Lincoln Riley wants USC to avoid eliminating themselves during stretch run

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are in the final stretch on their first season together. The Trojans currently have a 7-1 and sit in second place in the Pac-12 behind the Oregon Ducks. USC is also still firmly in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth, ranking ninth in the inaugural rankings reveal. But if they want to keep things that way, Riley and the Trojans must avoid losing down the stretch and eliminating themselves from contention.

“You do all that work throughout the year… put yourself in a position where they are meaningful,” said Riley. “If you haven’t done your job up to this point, they’re not quite as meaningful. There’s not quite as much riding on them. And so, our team has done that.

“We put ourselves in a great position and now we’re back home here for the next couple of weeks; here in the LA area for the next month. we’ve got an awesome opportunity in front of us, but we got four big challenges. We know the things that we’re doing well and the areas where we’re doing some really nice things. we’ve got to continue that. “

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For Riley is more about staying focused down the homestretch and keeping their eyes on the prize. USC has a team that’s chock full of talent with the ability to score on anybody almost at will. But in order to make it to the College Football Playoff, they will need help from their special teams and defense. A defense that has allowed an alarming number of points in the Trojans’ last two games.

“There’s still a lot to build on for this football team on all three sides. And there’s still so much out there for us. And not just in terms of what we can win, but more in terms of how much better we can get as a football team. We’re in a race against time. When you’re in that race, you don’t worry about; well, we’ve been going at this for months, or we’ve been practicing so many straight days. You got to truly make the most of each day. Because, in reality, a lot of teams around this time of year eliminate themselves.

Up next for the Trojans is a home matchup against the California Golden Bears. California enters the game on a four-game losing streak with a 3-5 record and 1-4 in conference play.