On Saturday, the USC football team defeated Michigan 31-13 at the Coliseum. It was a massive victory for head coach Lincoln Riley, who, for one week at least, quieted a lot of the criticism surrounding him.
Following the game, Riley spoke to the media. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say.
On running back King Miller
“He’s a hard worker. He’s a humble guy. He cares about this team a lot. And honestly, hell, we didn’t have anybody else. So we were starting to scratch in the dirt a little bit. But he was awesome. The moment was certainly not too big for him.”
On USC’s physicality
“We know we have a physical group, and within the walls, I think there’s a lot of confidence in that. I think the biggest difference now is we have some depth on the line of scrimmage and on the defensive front seven with the physicality piece. It’s not just one or two guys here and there. I think the mentality of the program is continuing to trend in a really positive way. Physicality is something you got to prove every single week and that’s part of it. That’s just the name of the game. So we’ll have to do it again this week.”
On USC’s tight ends
“Those guys have been tough for us all year. Carson Tabaracci got in there and did some really good things. Obviously, Lake and Walker continue to impact the game in so many ways, and have been really tough competitors. We’ve been working like crazy to build that group up over the last few years. It’s great to see it be really productive for us.”
On earning respect nationally
“We got to go earn our respect. That’s just that’s just part of it. Whether it’s the defensive line, on any side of the ball, or any player, you earn your respect on a week-to-week basis. Our D line did a great job tonight. I’m really proud of the way they played. We got to go do it again next week.”
On the team’s mindset moving forward
“It’s a great win. To me, it’s all about tonight right now, and this team and that performance. And that’s a good football team that we just beat here, and that was an important win. Now, it’s on to the next. When you play our schedule there’s not too much time to celebrate. We know we got another big football game coming up, and we’ll be excited to go back and prepare the way that we did this week and get ready for that.”
