USC head coach Lincoln Riley has issue a warning about USC's play in the trenches for this upcoming season.
Lincoln Riley Issues Stark Warning About USC’s Future at Big Ten Media Days originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Lincoln Riley is entering a pivotal fourth season as the head coach of the USC Trojans football program.
He got off to a good start in 2022 by winning 11 games, but is a combined 15-11 over the last two seasons. Riley's overall record in Southern California is 26-14.
That's not going to cut it, given the Trojan fans' high expectations. They expect to win, especially since Riley went 55-10 as the Oklahoma Sooners head coach, taking them to the College Football Playoff three times.
Riley knows he has to win this year and told FS1's Colin Cowherd that he made some "alterations" when building this year's team. He also issued a warning regarding the Trojans' trenches.
"We did, and I think some of that is in response to the Big Ten, but also I think a lot of it is just a response to our natural growth as a program," Riley said. "We want to be a team that is a national championship contender every single year, like you should expect at USC, and to do that, you have to be great on the line of scrimmage, and so, we have certainly tried to build that throughout the years. I think this group coming up on both fronts has a chance to be the very best we've had and certainly see a major difference, especially on the defensive line that I know will pay dividends this year."
Trojans fans will get to see the new-look offensive and defensive lines in action when their team opens the 2025 season on August 30 against the Missouri State Bears.
Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Related: USC Dealt Unfortunate Alijah Arenas News on Wednesday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
