Lincoln Riley describes what he learned in USC's first year in the Big Ten

USC finished its first season in the Big Ten with a 7-6 overall record, as well as a 4-5 mark against opponents within the conference. While the Trojans struggled at times down the stretch, head coach Lincoln Riley is optimistic his program is on the right track heading into year two.

Riley recently joined ESPN’s Greg McElroy to discuss the Trojans’ first season in the Big Ten. Riley broke down the differences he’s noticed coaching in the Big Ten compared to previous conferences like the old Big 12 and Pac-12 Conferences.

“There are so many teams in our league that, obviously, we don’t play everybody. Your schedule is going to change,” Riley told McElroy. “It’s going to take a couple of years to cycle through actually playing everybody, which I think is a little bit unique. But now you’re getting these conferences that are getting so big.”

USC had first-time matchups against Maryland and Rutgers in 2024. That trend will not continue this fall, as they’ve played all Big Ten schools on their schedule at least once in the past.

Still, the Trojans have joined a conference which has produced the last two national champions (Michigan, Ohio State). It’s not lost on Riley that their schedule may not ease up in the coming years based on the talent within the conference.

“It’s a really good league. There’s a lot of really good teams, a lot of really good brands, good players, good coaches. I would say the depth in this league, from top to bottom, is extremely strong. There’s going to be a challenging game week in and week out. … I mean, we played in just an amazing number of one score and down-to-the-last-play types of games. I could probably coach 50 more seasons and not have another season that ends up like that.

“So yeah, it was competitive. We were a good, competitive football team that did some great things, and we were on the on the cusp of really having an unbelievable season.”

USC will begin its regular season with a pair of non-power conference matchups before beginning Big Ten play a bit early against Purdue on Sept. 13. The Trojans’ schedule also features matchups against the likes of Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa and Oregon, which makes for an interesting slate for USC in 2025.

“I still think football is football,” Riley concluded. “I think our focus has been, again, what we envision this program being. How are we building that and as we do that, then the success that we want on the field will continue to rise.”