USC Football: Lincoln Riley Acknowledges Rising Pressure Amid USC's High Hopes

Can USC reach the playoff this season?

The pressure is on for the USC Trojans this season. After coming so close to reaching the College Football Playoff last year, the Trojans are one of the favorites to reach the tournament entering the new year.

Head coach Lincoln Riley enters his second season with the program, and they are ready to make that leap toward full contention status. They have to; otherwise, this season will be considered a failure.

USC brings back the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Caleb Williams, and the poor defense from last season has improved over the offseason.

This is their time to shine, but Riley knows it won't be easy. He acknowledged the pressure that is being put on this program this season. 

“Listen, we got a great opportunity in front of us,” Riley said last month at Pac-12 media day. “I think everybody within our program, every player, senses that and wants to do a great job of taking advantage of this. These windows are short. You only get so many shots at this.”'

Per The LA Times

Riley is correct in saying that the window to win in sports is short. It can close just as fast as it opens, so the team needs to take advantage of things this season.

The Trojans understand that where they play matters as well. This is a program that expects to win, so the heat is on them this year. 

“This day and age, it’s been talked about a lot, you can build rosters faster than you could before, but you still can’t do everything in one year,” Riley said. “It can’t happen. You can make dramatic changes, but not everything. ... We were proud of what we did in Year 1, but certainly very focused on what we felt like Year 2 could be.”

Per The LA Times

What USC did last season doesn't matter. They can build off the success, but they must duplicate and exceed it in 2023 for anything to matter. 

LA Times long-time writer Bill Plaschke gave his thoughts on USC for the season. 

"Unrealistic to expect an unbeaten regular season two years after they won just four games? Hey, Riley’s honeymoon is over, the opportunity to celebrate last year’s improvement is past, these are his players, this is his program, this is his moment."

Per The LA Times

The time is now for the Trojans. They need to come out strong and set the tone for the rest of the year. This year will define this program in ways that they haven't been for quite some time.