With stakes high, Riley says players must raise game

With just three weeks left in the college football season, Lincoln Riley finds himself in a place he hasn't been since his first year at USC. His Trojans are still within reach of the College Football Playoff in mid-November. Their fate is still in their hands: Win out from here, and USC should be in the CFP for the first time.

- BY RYAN KARTJE

GINA FERAZZI Los Angeles Times QUARTERBACK Jayden Maiava and the Trojans play host to Iowa as they seek a berth into the CFP.

The stakes are incredibly high. And Riley isn't hiding that fact from his team as it prepares to face No. 21 Iowa Saturday. In fact, he says, he wants them to "embrace" the opportunity at hand.

"This game coming up this weekend, it's not the same. It's just not," Riley said. "The more you win, the more important these become and the bigger the opportunities become. So our team is very well aware of that."

Pressure hasn't always brought out the best in Riley's teams at USC. Last season, the Trojans blew five fourth-quarter leads and lost five of their last seven games in devastating fashion down the stretch. In 2023, they dropped four of five to close out the regular season. Even the 2022 run ended on a sour note in the Pac-12 title game after USC lost a second time to Utah, this time with a playoff berth on the line.

The path ahead isn't exactly smooth this season, either. Iowa boasts one of the nation's best defenses and a ball-control style different from any team USC has faced so far. Lane Kiffin was USC's coach when the Trojans last won on the road at Oregon (in 201) — they've lost four straight there since.

Even UCLA, in the midst of a strange season, is capable of playing spoiler in their rivalry matchup.