On Saturday, USC opened up its 2026 season by handling San Jose State 42-26 at the Coliseum. With the victory, the Trojans started off the year 1-0.
Following the game, head coach Lincoln Riley spoke to the media. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say:
On opening the season with a victory
“It’s good to get the first one under our belt. It was kind of a tale of two games for us. The first three quartersthere was a lot of good football out there. All three sides of the ball were playing complementary to one another. We really dominated the game through three quarters, so a lot of exciting ball. There were a lot of guys in their first games as Trojans making a lot of big plays, so that was obviously the highlight of it. The fourth quarter wasnot up to our standards.
A bunch of guys had opportunities, and we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated. There’ll be a lot to learn and grow from today because we’re going to need the depth of this roster.”
On USC’s freshmen
“I thought they did a great job. Like I said, the team through three quarters played pretty damn good. The guys contributed on all sides of the ball. I thought a lot of those guys did what we did what we challenged them to do, which was take what they’ve done in practice to earn those opportunities. Following guys like Jide [Abasiri], Jayden [Maiava], and our older guys, they came out here and let it rip. They all affected the game. You felt it on defense, you felt it on offense and you felt it on special teams. Good to see those guys rise up and be ready to play.”
On wide receiver Trent Mosley’s performance
“He did well. He did today what he does in practice. I don’t think anybody here is very surprised. That’s what he looks like most days right outside of Bloom. He’s a consistent player, an explosive player, and I thought he came in today and attacked it. He didn’t play hesitant, and he was a good weapon for us both offensively and in the special team’s game.”
On the run game
”It was good. We missed some opportunities for some explosive runs, but it was steady and solid. It needs tobe better. You’re not going to hit a home run on every one, but at the same time, we need to be a little bit moreexplosive. There was some opportunity for a couple to be mixed in there, but I thought our guys were patientwith it. I thought we stayed pretty patient with it in terms of how we called the game, and Jayden’s decisions complemented it well.”
On the defense
“I thought we communicated well. I thought we made some key stops. My mind goes to the fourth down stop in the red zone. Red zone defense is something we have spent a lot of time talking about and why that matters.If you look at the top teams in the country over the last several years, typically the top red zone defenses equalout with the teams at the top of the rankings. So not allowing touchdowns down there is everything, and I think their first two trips were a turnover and a field goal. That’s what you have to do. If you don’t allow touchdowns in the red zone, you have a chance to be great. Doing that early is what I liked the most.”
On his team’s physicality
“Physically, I thought it was solid. The first three quarters were pretty good, and I’m excited to see the tape. There were some pretty physical tackles. I noticed that we were thumping pretty good defensively. I thought the physicality at the line of scrimmage was between good and solid, somewhere in that range. We need to be great though and take a step up there. I thought some of our ball carriers ran with some intent. I can’t wait to see the tape. I think there’s going to be some of both, but naturally with our goals and with how important that is to our program, we’re going to want more physicality.”
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Lincoln Riley discusses USC’s 42-26 victory over San Jose State
