Lincoln Riley Addresses Idea He Left Oklahoma Due to SEC Move

The coach denied the narrative that he went to the Pac-12 to avoid competing in the SEC.

USC coach Lincoln Riley’s departure from Oklahoma rocked the college football landscape this offseason, and some have speculated he bolted for the Pac-12 due to his former team’s move to the toughest conference in college football. Riley denied that idea and said Oklahoma’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC had nothing to do with his decision to join the Trojans. 

“I heard the whole SEC narrative,” Riley told CBS Sports. “To me, the SEC has nothing to do with it. It’s all about the program that you’re at and the position you think you can get to.”

Both Oklahoma and Texas are expected to join the SEC in 2025, but Riley is looking to build a powerhouse in the Pac-12, a conference that has been devoid of a championship-winner for some time. The last time a Pac-12 team won a national championship was USC in ’04. Even then, a Pac-12 team hasn’t made the College Football Playoff title game since Oregon after the ’14 season—the year of the CFP’s inception. Washington is the only other Pac-12 program to reach the Playoff back in ’16.

USC finished 4–8 (3–6) last season, and Riley is looking to turn the program around from the ground up. 

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