Lincoln Riley Reveals What He Told USC As Playoff Pressure Builds

The No. 17 USC Trojans are in the home stretch of the 2025 season with a record of 7-2. USC’s next opponent is the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

USC coach Lincoln Riley spoke to reporters after practice leading up to this game.

What Lincoln Riley Said

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley College Football Playoff Iowa Hawkeyes D'Anton Lynn Big Ten Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Oregon — Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Message to the Team With Playoff Push

“Yeah, just embrace it. We're not trying to hide or minimize it. Winning's fun. Putting yourself in opportunities to accomplish some cool things is a lot of fun. And every time you win, you make these games more valuable, more important. And that doesn't mean that you change your approach. But I think having an understanding and a realization that this is a cool position you put yourself in.”

“And you don't want to miss it. You don't want to do anything that would keep you from putting your best foot forward when you get these. Because they're hard to get to. Every year, you know, when you're fortunate enough to get this point, you realize that. And so, especially the way the game is now, there's so much parity right now in our game.

“And so, yeah, we're trying to embrace it, enjoy every moment. Because it is, it's going to be over quick. But this team is definitely embracing it right now.”

How to Measure Success

“I don't measure success. I just come out and work. And I get the team as ready as I can each and every day and each and every week and get our staff as ready as I possibly can. There's times for reflection and kind of taking stock of all that, but that's typically after the year for me.”

“I mean, you're in a dogfight every week. You're in a dogfight every day in this business. And so you just wake up, you come up ready to fight and try to make the team better and get the team ready, and then you go to sleep and you get up and do it over again.

“And that's honestly just really what it feels like. And then there's definitely appropriate times, you know, as things wind down to take stock and and really over-evaluate, but right now it's just getting ready to play and take advantage of this opportunity.”

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Iowa’s Dangerous Return Game, Kaden Wetjen

“He's a good returner. He's had some success both in the kick return and punt return game and has had here for a little while now. We'll have to do a really good job. He's aggressive about bringing the ball out. They do a good job schematically trying to put him in position to make plays, and he's obviously done a good job. So both our coverage teams will definitely be tested.”

On Defensive Tackle Carlon Jones Getting More Reps in the Future

“Yes, he's trending. He's definitely trending. I think every week we get a little bit more confidence in him. And I think honestly, he's just getting more confidence in himself. You know, he had an injury earlier in the year and was able to really battle back from that. Quickly showed a lot of toughness and grit to get behind it pretty quick."

“And yeah, at every game he plays, it just, you see him starting to understand more and more, you know, the level of competition and what we're asking him to do. And he's gone in there and he hasn't been hesitant. He's made some plays. And so yeah he's I think, definitely positioned himself to help us more now and obviously bodes well for the future.”

On D’Anton Lynn, Defense

“I think D’Anton (Lynn) and the whole staff have done a nice job. I mean, I think that's case in point…we haven't started fast, which we know we got to do a better job of, but we have been able to get a lid on things pretty quickly, especially over the last few weeks.”

“Both Coach Lynn and the entire staff are communicating. I could tell just listening on the headset that the majority of the staff has been together for a little while…Even like having Rob (Ryan) where he and Dan have that history, you feel there's a little bit more depth to it, which is obviously a good thing.”

“We're playing well. I feel like we've done a good job of when like leaks have sprung, we've been able to get them closed pretty quickly. And I think our players have taken to the adjustments as well, which has been huge. So obviously we've got some big tests coming up, but I'm excited about the way we're progressing right now.”

On Fake Punt Ruling From Big Ten

“Yeah, I do have thoughts. You know, we’re very aware of the rules. I referenced it a little bit on the show yesterday. The fake punt was entirely legal. Our guys did a fantastic job executing it, and there's not really a whole lot else left to say.”