Lincoln Riley is heading into his fifth season at USC, and while the Trojans have yet to crack the College Football Playoff under his watch, the head coach isn’t shy about where he thinks his program - and his conference - stand heading into a new era of college football.
With USC officially entering the Big Ten alongside Washington, Oregon, and UCLA, Riley believes the conference is not only stronger than ever - he’s even willing to say it might be surpassing the SEC.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the Big Ten and the SEC have separated themselves,” Riley said in a recent interview. “Everybody in college football understands that. That’s just the reality.”
He’s not wrong. With the sport’s power structure shifting rapidly thanks to realignment, NIL, and an expanded playoff on the horizon, the balance of power has consolidated at the top. But what Riley is pointing to isn’t just about brand names - it’s about week-in, week-out competition.
“Both conferences are fantastic,” he continued. “You play elite-level teams very, very often.”
That’s not just coach speak. The Big Ten’s new-look schedule is a gauntlet.
USC will now face a slate that could include trips to places like Ann Arbor, Columbus, and Eugene - and that’s before you even factor in the rivalry games and potential postseason matchups. Riley knows that, and he’s leaning into it.
He also made a compelling point about how strength of schedule is now playing a bigger role than ever in how teams are perceived and ranked - especially in a sport where human voters still have a heavy hand in determining postseason fate.
“The discrepancy in schedules right now has never been higher in football than where it is now,” Riley said. “You’re asking humans to do a very difficult job, given how we currently rank teams.”
Translation? Not all 10-2 records are created equal. And Riley wants recruits - and the college football world - to know that suiting up for USC in the Big Ten means you’ll be tested every Saturday.
“If you come to USC and play in the Big Ten, you’re gonna play one of the best schedules in the country,” he added. “You’re gonna play marquee teams on the road and certainly here in L.A. at The Coliseum. Your strength of schedule is not going to be questioned.”
That’s not just a recruiting pitch - it’s a challenge to the rest of the country. The Trojans may have missed the Playoff last season, falling short late in the year with a tough loss at Oregon, but Riley believes the program is turning a corner.
“And we did it better than what we have done in the first few years,” he said, pointing to internal growth despite a season that didn’t end with a CFP berth. “There was some real progress, even despite the number of injuries we had to deal with.”
For Riley, building a title contender isn’t about blowing teams out every week - it’s about learning how to win in different ways, especially when adversity hits.
“You’re not going to win all these games the same way,” he said. “Every game is going to be a little bit different.
And if you want to be an elite team, you want to be a championship team, you have to learn how to do that. And a program has to learn how to do that.
And we are showing some pretty exciting signs.”
There’s no doubt the Big Ten is about to be a weekly war zone. But if Riley’s words are any indication, USC isn’t just along for the ride - they’re looking to lead the charge.