USC's Lincoln Riley says he wants players who love road games
One week into the new season, USC needs to prepare for a road conference game. And not just any road game, but a road game against the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford would want nothing more than to play spoiler early in Lincoln Riley’s debut season for the Trojans.
The Trojans will be tested.
And Riley has a message for his team as they prepare for the game.
During an appearance on the Trojans Live radio show Monday night, Riley said players need to love road games, and if they prefer playing at home over playing on the road, his program isn’t the one for them.
“Good players love playing at home,” he said. “Great players love playing on the road.”
Lincoln Riley added that if a player wants to play at home more than on the road than this #USC program might not be the one for that player. https://t.co/EVMotvOH8l
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) September 6, 2022
Over the last five seasons, USC actually has one of the best road records in the Pac-12. Its .520 winning percentage is the third-best among league teams over that span.
USC began its season at home with a 66-14 win over Rice. The offense looked dynamic immediately, with a number of players getting onto the field and making an impact. The defense also recorded four interceptions — three of which were returned for touchdowns.
The Cardinal opened with a 41-10 win over Colgate, in which quarterback Tanner McKee completed 22 of his 27 pass attempts for 308 yards and two scores. The Cardinal put up 497 yards of offense at nearly 9 yards per play. The potential is there for a shootout in Palo Alto on Saturday.
USC opened as a 12-point favorite in the game. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. PT on ABC.
You can see the rest of Riley’s time on Trojans Live below: