Lincoln Riley answers his many critics with stunning USC win
Credit to Lincoln Riley. USC’s embattled football coach stood and stared directly at what could have been the death knell for his Trojans tenure and said: Not today.
Actually, he said more than that after his unranked Trojans upset No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18 on Saturday.
He had a whole statement prepared to read at the end of his postgame news conference.
“I got one other thing I want to say here,” said Riley, whose victory kept alive the Trojans’ hopes of making the College Football Playoff for the first time on his watch. “I want to make sure to articulate my thoughts.
“This program’s not built on internal joy — excuse me, is built on internal joy — not external applause. This win’s for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls.
“I said before this game, that I’m the right person for this job, and as long as all those people know that, that’s all I care about.
“I appreciate being a part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I’m going to continue to fight on because that’s what being a Trojan’s all about. Fight On.”
Then he stood and punctuated his address: “Adios.”
The way USC dismantled a Buckeyes team that was considered one of the leading national championship contenders this zany college football season, Riley deserved to crow.
The way his team refused to let go of the rope — even with their head coach on the ropes, Riley deserved a victory lap.
It’s just that before sharing his statement, he didn’t seem all that interested in taking it.
He began his news conference looking, appropriately, to lend perspective to the victory — his first in his USC tenure against a top-10 team — in which the Trojans exploded on a Buckeyes team that hadn’t given up more than 24 points in a game since losing to Oregon 32-31 on Oct. 12, 2024.
“Every win’s important,” said Riley, whose overall record at USC in his fifth season is now 42-20. “When you get a chance, like tonight, to play a really good football team — one of the best programs in America over a long, long period of time — those are great opportunities.”
He gave deserved kudos to his team for staying together and responding after last week’s disappointing 24-7 loss at Wisconsin. And reiterated his usual message, win or lose: “I know what’s building within those walls. Like, I know it. All my years of experience and all that I’ve kind of seen and got to experience in this game tells me that. I believe that with every fiber in my being.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley watches his players warm up before facing Ohio State at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Saturday’s victory won’t necessarily be good news for dissatisfied fans rooting for Riley’s ouster. But it was big for anyone partial to a good comeback story — and for those tenuous CFP prospects.
“I keep saying, look at all the craziness across the country,” Riley said. “The teams that just hang in there, keep going, get better, stay together, are going to be the ones that are there in the end.”
The Trojans could be one of those teams. They should be, in fact.
They have the talent, as we saw Saturday when previously injured freshmen Trent Mosley and Mark Bowman gashed a Buckeyes defense that hadn’t allowed a play longer than 36 yards all season with plays of 69 and 70 yards.
And they have the fortitude, as we witnessed when USC’s defense forced Ohio State to settle for a field goal after they had first and goal at the one-yard line late in the second quarter: “Grit play, a toughness deal. A mindset thing,” defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said.
What made the Trojans’ previous losses so galling was the gauntlet ahead of them, starting with Ohio State.
Before, we wondered: If they couldn’t beat Oregon and its backup quarterback at home, how the heck were they going to beat Ohio State (and its understudy QB, Mission Viejo’s Luke Fahey)?
Earlier, we asked: If Wisconsin was going to force them into the worst offensive showing in the Riley era, what was defending national champion Indiana going to do to them?
And, of course: If they were just sneaking by struggling teams like Rutgers, Penn State and Washington, what chance was there that they could surprise still-undefeated UCLA?
But now, after Saturday’s sensational showing, we’ll spend next week’s bye and then the week ahead of their game in Bloomington against the Hoosiers — who escaped Saturday with a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota — doing the math and wondering why can’t USC knock off another top-five team?
USC linebackers Ta’mere Robinson, left, and Jadyn Walker leap in celebration following a 30-18 win over Ohio State on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
And if the Trojans can beat Indiana, why can’t they beat the 8-0 Bruins, who have been taking care of business against opponents who have no business beating them, like Nevada on Saturday, 27-0?
Because the Trojans haven’t folded. In fact, things went so well on this rainy Halloween evening — which ended with pirates and princesses and people in all varieties of costume celebrating on the field with the players — you might have started to wonder whether they had been bluffing.
Just like we assume Riley is bluffing whenever he talks about being able to block out “the noise.”
He might not want to worry himself with the “external applause,” but if he wants to fight on at USC, he’s going to need to continue earning it.
