What USC's Lincoln Riley Said About Nebraska Quarterback Dylan Raiola

The USC Trojans are coming off of a bye week and will get ready to play on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their next game. USC currently has an overall record of 5-2 and a mark of 3-1 in Big Ten conference play.

USC coach Lincoln Riley made an appearance on Trojans Live to preview this matchup.

What Lincoln Riley Said

USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley Nebraska Cornhuskers Dylan Raiola Quarterback Big Ten Bye Week Jayden Maiava Makai Lemon — Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

On Nebraska Quarterback Dylan Raiola

“He’s the type of player that is going to take some chances. He’s got some escapability…He’s going to scramble with his eyes down the field and try to make some big plays there. Anytime a guy is going to take those chances, you’ve got to make the plays when you get them and we’ve got to keep a lid on him if he does ever get loose from us and that will be a big part of the game.”

How Was Bye Week?

“We had a few things in terms of how we practiced, who we practiced, kind of how we attacked the week that were a little bit different. But obviously you kind of take stock of where you’re at and we sit right now 3-1 in arguably the best conference in the country and a stretch run with a lot of things in front of us…time for us to go play our best ball.”

Running Back Injuries in Bye Week

“Those guys from a health stand point are in a good position, so really it was just pumping reps into those guys with obviously not having Eli and Waymond right now, it was a chance to really kind of dive into it to give those guys a ton of reps to let them try to really get in synch with our offensive line.”

Evaluation of Jayden Maiava This Season

“He’s largely playing very well. He continues to grow with every situation that he’s in and every game that he’s in. He continues to give our team opportunities to win. Every time that guy’s touched the field for us as a USC Trojan, we’ve had a chance to win the game…He’s just continuing to improve as time goes.”

“Very pleased with him, but just like for the team, this will be a important run for him. This is the stretch, when you should play your best. These are the most important games…Now it’s time to go step up and play our best.”

Importance of Ja’Kobi Lane, Makai Lemon Being Healthy

“It will be important for us here down the stretch…Having him (Lane) and Makai back on the field, especially with some of the running backs down, it is important, it makes us tougher to defend. No question.”

What’s Impressive About Tanook Hines

“Just that he’s kind of been ready. The moment has never really seemed too big for him and you can see just the confidence we have in him as a staff. Jayden right off the bat is ripping balls to him right there in some of these big games. He’s stepping up and making a lot of the plays and I think his confidence is just growing and growing. He’s kind of got a throwback mentality. He’s a grinder. He’s a really tough, physical player.”

“He’s helping us right now…I think this guy could have a great career here.”

Offensive Line in Road Games

“We’ve done a pretty good job. We played pretty penalty free, which is one thing that plagued us last year some on the road…Considering all the different lineup changes and all that I feel like we’ve handled it pretty well. We missed some opportunities last week that we definitely want back. I thought we pass pro-ed pretty well, but we weren’t nearly as clean in the run game as we have played. So, that will be a big challenge for us against this group.”

On Nebraska's Home Atmosphere

“A place that has a phenomenal home atmosphere. Has for a long time. Got the sell out streak and all they’ve done. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. We played a lot back in the old Texas Tech days. We had a lot of pretty cool battles…Lot of respect for the program, the home venue that they have, the home field advantage, the atmosphere…It will be a cool opportunity for our team.”

How USC’s Defense Take Next Step

“I think what great defenses do, you make your fair share of plays, but you don’t give teams freebies. That to me is the No. 1 key for us. In all these games, we’re making some big, impactful plays…The really great defenses, they don’t give the offense anything. You make them earn every single yard. Every single point. Every single first down…That’s the key for us going forward.”

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What He’s Seen From Nebraska

“I think they’ve continued to improve, which I think is no surprise for those that have followed them lately with Coach Rhule being there and obviously his career, he’s had a really strong history of being able to elevate these programs. We had a good battle with them here last year.”

“They’re playing well defensively. One of the top pass defenses in the country. They’ve done a nice job mixing things up and they’re making a lot of big plays offensively. They’ve had some big returns here as well in the last few weeks from a special teams perspective…It will be a good challenge.”

Nebraska Run Game

“They’ve really committed to it. They’ve stayed with it. You can tell they have a lot of confidence in getting him (Emmett Johnson) the ball…That will be a really important part for our defense, to contain it, to play very gap sound, and then we got to finish the plays and get these guys on the ground because that’s been the thing that’s really spurred them here the last several weeks.”

Message to Team After Notre Dame Loss

“We’ve proved we can handle it. I think this second bye week came at a really good time for our football team…I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves. This is what you do it all for. There’s two types of teams; teams that enter the second half of the season with really no hope to do what they set out to do and there’s ones that have earned the right to have everything in front of them.”

“Fortunately our team has put themselves in that position…This is the part you love…I think our team is excited and confident. We know there are things we have to do better, but we feel like those are things that we can do better, will do better.”