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By Reice Shipley
Contributing Sports Writer
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USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is still looking for his first trip to the College Football Playoff with the program, falling short in each of his first four years with the program. Despite this, Riley remains confident that he is the right man to lead the Trojans back to national prominence.
Riley and the Trojans find themselves in a fairly familiar position at this point in the college football season. At 6-2, they aren't quite CFP contenders at this point, but could certainly make a good argument to potentially earn a bid with a strong end of the season.
Given that Riley hasn't gotten USC over the hump during his tenure thus far and is in grave jeopardy of this being the case yet again this season, rumors have began to swirl that USC could potentially move on from Riley, or Riley could potentially look to move on from USC on this own.
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Speaking with the media on Tuesday, Riley shut down these rumors on his end, confidently claiming that USC "is the right place" for him. And he believes that he is also the "right person to be at USC".
"If I didn’t want to be at this place, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place,” Riley said during his press conference on Tuesday. “I’ve had plenty of opportunities to leave. This is where I want to be. This is the right place for me. I’m the right person to be here. That’s as honest and transparent as I can be with you guys.”
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USC has never finished under .500 with Riley running the show. So on paper, the Trojans program could certainly do far worse than Riley.
That being said, Riley hasn't quite restored USC to the national powerhouse they once were. If there is belief within the university that the program does have the potential to be annual CFP contenders, it is at least plausible that they could move on from Riley.
The next few weeks could loom large in that potential decision. Three of their final four games of the season are set to come against the very top of the Big Ten standings, with matches with No. 4 ranked Indiana and No. 7 ranked UCLA looming in addition to Saturday's matchup against Ohio State.
Winning one or all of these incredibly tough games could go a long way in not only keeping Riley's job secure, but potentially even making a case to sneak into the CFP this season.
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