It’s quite a story, and 39-year-old Lincoln Riley can appreciate it more than anyone else. Younger brother Garrett Riley, only 33 years old, will coach in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on January 9, when the TCU Horned Frogs face the Georgia Bulldogs.
What adds to the richness of this story is that Garrett Riley will coach for the national title just a stone’s throw from Lincoln Riley’s current work office at Heritage Hall on the USC campus. Riley will be in Los Angeles, the site of the TCU-Georgia showdown. Lincoln Riley, one would think, will be in attendance at SoFi Stadium. The Riley brothers will certainly make an appearance before the media (separately or together, maybe both) at some point in the days leading up to kickoff.
Lincoln Riley has coached in four College Football Playoff semifinals, three as a head coach and one as an offensive coordinator. He hasn’t yet won. Garrett broke through on his first try on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl. TCU defeated Michigan to bring one of the two Riley brothers to the national championship game.
It is worth noting the reaction to Garrett Riley’s big moment on social media, and to point out some other facts about the Riley brothers’ journey in college football this season: