Lincoln Riley and the Trojans are off to a 4-0 to start the season. But even an undefeated record hasn’t stopped the Trojans’ head coach from voicing his frustrations.
The issue? Kickoff times.
After hosting Michigan State in Los Angeles last weekend with an 8 p.m. PT kickoff, USC now travels to Illinois for an 11 a.m. CT start, which feels like 9 a.m. to the Trojans. That’s a drastic shift from the latest kickoff in the country to one of the earliest, all within a single week.
According to Sports Illustrated, Riley made his frustration clear when speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s practice:
“We’ve tried to be aware. I mean, going from the absolute latest kick in the country to the absolute earliest kick in the country has its challenges,” Riley explained at Trojans practice on Wednesday. “But the challenge—it is what it is. We don’t make the schedule, clearly, and so we’ve had to adapt a little bit in the way that we prepare and how much we’ve done … it compounds if you’re not careful.
Adapting to New Landscape of College Football
The inconvenient schedule is the latest ripple effect from college football realignment. With the Pac-12 dissolved, West Coast programs like USC are adjusting to life in new conferences, which means more travel and less consistent kickoff times.
For the Trojans, this is the tradeoff that came with leaving the Pac-12 behind. By jumping to a new conference, USC gained national visibility, stronger weekly competition, and a bigger share of media revenue.
However, these are some of the costs that went along with that decision. USC now has to deal with the reality of more grueling travel and inconsistent start times. In many ways, this week’s quick turnaround embodies both the exposure and the exhaustion that the conference realignment brings.
Riley’s frustration is understandable, but this is the reality of modern college football. With television contracts and conference realignment driving the sport, unusual kickoff times and cross-country travel are the norm. For teams like USC, the challenge isn’t avoiding them, it’s learning how to adjust.
Riley stressed that his staff has had to tweak preparation this week in order to keep players fresh:
“We’ve tried to be mindful of getting our work done, but also making sure we put a fresh football team on that airplane,” he added.
USC’s First True Road Test
USC has been nothing short of dominant through the first four weeks of the season. The Trojans sit at 4-0, averaging 52.5 points per game behind one of the nation’s most explosive offenses.
Quarterback Jayden Maiava has quickly elevated himself into the national spotlight and into the Heisman conversation.
Lincoln Riley has USC in a strong position heading into its final game of September. The Trojans will meet an Illinois team coming off a lopsided 63-10 loss to Indiana.
On paper, that result suggests this should be an easy matchup for USC. However, Illinois is still a tough, physical opponent and will likely be playing with urgency and pride after last week’s embarrassing loss.
USC had its share of road struggles last season against traditional Big Ten opponents, dropping games to Michigan, Maryland, and Minnesota. Now, Riley and the Trojans are looking to push past the scheduling hurdles and secure a statement win on the road in Champaign.