Lincoln Riley reacts to what win vs. Michigan could mean for USC program

Lincoln Riley didn’t make USC’s win over Michigan anything more special than it was the latest “W” on the schedule. He called it a week-to-week job for him and his players.

Riley did point out it would be nuts to acknowledge the atmosphere out in LA was something a little different knowing it was his Trojans, who are now 5-1, facing off against a ranked Wolverines’ squad at the time. There were pregame shots, notably from Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, saying Michigan fans will travel well to infiltrate the Coliseum.

But in the end, the USC fans made their voices heard as the Trojans rolled 31-13. Riley and crew moved up to No. 20 in the latest AP Poll too.

“Football for us is a week to week thing, man,” Riley said postgame. “It’s our job. This is our life. We put everything into these weeks and these games. I don’t know that it’s built any differently than other ones. I think you sense the moment in the atmosphere with these two programs and how good they’ve been recently. It was a big opportunity. There’s no question. I don’t like to say on the line, but I felt like it was a big opportunity we didn’t want to miss. 

“For all the talk and the people who want to discuss this and that, for those recruits and the people that were in the building tonight, I would imagine a lot of people would say that’s what it used to feel like around here in the Coliseum. And that was an epic atmosphere. The place was just on fire. And I think it was great for our players, our future players, and LA, just everyone likes to see that. It was an important step, and I can definitely see that.”

It was a balanced approach for Riley’s offense. Jayden Maiava threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, King Miller ran 18 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.

Despite a 14-7 lead at  halftime, USC outscored Michigan 17-6 in the second half. Halfway through the year, USC is near the top of the Big Ten and look like a College Football Playoff contender at this point.

“It’s a great win,” Riley said. “To me, it’s all about tonight right now, and this team and that performance. And that’s a good football team that we just beat here, and that was an important win. Now, it’s on to the next. When you play our schedule there’s not too much time to celebrate. We know we got another big football game coming up, and we’ll be excited to go back and prepare the way that we did this week and get ready for that.”