USC head coach Lincoln Riley has landed on the midseason watch list for the 2026 Dodd Trophy, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. announced. He was one of 18 Power Four coaches selected.
Riley’s inclusion comes with USC sitting at 6-1 in 2026, a record boosted by the Trojans’ 31-23 win at Penn State on Oct. 10. That game came in front of 114,419 fans at Beaver Stadium during the Nittany Lions’ “White Out,” and USC walked out with what the source called a statement victory.
The Dodd Trophy is college football’s national coaching award that recognizes on-field success while also emphasizing scholarship, leadership and integrity. It honors the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose program best reflects Bobby Dodd’s coaching ideals on and off the field.
The midseason watch list was assembled by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., with each program judged on graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), service and charity in the community, on-field results in 2026 and Academic Progress Rate (APR).
A selection panel featuring previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will determine the final group of candidates after the 2026 season. The winner will be revealed in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Riley’s résumé already stands out on the college game’s biggest stage. The source notes that he has had more success by age 40 than any other head coach in college football history, has spent nine seasons as a head coach and has developed three of the last nine Heisman Trophy winners. He is also the only head coach to tutor three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and the only coach with three quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft.
The source also says Riley has the most No. 1 overall draft selections in the common draft era and is one of only ten current Power Four coaches with a career winning percentage of .500 or better against ranked teams. His record includes a 77 percent winning mark and three College Football Playoff appearances.
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Jayden Maiava kept the attack moving with 21 completions for 301 yards and three touchdowns, while freshman Trent Mosley emerged as a dependable target and King Miller added a productive ground game. The bigger signal for USC, though, came on the other side of the ball, where the Trojans made enough key stops late, including a third-down sack from freshman Luke Wafle and a busy night from Desman Stephens II, to turn a good win into the response Riley badly needed. [Read more 🡒]