USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is happy in Los Angeles even while their College Football Playoff hopes are slipping through the cracks. The fifth-year head coach does not want to go anywhere.
The Trojans (6-2) are coming off an upsetting 24-7 loss to Wisconsin, which helped the Badgers crack the top-25. Their other loss was to Oregon on September 26, a 41-27 defeat.
The Trojans don’t have it any easier, though, with No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Indiana, and cross-town rival, No. 7 UCLA standing in their way.
“Listen, if I didn’t want to be in this place, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to leave,” Riley said after the Trojans’ Tuesday practice. “This is where I want to be. This is the right place for me. I’m the right person to be here. And that’s as honest and transparent as I can be with you guys.”
Under Riley, USC has yet to reach a CFP berth or win a conference championship game. Against ranked teams, Riley is 5-15 and 2-6 against ranked Big Ten teams. With the loss to Wisconsin, his record is 41-20 with the Trojans.
Riley was asked how he felt about a change of scenery. “I love it here. I mean, like I told you guys a lot of times, there’s not many people in college football history that gave up what I gave up to come here,” Riley said. “I don’t care if it’s 15 years down the line, that should never be taken lightly. It’s certainly not taken lightly by me. I came here because I believe in this place and none of that has changed whatsoever.”
Despite Riley’s lack of success at USC, his tenure at Oklahoma was the complete opposite. He led the Sooners to four straight Big 12 championships and coached two Heisman winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Oklahoma also made the CFP semifinals in 2018. He finished his time in Oklahoma with a 55-10 record, the highest in OU coaching history.
Riley also coached Heisman winner Caleb Williams at USC.
According to ESPN, Riley mentioned how his relationship with athletic director Jen Cohen is “fantastic,” and that she’s a “tremendous AD.” He also said that Cohen has been a huge part of the progress made in the program.
The Trojans had the No. 1 recruiting class this season and a new $200 million upgraded facility, but the results have yet to show.
“When you’re a head coach of a blue-blood school, you have to be ready to weather storms, the overly positive or the overly negative,” Riley said.
“Typically, what I’ve learned from doing this for a few years, I haven’t learned it all, but the truth typically lies somewhere in the middle. And that’s typically where it’s at, even if you know that it’s going to sensationalize. And so my job is to stay steady.”
With three tough Big Ten games remaining on the schedule and Riley’s inability to beat ranked conference teams, will the Trojans rise to the occasion, or will they fall short again this season?
We will see come Saturday, when the Trojans host Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
