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Joseph Zucker is the featured Columnist for USC Football.
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AP Photo/Alonzo Adams
Lincoln Riley has high hopes for USC.
Riley told reporters during his introductory press conference that he wants to turn Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum into the Mecca of college football.
Arash Markazi is a person.
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The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is going to be full. This is going to be the epicenter of college football.
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USC will need a year or two to compete with the elite of college football, given how much the program stagnated under Clay Helton. Riley is optimistic that the process can be sped up.
Greg Beacham is the person.
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USC can return to glory quickly, says Lincoln Riley. There are a lot of good things happening in this program and we can build on them. We will be very creative and intentional about how we turn over rosters.
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Riley's decision to head west was largely unexpected, as he had been linked with a possible move to LSU.
When a coach has plenty of job security, they usually don't leave a perennial national title contender. Jimbo Fisher was the last one to leave Florida State for Texas A&M, but there was a layer of internal tension before that. Everybody wondered why Riley left when there was no drama in Norman.
He said he enjoyed the challenge of coaching at USC.
Stewart Mandel is on the phone with Slmandel.
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"We're not afraid to jump," Riley said. This was the right time. Everything about it makes sense.
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He talked about how he went from leading Oklahoma in a rivalry game against Oklahoma State to being announced as USC's coach less than 24 hours later.
Stewart Mandel is on the phone with Slmandel.
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Riley says he found out about USC's interest late Saturday night/ early Sunday AM, got a couple hours sleep, and then called USC.
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There will be more reporting on the inner workings at Oklahoma this season and the events leading up to Sunday's bombshell. At his press conference, Riley may have dropped a hint.
BryanDFischer wrote to Bryan Fischer.
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Lincoln Riley has mentioned USC administration's commitment and vision four times.
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Oklahoma's impending move to the SEC is weighing on fans' minds.
Under Bob Stoops, the Sooners won 10 Big 12 titles and under Riley, they won four straight conference titles. Life in the SEC will be more difficult against tougher competition and probably won't come with a lowering of expectations in Norman.
The standards for upper-tier SEC programs were shown to be high by the ousting of Ed Orgeron and Dan Mullen at LSU and Florida, respectively. A few eight- or nine-win seasons down the road could change that.
USC's administration will want Riley to deliver, but he's likely to have a lot of latitude.
Riley's arrival will provide an injection of excitement into the fanbase that began voting with its feet.
