USC coach Lincoln Riley on Michigan: 'This is still a very, very, very good football team'

USC has officially been a Big Ten Conference member since Aug. 1, but it’ll get its welcome when it opens conference play at Michigan Wolverines football in Ann Arbor this weekend.

Coming off a bye week, the Trojans are 2-0 with victories over LSU (27-20 in Las Vegas) and Utah State (48-0). Head coach Lincoln Riley is excited for his team’s first Big Ten game and road test.

“I don’t think you can ignore it: It’s a big game,” Riley said on his radio show. “It is for a lot of reasons. Any year, it would be a big game, but you go, first Big Ten matchup, you’re taking arguably the two most iconic brands in the conference and two of the most iconic brands in the sport and you pair them up together.

“I think it’s probably fitting that we’re doing it at their place, being that they’ve obviously been in the Big Ten forever. So it’s cool, man. It’s cool. It’s a great opportunity. 

“I don’t think there’s any harm in acknowledging that. Now, what it takes to go play well in that is gonna be the same recipe is it takes to go play well in any game like this. So we’ve gotta be able to lock in and go execute.

“But you’ve gotta appreciate it. What a great opportunity for us, kinda being the newbie here in the league and to get a chance to go up there and play the defending national champions.”

Michigan lost its first regular-season game since 2021 when it fell to Texas, 31-12, Sept. 7. But Riley still sees a tremendous challenge ahead, despite not meeting the high standard that was set in Ann Arbor when the program won 40 of 43 games from 2021-23.

“They’re like most teams that have had a run of great years and then had, obviously, a tremendous year last year,” Riley said of Michigan. “What you’re judged on is so high. Make no mistake about it, this is still a very, very, very good football team. And anybody that thinks they’re not is crazy, alright?

“This is without a doubt one of the best defenses in the country. They have NFL personnel on both sides of the ball, all over the place, a really good coaching staff, crazy experience. I mean, this is a great team that’ll be a big challenge.”

Riley discussed what he’s seen from Michigan on the field, including at quarterback, where junior Alex Orji is set to make his first career start, in replacement of benched senior Davis Warren.

“Obviously, we know they’re looking at a quarterback change here, defensively [for us],” Riley said. “So certainly gotta be ready for all things there. But we know the player and athlete that Orji is. I actually remember him coming out of high school, so we have a lot of respect for him and their weapons they have around him.

“And their ability to run the ball — they ran it really well last week. Elite tight end, elite backs. They have tremendous players offensively.

“Defensively, it’s pretty obvious. A really good group, tremendous defensive line. They’re really good at all levels. They’ve got one of the best corners in the game. It’s what you would expect when you go play the defending national champions. They’ve got a really good team, and it’ll be a big-time challenge.”

Lincoln Riley on playing on the road, physicality in the Big Ten and what it’ll take to beat Michigan

Michigan Stadium is the largest in the country, with a 107,601-person capacity. While USC and the Wolverines have played 10 times in history, they’ve only squared off once at The Big House, a 20-19 U-M victory Sept. 27, 1958.

Riley is set to embrace life on the road.

“I love the road, man. I always do,” the third-year USC coach said. “They’re the best. And I’ve always said that no matter where I’ve coached, and I’ve been lucky to coach at some great places that have some great home venues and home-field advantages — and this certainly stacks right up there, obviously, being able to coach here at USC and being able to coach at the [Los Angeles] Coliseum is as good as it gets, in terms of home games. But there’s just something about going on the road, man.

“They’re the most special games, I think the ones you deep down look forward to the most. So I’ve always appreciated getting the chance to coach in some of these other elite venues against great opponents. So this will be another one to put on the list and one I’m very much looking forward to.”

The Big Ten is known for its physical brand of football, and no team has exemplified that more in recent years than Michigan, so USC and the former Pac-12 newcomers may have to adjust to the style of play. Key Trojan players bulked up over the offseason, and a new defensive system under coordinator D’Anton Lynn has been implemented.

“I feel great about our opportunity to go handle it well, but it’ll take all we got to go handle it well — there’s no question about it,” Riley said when asked about the adjustment to the Big Ten. “Both this team [Michigan] and certainly throughout the rest of the league, there are a lot of really good teams in this league, a lot of really good teams on our schedule, a lot of teams that are really strong up front on both sides of the ball. So we’re gonna get challenged there week after week, and we gotta be ready to rise up to the challenge and make sure that they’re getting a big damn challenge when they play us, right? That’s what it’s all about.

“You’re just gonna have to be ready every single week. You feel it, you know it. And it’s our ability to do it one game here, one game there. That’s great, but a big part of our season will be determined on are we able to do it week in and week out and maintain that physicality on both sides.”

Riley was asked if there’s one stat that USC needs to do well in to beat Michigan this weekend. He stuck to the basics, saying the Trojans will look to win the turnover margin and rushing battle.

“I don’t know that it’s anything magical,” he noted. “It’s the things that typically in road football you need to do well. You gotta go do well in the turnover department — you always point to that. A lot of times in these games, teams that are able to run the football and teams that are able to control the run.

“That’s the recipe for pretty good football all the time, especially when you’re playing a really good opponent. There are obviously going to be a lot of other key things that we’ll need to do well, but you’d have to put those up there pretty high on the list.”