Lincoln Riley thinks USC’s ‘championship window’ is open, despite lack of success heading into his fifth year
Remarkably, 2026 college football The season will be Lincoln Riley’s fifth year as head coach. USC Trojans.
Riley brought an outstanding resume when he arrived from Oklahoma. He compiled a 55-10 record over five seasons at Norman, coached two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and won four straight Big 12 Conference championships.
He made three straight College Football Playoff appearances, but never made it to the National Championship game. Thanks to a hugely heartbreaking loss Georgia Bulldogs at the 2018 Rose Bowl. And therein lies the one thing missing from Riley’s list of accomplishments: a championship.
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While Oklahoma is a storied program in its own right, the move to USC came with championship-caliber expectations. Pairing his high-octane offense with SC’s recruiting prowess and location in Southern California was supposed to return the Trojans to the top of the college football world.
Well, there is SC Negative is back at the top of the college football world. That’s why it’s so surprising Lincoln Riley He tells the media that he expects the program to enter a “championship era.”
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 29, 2025. USC defeated UCLA 29-10 in the NCAA football game. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News)
Lincoln Riley has high hopes for SC moving forward
In a new interview with On3’s Wilson Alexander, Riley said he believes it will take “a lot of work” to get there, but now they’ve “opened that window.”
“USC needed to get really serious about being great in sports again,” he explained. “I agree with the school administration and everyone. They are there too.”
“When you took over this, you knew you had to fight like hell just to get this window open.” Riley said. “And we’re at a point right now where there’s a lot to be excited about and a lot ahead of us. It’s taken a lot of work for a lot of people, a lot of determination from a lot of people to get to this point, and the next few years should be a lot of fun.”
“We came here to win the championship,” he continued. “A lot of us have been lucky enough to be part of so many championships. We certainly didn’t come here for anything less. We need to reconnect, improve and really come together, but right now we have the requirements of a championship level football team in this building.”
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sideline before the game against the UCLA Bruins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Critics of Riley would point to several examples where head coaches took over programs and quickly turned them around. At Indiana, for example, Curt Cignetti went 16-0 and won the championship in his second season. Kenny Dillingham led ASU to the playoffs in his second year in Phoenix.
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But these situations have some differences from Riley’s time at SC. Indiana had significant financial backing to produce a top transfer portal class, and Dillingham had the advantage of a “weaker” Big 12 Conference over the Big Ten or Pac-12. SC has quickly fallen behind during the NIL era and has recently spent its financial muscle on recruiting and signing seniors.
But realistically, with a tough schedule and the vaunted 2026 recruiting class needing time to develop, 2027 might be a better opportunity for SC to truly compete for the championship. But considering disappointing results in 2023 and 2024, Riley may need to win nine to 10 games to get there.
