Lincoln Riley not Going Overboard on Rivalry Rhetoric Ahead of USC - UCLA
Lincoln Riley is plenty familiar with college football rivalry games. Just like USC has two major ones with Notre Dame and UCLA, Oklahoma plays yearly against Oklahoma State and Texas. It’s safe to say Riley found just a bit of success in those matchups. He went 5-1 against Texas, including one win in the Big XII Championship Game. And he went 4-1 against Oklahoma State. And he tossed in a win against Nebraska as well.
This will be Riley’s first taste of the USC – UCLA rivalry. It’s different than every other major college rivalry because the schools share the same city. But Riley said they aren’t looking to treat this game any differently than the first 10.
“We’re not going anything honestly too specific with this rivalry,” Riley said after Tuesday’s practice of how he’s addressed the team this week. “Not to discount it in any way. We’ve acknowledged that this game, in some ways, is going to feel different. Right? We’ve acknowledged that it is a rivalry game. There’s a lot of history behind it. It’s going to be a great game to play in. But past that, I think we’re really zeroed in on what we believe is going to help us play well. And that’s where our focus is going to be.”
Riley called rivalry games “awesome” and added they’re one of the best part of the job. He said the emotion, intensity and excitement makes it fun for everybody involved. But Riley said that “other than both teams wearing home jerseys, I don’t know if there’s a whole lot different, to be honest.”
Make no mistake, this is a big one between the Trojans and Bruins. A USC win will guarantee the Trojans a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
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Staying Focused in a Rivalry Setting
But there’s an important point to keep in mind about rivalry games. So many questions of the players this week will center around how fired up the players can get to play the crosstown rival. Riley was quick to point out that staying calm and keeping composure is a huge component to these.
“You’ve got to balance out playing great football,” Riley said. “That can get lost in it sometimes, the heat of the battle. You have to really balance it. And you have to have poise. But you also have to have the intensity, too. You can’t do it without that. You’ve got to understand the intent of this game and the emotions of this game. The overall intensity will be a little bit different, like they are in good rivalry games. So it should be a lot of fun.”
Riley said having a coaching staff that has been involved in plenty of rivalry games over the years is a benefit. He thinks the coaches have been able to deliver good messaging to the players early in the week.
“I think they’ll take it and be ready to play,” Riley said. “Our focus is getting these guys ready to play.”
