USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Makes Stance Clear on Notre Dame Rivalry

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley will hit the stage for the final day of Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 24. Junior receiver Makai Lemon, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Elijah Paige and redshirt junior safety Kamari Ramsey will also represent the Trojans on Thursday.

The Big Ten Network will carry the press conferences live beginning at 11:30 a.m. PT with Iowa Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz. Riley is scheduled to address the media 12:30 p.m.

Live Updates: USC Trojans’ Lincoln Riley Takes the Stage at Big Ten Media Days — Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Several storylines surround the 41-year-old coach as he enters a pressure-packed fourth season in Los Angeles.

Lincoln Riley Advocates for Pete Carroll to be Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

Riley pushed last year at the Big Ten Media Days for his former mentor Mike Leach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and he did the same for former USC coach Pete Carroll.

"He's one year short on the requirement but hard to imagine a guy that's had an impact like coach Carroll had on college football." That's a little difficult for me and I think my colleagues to imagine a hall of fame that exists without his impact."

Carroll orchestrated a dynasty in the early 2000s, winning two national championships and appearing in three. The Trojans also won four Rose Bowl's under Carroll.

Lincoln Riley Wants to Continue Playing Notre Dame Every Year

The future of the USC, Notre Dame rivalry is up in the air with both sides struggling to a agree to a long-term agreement to extend the series.

"All these rivalries mean a great deal to me. They mean a great deal to anybody that cares about college football. Do I want to play the game? Hell yeah, absolutely. It's one of the reasons I came to USC. Riley also stated he is hopeful they can figure it out can continue playing the game forever.

Lincoln Riley Believes Defensive Line Will Cause Problems This Season

USC made some major additions to its defensive line, signing Kentucky transfer Keeshawn Silver and Georgia transfer Jamaal Jarrett, who weight 331 and 349 pounds respectively. They signed five-star Jahkeem Stewart in the 2025 cycle and the New Orleans native is expected to make an instant impact.

But the Trojans also return a number of players from a year ago, most notably sophomore defensive end Kameryn Fountain, who started the final four games of his freshman year. Senior Anthony Lucas returns after suffering a season-ending injury in week 7 and junior Braylan Shelby made tremendous strides a year ago. Redshirt freshman Elijah Newby, a former four-star recruit at linebacker has moved to defensive end.

Last season, USC only had two defensive linemen that weighed over 300 pounds, this season they will have at least six players that will.

"I think we have better natural pass rushers and certainly have more size. I think it's going to create some problems for people in the run game."

Lincoln Riley Wants Jayden Maiava to Eliminate Turnovers

Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava played well in his four starts, going 3-1 in the Trojans four games and accounted for 14 touchdowns. However, its his seven turnovers that has caused some to doubt the USC signal-caller heading into 2025.

"Sometimes as a quarterback, a lot of times it's yes, you want to have great plays, right? And then if your bad plays are incompletions or throwaways or occasionally taking a sack like you can still win with that."

Riley has a ton of confidence in Maiava as he heads into his second season with the program. He acknowledge Maiava, who is naturally soft spoken has found his voice with the team.

"His arm talent, the decisiveness of which he plays and how he sees things is really unique and has a chance to be really special."

"He's humble, really hard worker and has the respect of everybody in the building."

Lincoln Riley Addresses 2026 Recruiting Class

USC has built an impressive recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. The Trojans hold 31 commitments and boast the top-ranked class in the country. The Trojans have the opportunity to finish with a top five class for the first time since 2018 and the No. 1 class for the first time since 2015.

Five-star EDGE Luke Wafle, five-star tight end Mark Bowman, five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe and five-star cornerback Elbert Hill headline the programs "generational" class.

"A lot has been made of our recruiting class here coming up in the '26 class, which we're extremely proud of and excited about this staff that we've been able to put together. Adding some key figures on the field like coach Rob Ryan, certainly off the field changes that we've made with Chad Bowden and the recruiting staff, our personnel staff has made a great impact on our program already.

Lincoln Riley's Opening Statement

"It's good to be back in Las Vegas, a city that was very good to the Trojans last season. Good to
see everybody. I first wanted to say last year at this event in Indianapolis I spoke on -- myself and many others spoke on Mike Leach's candidacy for the Hall of Fame. At that point, I know a lot of us expressed that we felt like that there are some people that their impact on college football
goes beyond maybe any prerequisites for an honor like the Hall of Fame. I know a lot of you covered that. I know a lot of you wrote stories and reported on that. Obviously, that was very, very successful.

"For that, I first want to say thank you. I also would like to kind of stay in that lane and really advocate for the candidacy of Pete Carroll into the College Football Hall of Fame. I know he is one year short on the requirement, but hard to imagine a guy that's had an impact like Coach Carroll had on college football, and its a little difficult for me and I think a lot of my colleagues to imagine a Hall of Fame that exists without him and his impact. I don't come to you as the head coach at USC just solely for that reason, but just as a fan of college football and somebody that watched Coach Carroll's teams and
watched the way that he interacted with his players, the way that he impacted our sport. Just something I believe is the right thing to do and would be great for our game and
great for our Hall of Fame.

"With that, it's great to be back here at the beginning of the season, a season that we're very, very much anticipating. Year two in the Big Ten and so much within the walls right now of USC football. I give a lot of credit to our administration, to Jen Cohen, our athletic director; and all the support around our football program because it's very apparent that USC is extremely serious about making this football program and returning it back to being one of the greats in college football. You can
see that investment level really all the way across our program.

"The excitement that comes with that, the anticipation, the opportunity is real, and I think we all feel it. There's so many signs of that right now. A lot has been made of our recruiting class here coming up in the '26 class, which we're extremely proud of and excited about. This staff that we've been able to put together, adding some key figures on the field like Coach Rob Ryan, certainly, the off-the-field changes that we've made with Chad Bowden and the recruiting staff, our personnel staff has made a great impact on our program already. We're a handful of months from moving into what I know will be one of the preeminent football facilities in college football, and it's going to be a major thing for our program.

"I think with our current team seeing how our roster has evolved on all sides, especially defensively after the huge improvements that we made a year ago, the depth, the championship-caliber depth that started to be established across the board is something that we all have worked hard for. It's been a long journey to work towards that point, but it's pretty exciting to watch unfold right now. Very excited for year two in a great conference and all the great matchups and all that's getting ready to unfold, and certainly, looking forward to taking this USC football team into the Big Ten here in year two to compete."

Big Ten Media Days Preview

After seeing a drop in the win column in each of the last two seasons, which included a disappointing 7-6 mark in 2024, how do the Trojans bounce back in its second season in the Big Ten conference? USC hired Riley in November 2021 to bring the program back to national prominence and so far, he has fell short of that goal.

What does the quarterback situation look like, has redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava improved upon his four starts at the end of the 2024 season or will we see five-star freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet take over under center sooner rather than later?

MORE: USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Expanding Recruiting Efforts With Elite Safety

MORE: Paul Finebaum Goes After USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Again Before Big Ten Media Days

MORE: USC Trojans Receive 'Surprising' Ranking Before First AP Top-25 Poll

MORE: Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams Reveals Lofty Goals Under Coach Ben Johnson

USC has been hot on the recruiting trail for almost the entirety of the year, holding a total of 31 commitments and owning the No. 1 rated class in the 2026 cycle. How was the hiring of general manager Chad Bowden, a brand-new personnel staff and increased NIL collectives benefited the Trojans in recruiting.

USC commits five-star EDGE Luke Wafle and five-star tight end Mark Bowman will reportedly be two of the highest earners in the 2026 cycle.

And of course, revenue-sharing is a new hot topic in college athletics, which officially kicked in at the beginning of this month. As a result, USC eliminated a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs. The Trojans signed a 15-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield in June to help reduce some of the burden of revenue-sharing.

And the future of the USC, Notre Dame rivalry is up the air. One of the most storied rivalries in college football could be coming to an end with both sides struggling to come to a long-term agreement to extend the series.

This article will be updated throughout the day.