The Trojans are preparing for war, and though they rest their heads on a bed of arrows of doubt, the former emperor of college football is shielding them with his words. Lincoln Riley will be one of the most-watched coaches this season since it might be a make-or-break sort of situation for him in terms of his coaching career at USC.

If we were to look at Riley’s past two seasons with the team, he’s not struck out but also hasn’t brought in a lot of accolades either. Currently, he holds a record of 74-18 with the team and has yet to land them in a playoff spot. While his 2022 breakout season saw a score of 11-3, Riley’s coaching took a massive hit in 2023 when they downgraded with an 8-5 score. Thus, with all the concerns that surround the HC this year, Saban’s words will give a boost to his confidence as he tries to make the third time his charm.

On the August 24th episode of the College Gameday Show, hosts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, and Pat McAfee did what they do best: discuss the upcoming season and the teams at great length. During one of the segments, Nick Saban had a short rant about the USC Trojans and the skills of Lincoln Riley.

Ever since Finebaum said, “And I fully expect Lincoln Riley to show what an average coach he is against, to me, a coach who can be elite at times, in Brian Kelly of LSU,” eyebrows have been raised over whether Riley can lead the Trojans towards a success rate this season, and it looks like Saban has all the faith in the team.

Taking into account all the doubts that have been raised over Riley’s credibility, Saban shot back at all the skeptics. Furthermore, he added that the new signing of D’Anton Lynn will drastically improve the team’s performance. He said, “I think USC, who people are kind of disrespecting now, Lincoln Riley’s always going to have a good offense. I don’t care who the quarterback is; he’ll make it work, and now they have this new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn who really turned UCLA around a year ago. If they could play better defense, they’re going to challenge some of these teams in the Big Ten.”

Thus, Riley seems to be headed in a good direction if Saban’s words are to be believed, but he could face receiving the wooden spoon if the 2024 season doesn’t go his way since the past 3 years haven’t been too glamorous. Additionally, Riley is bringing in the legendary Pete Carroll to the campus to motivate the players better and hopefully shape them in a much better way for this season.

Pete Carroll returns as the prodigal son!

It has been 14 years since Carroll left the USC Trojans to join the NFL, but now he is coming back to teach the team. During Carroll’s time with USC from 2001–2009, the Trojans totaled an overall record of 97–19, which is beyond impressive. With two national championships to his name and the title of Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013, Carroll is a legend of the game who is marking his return to the team he gave a decade of his life to.

As per Lincoln Riley, he’ll be a great figure for the team to be able to pick his brain, and they’ll take advantage of him to the fullest. He said, “I’d love to have him. He’s great. Coach has been great to me. We’ve had a chance to catch up pretty often and check in with each other. He’s been a great resource and a great person to be able to pick his brain.”

Though it’ll be a bit odd for Carroll to prep the team in the dimensions of a classroom rather than a football field, his advice and strategies will prove to be of immeasurable value to the Trojans in their fight toward removing the ambiguities of their “average” performances.