Lincoln Riley couldn’t help himself.
The beleaguered USC coach had been so measured, so calm, so restrained in his interaction with reporters after this monumental triumph when he had every right not to be.
Then came a final question about a pathway existing to the College Football Playoff and the Trojans having a chance to do what they had wanted coming into this pivotal season.
That’s when Riley made like Mark Bowman on the third-quarter play in which the tight end spectacularly hurdled an Ohio State defender and broke multiple tackles during the Trojans’ 30-18 victory over the second-ranked Buckeyes on Saturday night at the Coliseum.
Given an opening, there was no stopping Riley now.
“Say that louder for the people in the back,” Riley said, trying to be cute about making sure that everyone could hear. “Yeah – hell yeah it does. Again, I keep saying, look at all the craziness across the country. The teams that just hang in there, keep going, get better, stay together are going to be the ones that are there in the end, so that’s the nature of it.”
Riley wasn’t done. Far from it.
When a team publicist thanked Riley, quarterback Jayden Maiava and defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren – in essence excusing them to leave – Riley pulled out a piece of paper with prepared notes.
“I’ve got one other thing I want to say here,” Riley said, glancing at the paper. “I just took a second, I wanted to make sure I articulated my thoughts.”
Oh, this should be interesting.
“This program is built on internal joy, not external applause,” Riley continued after initially stumbling over his words. “This win’s for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, the admin, all the people within the walls. I said before this game that I’m the right person for this job and as long as all those people know that, that’s all I care about.
“I appreciate being a part of this university and all it does and I appreciate our kids and our staff and I’m going to continue to Fight On because that’s what being a Trojan is all about.”
And with that, Riley got up to leave.
The immediate takeaway?
This wasn’t a coach expressing gratitude as much as someone campaigning to keep his job.
A more assured coach would handle things the way Riley had for most of his session with reporters. Answer the questions. Remain composed. Move on.
His Trojans (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) had been smarter, more physical – just flat-out better – than a team that had been far more of a gold standard in college football over the last few decades than the Cardinal and Gold.
When his team’s stunning triumph was over amid a light mist that gave the whole thing a surreal feel, fans stormed the field to bounce around deliriously from one goal line to the other.
Showing tremendous restraint, Riley didn’t immediately lord any of this over reporters who had questioned him and taken shot after shot following that dreadful loss to Wisconsin last week that saddled his team with a second loss.
Then he finally gave in to his own insecurity.
The truth is, this was a victory that could change everything.
Or nothing.
As much of a monumental win as it was, it won’t mean anything if USC stumbles against Indiana or UCLA. A loss to either team would eliminate the Trojans from CFP contention and puts Riley back into the same exact spot he was just a week ago.
Those games being on the road should make USC fans especially dubious that the Trojans can win both given Riley’s repeated struggles away from the Coliseum.
But those are concerns for another day.
On Saturday, it was time to give Riley and his team a load of credit.
This was a tremendous triumph, even if it came against a team with a backup quarterback who barely completed 50% of his passes, not to mention some questionable game-planning from coach Ryan Day.
From the second play from scrimmage, when USC’s Trent Mosley caught a short pass and ran a long way on a 69-yard touchdown, the Trojans owned the joint.
“It was huge,” Riley said. “You grab momentum right away, the crowd went nuts.”
They kept going crazy as the Trojans kept building their lead and the Buckeyes kept getting held to field goals.
A USC defense that has been maligned for months held firm after Ohio State had first and goal with only inches to go, limiting the Buckeyes to another field goal.
“That’s a grit play, that’s a toughness deal, a mindset thing,” VanSumeren said.
It’s also the sort of thing USC has done far too rarely this season, leading to legitimate questions about grit and toughness.
Do you really trust a team that lost to Oregon at home and Wisconsin on the road – while also barely beating Rutgers and Washington – to win out?
If the Trojans can keep playing like they did Saturday, maybe Riley’s right.
USC could be there at the end and playing in the CFP, assuring its coach of keeping his job at the place he keeps saying he wants to be.
Hey, coach, we heard you. Nothing left needs to be said. Just get it done.
