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Despite Lincoln Riley and USC Football moving to the Big Ten in 2024, the relatively new head coach is still looking forward to seeing Notre Dame on the other side of the field in the team's final season in the Pac-12.
“That's one of the biggest rivalries in college football,” Riley said on Friday, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich. “We're going into a damn good league. We open up with LSU next year and then play the whole Big Ten. Are we getting rid of Notre Dame? H**l no. Find a way.”
The media has picked USC to finish first in the conference, after which they will follow UCLA into the Big Ten in 2024. Realignment will continue to impact scheduling, but Riley is still looking forward to playing their rivals next year.
The team's starting quarterback Caleb Williams is still thinking about last year's loss to Utah in the Pac-12 conference championship game; the 21-year-old expects his team to be back in the final next season.
“I'm very determined,” the reigning Heisman Trophy winner told ESPN. “I haven't been in the College Football Playoff in my two years of playing. It's been tough. It bothers me because I play for championships. I don't play for anything else. So not being able to have the chance and being so close frustrates me. This year it's going to be a good one.”
Lincoln Riley agreed with Williams' take.
“In reality, getting to the point where we were a play away from winning the conference or going to the playoff, was that largely positive? Yes,” Riley explained.
“But do I want us to have the sour taste in our mouth that it was right there and we didn't finish it? Absolutely. I want there to be excitement, but I want that pissed-off attitude. I don't think I've had to cultivate that or create it. It's there. It's definitely there.”
There are sure to be fireworks when USC and Notre Dame meet on Oct. 14.
