CHICAGO — The stage was set this past summer, and Lincoln Riley was a ball of nerves.
The USC coach should’ve been used to weathering pressure by that point. After all, his previous four seasons spent coaching the Trojans had been nothing short of a powder keg, filled with ups and downs, as well as a constant undercurrent of tension and uncertainty. But in this particular case, success was out of Riley’s control. He wasn’t even near a football field.
Rather, he was sitting in the audience of a local dance recital, waiting on his two young daughters, Sloan and Stella, who were each making their solo dancing debut with their company.
“This was the first year, stepping out on their own, no one else to rely on,” Riley said. “But they told me, ‘Dad, we’ve got it.’”
Entering his fifth and most pivotal season yet at USC, their father can relate to that sentiment. While the spotlight burns brighter than ever and the collective college football world is spinning 2026 as a make-or-break moment for Riley, the coach had never sounded so confident that his Trojans had turned a corner than he did Tuesday.
“I’ve felt the pressure to win every single year here,” Riley said during Big Ten media days. “What does feel different is that I think our opportunity to do that is greater than what it has been. It just flat out is. The things you need to win, we have more of than we had in the first four years.”
Riley, of course, has made that case before. After each of the last two seasons, in fact. But it’s never been quite as compelling as it is now.
As the coach sees it, USC now boasts more depth on both sides of the ball than at any point in his tenure, in large part because of bringing in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in January. Riley also added a Hall of Fame coach at defensive coordinator in hopes of stabilizing matters on that side of the ball. And 10 days earlier, the program moved into its new, state-of-the-art football facility, with all the amenities anyone could ask for.
“It’s just a culmination of all of it, you know?” Riley said. “It is just so much more well-equipped to win consistently right now. It’s so different.”
That’s never been a question for Riley’s offenses at USC, and this year should be no different, with third-year starter Jayden Maiava returning at quarterback and a two-pronged backfield in Waymond Jordan and King Miller leading the way in the run game. The offensive line also looks like Riley’s strongest unit yet in five seasons.
The doubts, per usual, are on defense, where the Trojans are not the most seasoned group.
“The entire defense is just very young compared to last year,” defensive tackle Jide Abasiri said.
Riley is also now working with his third defensive coordinator in five seasons. And one who hasn’t coached in five years, at that.
Gary Patterson does have an impressive resume, with years of top-tier defenses at Texas Christian. And he continues to get rave reviews from Riley, who called the Hall of Famer “one of one” on Tuesday.
“You really have somebody that is like a head coach in that room,” Riley said. “The guy’s one of the most experienced, accomplished coaches in the game. Like, it just is what it is.
“I think just my confidence level and, you know, what’s being handled, how it’s being handled, how we’re developing, how we’re using our roster … is just really, really high right now.”
It better be at this point, considering all that USC has invested in Riley and his total teardown and rebuild of the Trojan football program. Across the city, billboards declaring “THE TIME IS NOW” make abundantly clear just how urgent this season will be at USC.
At the start of his fifth season, Riley is convinced the Trojans are right on schedule.
“All the things that help you win are better,” Riley said. “And that’s gonna give us more chances to win. That’s where my optimism comes from.”
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