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It took Lincoln Riley only one year to make the Pac-12 Championship Game at USC

matt zemek
·4 min read
26

Click, clack.

It’s a night to be proud if you’re a USC Trojan football player, and it’s a night to be happy if you’re a USC football fan.

The Trojans might not win the Pac-12 championship this year, but they reached the Pac-12 Championship Game with their win over UCLA.

A lot of people across the country and the Pac-12 footprint were highly skeptical that the Trojans could go from 4-8 to the conference championship game in one year. It was an understandable line of thought, given the mess that Clay Helton left behind, but Riley was bringing Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison and Eric Gentry and Shane Lee with him to USC. Those are really good football players.

National commentators undersold the ability of the transfer portal — married with a great coach — to instantly transform USC’s roster. USC will play for the Pac-12 title in Las Vegas on Friday night, Dec. 2.

It’s real. The Trojans are 10-1.

Enjoy the spectacular highlights of the USC win over UCLA, followed by some notes about the road ahead and Lincoln Riley’s remarkable (continued) streak:

ADDISON

CALEB

MORE ADDISON

DESPERATELY NEEDED

SHANE LEE

DOUBLE HOME UNIFORM HALFTIME TWEET

NO RED ZONE FAILURE HERE

ANOTHER TAKEAWAY

ANOTHER ANGLE

NO. 6 FOR SIX

SPECIAL PLAY

AT BOTH ENDS

DARWIN BARLOW JOINS THE PARADE

FINISH STRONG

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME INFORMATION

Friday, December 2, 2022

Las Vegas

Allegiant Stadium

5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

Fox Sports

USC FAST FACTS

The Trojans are 10-1. They play Notre Dame next Saturday, Nov. 26, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on ABC in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

QUICK BOWL OUTLOOK

USC still needs help to make the College Football Playoff, but the Trojans will be able to play their way into a New Year’s Six bowl in each of the next two weeks.

If they beat Notre Dame, they will go to 11-1 and could lose in the Pac-12 title game yet still get front-of-the-line treatment for an NY6 game.

If they lose to Notre Dame, they can still play their way into the Rose Bowl by winning the Pac-12 Championship Game.

USC basically gets two bites at the apple to make a top-tier bowl game.

LINCOLN RILEY CONTINUED STREAK

Lincoln Riley still has not lost more than two games in any college football regular season he has coached. This win guarantees he won’t lose more than two in the 12-game regular season.

USC will play a 13th game in the Pac-12 title game, but Riley never lost more than two games at Oklahoma including the Big 12 Championship Game.

If USC wins one more time in the next two weeks, Riley will be assured of not losing more than two games before the bowl game.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire