Lincoln Riley challenges fans to help return USC to prominence

After a successful run as Oklahoma‘s head coach, Lincoln Riley is now living in Los Angeles and leading the USC football program. Taking over a prestigious program that hasn’t been as successful as of late, there’s high expectations for Riley to get the Trojans back on track in 2022.

While Riley compiled an impressive 55-10 overall record in five seasons at Oklahoma from 2017-2021, it’s evident that the coach knows how to build programs and win games – and that’s what he plans to do at USC, with the help of the top-tier coaching staff he has put together and the roster he has assembled by using the NCAA Transfer Portal.

While USC has spent the past month or so going through its spring football period, it will wrap it up Saturday afternoon with its annual spring game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. As the Trojans’ 2022 season continues to draw near, both the USC team and fans are getting excited.

Meeting with reporters last week, Riley was asked what he thought he and his staff could do to help reengage the USC fan base between now and the Trojans’ season opener in September.

“I think a lot of those things have been done and are already happening,” Riley said. “People, as you learn – particularly in this town – they want to support winners. They want to support excellence. They want to support success. We understand that, and we don’t shy away from that.

“I think the best experiences on these are the fans are going to expect greatness out of us, and it’s rightful for us to expect greatness out of them. And when there’s greatness on both sides, that’s when you get great football and great atmospheres – and that’s what makes college football so special. We know we’ve got to all rise up to get that done. We’re busting our tail to get our part done.”

Riley: Engagement between the game of college football and fans is important

While USC coach Lincoln Riley shared how his Trojans’ club can connect with its fans and generate their support ahead of the season, he continued by pointing out that engagement between the game of college football and its fans is extremely important.

“I think that, more than probably an NFL franchise or a lot of other sports, I think just engagement between fans and college football and how connected they are – the entire experience that becomes is so important and is really just a big part of it all,” Riley said.

“We know there’s a lot of people that love Trojan football, and we’re excited to see them all out here this Saturday.”

USC’s spring football game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it will be broadcast on ESPN.