USC's Lincoln Riley wants Trojans to understand the moment they're in

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Lincoln Riley knows there's a lot on the line this weekend as his 7-2 and No. 17-ranked USC Trojans take on the 6-3 and No. 21-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. This is "crunch time" in the 2025 season, and Riley is doing everything he can to make sure his team understands the intensity of the moment. The Hawkeyes are coming off a tough loss to Oregon, but they're a team that can beat just about anyone in the nation. Throw in the fact that there are only three games left, and the Trojans find themselves in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, and this one is bound to be intense. As Riley sees it, there's no reason to downplay just how important these next few games are, starting with this one against the Hawkeyes. “We haven’t been bashful about that with our players,” Riley said about the importance of USC‘s final three games, according to Daniel Hager of On3. “This game coming up this weekend is not the same. It’s not. The more you win, the more important these become and the bigger these opportunities become. So, our team is very well aware of that.” Just on the matchup alone, this is a game the Trojans should win, but this is college football we're talking about, and this 2025 season has proved that anything can happen any weekend. USC Trojans face a tough test in the Iowa Hawkeyes Still, the Trojans are playing host to Iowa, which has to travel cross-country to play a game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The last time Iowa was there was in 1976 when USC beat the Hawkeyes, 55-0. Iowa also played in Southern California in the 2016 Rose Bowl against the Stanford Cardinal. Christian McCaffrey ran all over them in that game for 172 yards and a touchdown while also adding 105 yards and a touchdown as a receiver. Iowa is a different team outside of Iowa City, and the Southern California landscape hasn't been good to the Hawks. With that said, the Hawkeyes just put up a huge fight against Oregon and they, without a doubt, know that this is a huge contest for the Trojans. You can expect that Kirk Ferentz's team is going to be focused, and at the very least, the Hawks are going to try to "muddy" the game up and get the Trojans into a fistfight. It almost worked against the Ducks, so you can bet the Hawkeyes will try the same approach against USC. USC Trojans must play their best football over the next three games Ultimately, USC has an opportunity in front of it over these next few games. If the Trojans go 3-0 to finish out the season, that will put them at 10-2 with some very big wins. They'd undoubtedly be a CFP team, and from there, anything can happen. If they fail to meet this moment, though, it can all end up rather disappointing. That's why Riley is preaching the importance of these next few games to his team. They have to be prepared to give it their best shot, because a spot in the CFP is absolutely on the line. "You can’t hide from it. You’ve got to embrace it. That doesn’t mean you’re gonna go change everything you do because of it, but you also understand it’s hard to get to this point. If you’re here, let’s go make the most of it," Riley said.