potential this season. Be it the hiring of Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator, the team’s depth and talent level across the board, or the fact that their offensive and defensive lines are, according to Riley, better than they have been for the last four seasons, Riley is preaching more than just optimism.
“The expectations haven’t changed but I think our opportunity to seize that and [win] to me is more real right now than it’s probably been in the first few years,” Riley said. “The alignment and momentum in the program is real, palpable. We feel it. Our recruits feel it. Our team feels it. Our fan base feels it. I think a lot of people across the country feel it, whether they like us or not. That’s how it should be at USC.”
One lever that Riley has yet to pull is his role as a play caller. While other high-profile coaches with offensive pedigrees like Ohio State’s Ryan Day have benefitted from giving up play-calling duties to divert more of their focus on their head coaching responsibilities, Riley said Tuesday that even though he considered giving up play-calling in Year 2 at USC and decided against it, he’s keeping the headset -- for now.
“I enjoy winning a whole hell of a lot more than calling plays,” Riley said. “If I thought it would help us out I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Earlier this year, Riley once again referenced his intimate knowledge with what a winning playoff team looks like and he said USC is “ready for it” and the only thing that’s left is “to go do it.” What lies in their way is a schedule that doesn’t include rival Notre Dame but does feature Ohio State, Oregon and Washington at home, and trips to both Indiana and Penn State.
“Every year I expect us to win. I expect us to compete for and win championships. That doesn’t change,” Riley said. “I certainly will give you what has changed. We’re more equipped than at any point in the previous few years. That’s not a hope or wish, those are facts.”
