USC football coach Lincoln Riley joined The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Thursday to talk about the Trojans’ impressive start to the season.
Riley is in the middle of game-planning for Jake Haener and Fresno State, who the Trojans face Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Here are a few key quotes from the nearly nine-minute segment:
Riley on an area where the USC program has been better than he expected:
“The culture. The buy-in. Without a doubt that was the No. 1 concern. … The buy-in has been awesome.”
Riley on momentum with recruiting:
“At some point talking season, hype season are always over. At some point you get to play football – you gotta play football – and you get a chance to go prove it. I think our future players out there that are seeing that are excited and are watching the TV screens on Saturday saying “that’d be pretty cool to be a part of.”
Riley on managing expectations:
“We just have to stay consistent with our message. … Even after a big road win against Stanford there were so many things we have to do better.”
Riley on USC’s defense:
“We lead the country right now in turnover margin. Great defenses get the ball out, and we’ve done that. … Some of the mistakes that have been made are certainly correctable.”
Watch Lincoln Riley’s full interview with Colin Cowherd: