CHICAGO, IL — Head coach Lincoln Riley arrived at 2026 Big Ten Media Days carrying the kind of pressure that follows major expectations at a major program. USC has one of the top 2026 recruiting classes in the country, a roster built to compete in the Big Ten, and a season ahead that could help shape the long-term narrative around Riley’s tenure in Los Angeles.
But on the opening day of the conference’s media event, Riley took a moment to look beyond his own program and reflect on another blue-blood power chasing the same goal.
He spoke with clear respect for Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, the Ohio State program, and the standard that has kept Columbus near the top of college football for decades.
Day has continued to lead one of the most well-known football programs in the sport since taking over for Urban Meyer in 2018. Ohio State’s 2024 national title, which added yet another chapter to the Buckeyes’ extensive catalog of historic accomplishments, marked the pinnacle of his tenure. Riley continues his quest to bring a national championship to USC, as Day attempts to get Ohio State back into national championship contention.
For Riley, the respect for Day and Ohio State comes from understanding what it means to lead a powerhouse program with national expectations every year. Riley has lived that experience before at Oklahoma, and he sees similarities between the position Day holds in Columbus and the one Riley once held in Norman.
“His situation [Ryan Day] at Ohio State and mine in Oklahoma at the time,” Riley said. “It’s one of the best programs of all time. They invested in that program. They’ve got a lot of great coaches. Their talent level seems to just stay. It’s one of the steadiest, I would say, there’s talent levels year to year in our sport.”
That steadiness has been one of Ohio State’s defining traits. Between coaching changes, quarterback changes, NIL moves, Recruiting cycles shifting, and conferences realigning in college football, it’s been a lot. But Ohio State’s talent base rarely dips far enough to remove the Buckeyes from the national conversation.
Ohio State is not simply a team that rises for a few seasons and fades. It is a program with infrastructure, resources, coaching, recruiting pull and a winning expectation that keeps it relevant year after year.
Riley knows that kind of machine when he sees it, and he also knows USC is trying to operate at that level again.
The Trojans have the history, the setting, the brand and now the conference platform to make that climb. Their move into the Big Ten has created new rivalries, new travel challenges and new measuring-stick games. Few will be bigger than Ohio State’s visit to the Coliseum.
USC and Ohio State are two of college football’s classic names, programs connected by Heisman winners, Rose Bowl memories, national championships and generations of star power. Now they meet not as postseason opponents, but as conference rivals.
For Riley, that is part of what makes the matchup special.
“You know, great place to go play,” Riley said of Ohio State. “I mean, it’s, yeah, I have the most respect for it. And I’m glad, yeah, glad we finally get to play them. It’s been a while. We’ve gotten to play some of the others, like Michigan a couple of times and all that. Um, it’ll be fun, you know, them being at the Coliseum. Two of the best programs of all time going at it. You know, I mean, that venue, I mean, it’s pretty damn cool.”
It is not difficult to understand why Riley sees the stage that way.
On Halloween, the Coliseum will host one of the most anticipated Big Ten games of the season, with Riley’s Trojans facing Day’s Buckeyes in a matchup that could carry major implications for conference positioning and the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture.
USC will enter the season with quarterback Jayden Maiava expected to lead Riley’s offense. Maiava gives the Trojans a talented arm at the center of a system known for attacking defenses vertically and forcing opponents to defend the full field. If USC’s offensive line holds up and the Trojans’ young playmakers mature quickly, Riley’s group can score with anyone in the league.
Ohio State brings its own star power. Quarterback Julian Sayin is set to guide Day’s offense, while dominant wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gives the Buckeyes one of the most feared offensive weapons in the sport. Smith’s combination of size, speed and physicality makes him the type of receiver who can change a game in a single possession.
That quarterback-receiver pairing alone will make Ohio State one of the most dangerous teams on USC’s schedule.
But the larger appeal of the matchup is the history attached to it. USC and Ohio State are not just two ranked teams meeting in late October. They are two programs with old prestige and modern urgency.
For Ohio State, the mission is clear: return to national championship status and prove the 2024 title was not the peak of Day’s era, but part of a larger run.
For USC, the challenge is equally significant. Riley has recruited at a high level, and the Trojans’ 2026 class has helped raise expectations around the program. But in the Big Ten, recruiting rankings are only part of the conversation. The Trojans must prove they can handle the physicality, depth and week-to-week strain of the conference.
A win over Ohio State would be more than a signature victory. It would be a statement that USC is ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the league’s traditional powers.
That is why Riley’s comments mattered. They were not just polite praise for a future opponent. They reflected a coach who understands the level USC is trying to reach and the type of program Ohio State already represents.
Riley has been around enough elite football to recognize staying power. He had it at Oklahoma. Day has maintained it at Ohio State. Now Riley is trying to restore it at USC in a new conference and a new era.
Ohio State walks into the L.A. Coliseum with championship pedigree, elite talent and one of the sport’s most dangerous receivers. USC will counter with its own offensive identity, a rising quarterback in Maiava, a top recruiting class and the urgency of a program trying to prove its Big Ten arrival is more than a branding move.
Two historic programs. Two high-profile coaches. Two quarterbacks with plenty to prove—one iconic venue.
As Riley said, it is “pretty damn cool.”
The Buckeyes and the Trojans will settle it on the gridiron in Los Angeles; it could be one of the defining games of the 2026 Big Ten season.
