USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Reflects On First Season In 'Extremely Strong' Big Ten

The USC Trojans are entering their second season in the Big Ten conference. In the first season, USC finished with a 4-5 conference record having faced some tough competitors. USC coach Lincoln Riley has coached in the Big 12 and the Pac-12, but that was his first time in the Big Ten as well.

Riley spoke to ESPN’s Greg McElroy to discuss what it was like to coach in the Big Ten for the first time and if it is different from other conferences. In addition to the Trojans, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon joined the conference as well, which now features 18 teams. With only nine conference games during the season, teams will not play each other every year.

“There are so many teams in our league, that obviously, we don’t play everybody. Your schedule is going to change,” Riley said. “It’s going to take a couple of years to cycle through actually playing everybody, which I think is a little bit unique. But now you’re getting these conferences that are getting so big.”

Jul 24, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Ahead of the 2024 season, the USC Trojans have never faced the Rutgers Scarlet Knights or the Maryland Terrapins. USC walked off with a win against Rutgers and a loss against Maryland.

Even with the teams in the Big Ten that USC has faced before, it has not been often, and potentially the last matchup was over 20 years ago. This season, USC will face Purdue for the first time since 1998 when the Boilermakers quarterback was Drew Brees.

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“It’s a really good league. There’s a lot of really good teams, a lot of really good brands, good players, good coaches. I would say the depth in this league, from top to bottom, is extremely strong. There’s going to be a challenging game week in and week out,” Riley said. “I mean, we played in just an amazing number of one-score and down-to-the-last-play type games. I could probably coach 50 more seasons and not have another season that ends up like that.”

To Riley's point, the Big Ten has had back-to-back National Championship winners. The reigning champions are the Ohio State Buckeyes with the Michigan Wolverines winning the year prior. The conference had four teams make the College Football Playoff in the first season with 12 teams.

When facing Big Ten opponents in 2024, seven of USC's games were within one score. While the team may have ended with a 4-5 conference record, that does not reflect how each game went. The Trojans also went into overtime with the Penn State Nittany Lions, losing by just three points. USC will have to step up and win the close games moving forward, but the team showed their competitiveness.

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“So yeah, it was competitive. We were a good, competitive football team that did some great things, and we were on the cusp of really having an unbelievable season.”

The USC Trojans are building an elite team through recruiting, the transfer portal, and bringing in the staff that will help them be successful for years to come. Between retaining defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, hiring linebackers coach Rob Ryan, and bringing in general manager Chad Bowden, USC is looking to be successful against a competitive Big Ten and make a playoff push. Despite the new conference, Riley still has the same mindset as he did when coaching in the Pac-12 and Big 12.

“I still think football is football,” Riley said. “I think our focus has been, again, what we envision this program being. How are we building that and as we do that, then the success that we want on the field will continue to rise.”

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