Lincoln Riley says Trojans are now ‘well-equipped’ to win consistently …
Lincoln Riley listens to a question as he addresses reporters during Big Ten media days on Tuesday in Chicago.(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
Ryan Kartje (LA Times)/Andy Backstrom (Yahoo Sports) — CHICAGO — The stage was set this past summer, and Lincoln Riley was a ball of nerves.
The soon-to-be-43-year-old USC coach should’ve been used to weathering pressure by that point. After all, his previous four seasons spent coaching the Trojans had been nothing short of a powder keg, filled with ups and downs, as well as a constant undercurrent of tension and uncertainty. But in this particular case, success was out of Riley’s control. He wasn’t even near a football field.
Rather, he was sitting in the audience of a local dance recital, waiting on his two young daughters, Sloan and Stella, who were each making their solo dancing debut with their company.
“This was the first year, stepping out on their own, no one else to rely on,” Riley said. “But they told me, ‘Dad, we’ve got it.’”
Entering his fifth and most pivotal season yet at USC, their father can relate to that sentiment. While the spotlight burns brighter than ever and the collective college football world is spinning 2026 as a make-or-break moment for Riley, the coach had never sounded so confident that his Trojans had turned a corner than he did Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days.
When Riley arrived at USC from Oklahoma, the Trojans were coming off a 4-8 campaign. They hadn’t won more than eight games since 2017. Riley oversaw an immediate turnaround. He brought now-Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams over from the Sooners, Williams won the Heisman Trophy and USC catapulted to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff before faltering and throwing away a disastrous Cotton Bowl to Tulane, 46-45.
People soon started to wonder about Riley’s overall approach to the game and he’s basically been on the Trojan hotseat ever since, especially because of his massive long term salary and extraordinary buy-out.
“I’ve felt the pressure to win every single year here,” Riley said during Big Ten media days. “What does feel different is that I think our opportunity to do that is greater than what it has been. It just flat out is. The things you need to win, we have more of than we had in the first four years.”
Riley, of course, has made that case before. After each of the last two seasons, in fact. But it’s never been quite as compelling as it is now.
As the coach sees it, USC now boasts more depth on both sides of the ball than at any point in his tenure, in large part because of bringing in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in January. Riley also added a Hall of Fame coach at defensive coordinator in hopes of stabilizing matters on that side of the ball. And 10 days earlier, the program moved into its new, state-of-the-art football facility, with all the amenities anyone could ask for.
“It’s just a culmination of all of it, you know?” Riley said. “It is just so much more well-equipped to win consistently right now. It’s so different.”
That’s never been a question for Riley’s offenses at USC, and this year should be no different, with third-year, 17-game starter Jayden Maiava returning at quarterback and a two-pronged backfield in Waymond Jordan and King Miller leading the way in the run game. The offensive line also looks like Riley’s strongest unit yet in five seasons.
“Of all the guys that I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day 1 to this point as much as Jayden has,” said Riley, who has coached not only Williams but also fellow Heisman winners Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield.
“I think the main thing is blocking out whatever you got to block out and really focus on just straight ball — just keeping the main thing the main thing,” Maiava said.
The doubts, per usual, are on defense, where the Trojans are not the most seasoned group.
“The entire defense is just very young compared to last year,” defensive tackle Jide Abasiri said.
Riley is also now working with his third defensive coordinator in five seasons. And one who hasn’t coached in five years, at that.
Gary Patterson does have an impressive resume, with years of top-tier defenses at Texas Christian. And he continues to get rave reviews from Riley, who called the Hall of Famer who coached TCU from 2000 to 2021 before getting fired “one of one” on Tuesday.
“You really have somebody that is like a head coach in that room,” Riley said. “The guy’s one of the most experienced, accomplished coaches in the game. Like, it just is what it is.”
“With Coach Patterson, he didn’t come for anything less but to win,” USC defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren told Yahoo Sports.
VanSumeren, considered by Riley as a “linchpin” on the Trojans’ defensive line, transferred in from Michigan State (24 straight starts) and has already settled in very nicely with the Trojans as a leader and 6-2, 300 pound run plugger. He’s joining a run leaky-defense that returns standouts, including DL-mate Abasiri. Together, they could set the tone inside for a line that will feature an imposing pass-rushing pairing of Kameryn Crawford and Braylan Shelby. Then there’s Desman Stephens II. He headlines an enticing but what some consider a dicey linebacking corps.
“I think just my confidence level and, you know, what’s being handled, how it’s being handled, how we’re developing, how we’re using our roster … is just really, really high right now.”
It better be at this point, considering all that USC has invested in Riley and his total teardown and rebuild of the Trojan football program. Across the city, billboards declaring “THE TIME IS NOW” make abundantly clear just how urgent this season will be at USC.
At the start of his fifth season, Riley is convinced the Trojans are right on schedule. The belief inside the program is that Patterson will get the Trojans’ defense to the next level, to the point where it appropriately complements Riley’s often dangerous offense.
“All the things that help you win are better,” Riley said. “And that’s gonna give us more chances to win. That’s where my optimism comes from.”
For Riley’s optimism to bear fruit, Patterson’s new D needs to be better on third down and to bring its A-game versus top-tier opponents. In its three regular-season losses last season, USC allowed 34 points to then-No. 23 Illinois, 34 points to then-No. 13 Notre Dame and 42 points to then-No. 7 Oregon.
Of course, special teams also held the Trojans back, with a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return score playing big parts in those defeats to the Irish and the Ducks. Mike Ekeler’s special teams takeover has USC fans hoping those quick-sixes will come to an end.
Despite a heavyweight schedule featuring Oregon, Ohio State (both in the Coliseum) and college football darling Indiana, Riley’s 2026 Trojans could just be ready for liftoff.
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Lincoln Riley listens to a question as he addresses reporters during Big Ten media days on Tuesday in Chicago.(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
When Riley arrived at USC from Oklahoma, the Trojans were coming off a 4-8 campaign. They hadn’t won more than eight games since 2017. Riley oversaw an immediate turnaround. He brought now-Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams over from the Sooners, Williams won the Heisman Trophy and USC catapulted to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff before faltering and throwing away a disastrous Cotton Bowl to Tulane, 46-45.
Gary Patterson does have an impressive resume, with years of top-tier defenses at Texas Christian. And he continues to get rave reviews from Riley, who called the Hall of Famer who coached TCU from 2000 to 2021 before getting fired “one of one” on Tuesday.
Fall camp on Friday!