Lincoln Riley, USC ‘taking in moment’ ahead of Notre Dame matchup in South Bend

One of the nation’s logenst-running annual rivalry games, Notre Dame vs. USC is a must-win game circled on both program’s schedule each season.

Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley was able to be experience his first taste of the rivalry in 2022, defeating the Irish 38-27 in Los Angeles. Saturday marks Riley’s first time coaching this game in South Bend — a place where USC hasn’t won since 2011. Regardless fo the outcome, it’s important for Riley to take in the moment before the battle begins.

“Certainly when you get there, you get a chance to take it all in. We’re human, too, obviously and this is special,” Riley said Saturday morning on Big Noon Kickoff. “One of the things that I told myself when I took this job was that I’m going to do a better job of appreciating the opportunities we get to come and play inside such special venues and get to play in special rivalries.

“We’ll take it in for a quick second, and be appreciative that we get to play in this great, historic game before getting locked in a getting ready to go.”

Being able to visit Notre Dame for USC not only provides one of the most hostile road environments the nation offers — it’s the only opportunity for the Trojans to experience a true non-conference road game all season.

The one question for USC heading into this matchup will be whether or not Riley’s defense will be able to hold up against Sam Hartman and the Notre Dame offense. After scoring at least 40 points in the first four games of the season, the Irish are averaging 18.3 points per game over the last three weeks while dropping two of the three games in the process.

Riley’s offense, which is led by regining Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, has the star junior coming in ranked in the top-10 in passing yards (1,822) and No. 1 in passing touchdowns (22) to make USC the nation’s highest-scoring offense, averaging 51.8 points per game. In addition to his 22 passing touchdowns, Williams also has six rushing touchdowns to give him 28 touchdowns responsible for this season as he engineers USC’s high-powered offense.

Saturday’s opening kickoff between the Irish and Trojans is set for 7:30 p.m. ET live on NBC. Notre Dame is a three-point betting favorite over USC at home, according to Vegas Insider. The over/under total is set at 60.5.