Lincoln Riley spoke with the local beat reporters after being on stage with the national media on Day 2 of Big Ten media days in Indianapolis, Indiana. Riley took exception to a question that asked if he felt USC would be competitive in the long term with the teams at the top of the Big Ten Conference.
Riley didn’t hesitate to proclaim, “We are at the top of the Big Ten Conference. We’re the top of any conference. I don’t ever look at ourselves below anybody and I never will.”
After a season that exposed USC’s dearth of depth along both lines of scrimmage, it was clear that USC’s return to glory was not a reload, but a rebuild. The schools that many point to as the top of the Big Ten this year: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Oregon have completely different rosters than USC had two years ago when Riley took over for fired coach Clay Helton. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day took over a program from Urban Meyer that was loaded with bluechip players and has program has been rolling under Tressel and Meyer for the better part of two decades. Mario Cristobal had the Oregon Ducks reloading talent for four years before Dan Lanning arrived. The Ducks have been stockpiling that roster with Nike founder and super booster Phil Knight and his elite collective Division Street.
“Listen, two years ago, look at where Ohio State and Oregon were two years ago,” Riley continued. “Look at what they took over and look at what we took over. You now. I mean, it takes time. I’m not a magician. I can’t wave a magic wand and everything just be perfect right away, but just name one area that we have not made progress. This thing’s got momentum. It’s coming. Nothing’s going to stop it. That’s fine, they started at a different point. We’ll see where it ends up.”
It seems that Riley needs to remind the media and fans often that building line depth doesn’t happen overnight.
Then there is NIL. USC has also been much more conservative than schools like Ohio State and Oregon in how they interpreted NIL rules regarding inducements to high school recruits prior to things changing with the court rulings which effectively neutered the NCAA’s ability to enforce them. It doesn’t take a giant leap of faith to believe that USC is a program that should be at the top of the Big Ten with the right coaching staff in place; history has made that very clear with USC’s dominance of the Big Ten throughout the decades with the right head coach.
Riley has not only moved on from Grinch but he has brought in an elite defensive coaching staff headlined by the talented second year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. If this staff proves that it’s as good on Saturdays as it is on paper, the Big Tens knows what’s coming next.
Perhaps the most intriguing part was the conviction and confidence in Riley’s voice during his response. There wasn’t any hesitation. There was no doubt.