Lincoln Riley says buy-in for Cotton Bowl prep shows Trojans' motivation
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The most important question of the week had already been sufficiently answered, as USC quarterback Caleb Williams affirmed on Friday that he is indeed playing Monday in the Cotton Bowl and that he doesn't expect to be limited by the hamstring injury he sustained last month.
But in case anyone needed further confirmation, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Sunday morning that the Heisman Trophy winner's recovery from the injury sustained Dec. 2 in the Pac-12 championship game has been ahead of expectations.
"He is ready to go. He has progressed maybe a little faster than what we anticipated," Riley said. "Certainly, very fortunate on our part that we had the opportunity to have a month, really, before this game. I mean, had it been even two weeks, I doubt he would have been available. And so that extra time has helped, and he's done a good job, along with our medical staff, from the second that the Pac-12 game was over, really working hard to get back to it. And he's practiced well really with no limitations, and we expect that he’ll play very well."
Riley and Tulane coach Willie Fritz took part in a joint press conference Sunday for the final comments from either side before the two 11-2 teams clash Monday at AT&T Stadium.
Riley emphasized the buy-in he's seen from his team over this last month as the Trojans have maintained a sense of purpose and motivation coming off that stinging loss to Utah in the conference championship game that cost them a College Football Playoff berth.
While this team developed grander goals over the course of a season that saw it ranked as high as No. 4 in those CFP rankings, the chance to finish with a 12th win in a New Year's Six bowl game for a program that was 4-8 just a year ago, prior to Riley's arrival, is most certainly a substantial accomplishment.
"Honestly, the preparation and the way the guys have approached the last 27 days would suggest to me that they are very excited to play this game," Riley said. "And they understand the significance, both for this team and future teams. Because games like this certainly – I mean, of course they matter. This is the Cotton Bowl. It's a New Year's Six bowl. It's one of the biggest games in the country. And it will be for players on both teams, this will be one of the games that you, that they'll remember more than any other -- 30, 40 years down the line, you'll remember playing in the Cotton Bowl. ...
"You'll remember kind of the last moments that [this team] will ever have together. So it's very, very important to us. Our preparation suggests that we understand that, and hopefully our play does as well."
USC players echoed that sentiment all week, that there has been no let-up in bowl practices.
"Same as they were in the season. Nothing's changed, no different. It's not harder, it's not easier, same practice that we've done all year, which is nice because it's worked for us this year," offensive lineman Justin Dedich said. "Everyone kind of inherited the 4-8 season so it's something that we'll take pride in, getting a 12-win season. It also is going to raise the standard around this place too. That's the expectation going forward, so it's a tall order to fill and it's not going to be easy, but I know we can do it as a group."
Said fellow lineman Jonah Monheim: "I think we absolutely have a lot to play for. This is a great bowl game, this is such a prestigious [opportunity] being a New Year's Six game, stuff like that. We've been practicing great, practicing like any other normal week. Even though we've got all these events and all these great things, we're trying to keep our schedule consistent to how it's been the whole year so it does just feel like all the other practices, all the other games we've had."
It is easy to forget sometimes that this is only Year 1 of this turnaround under Riley -- one that has exceeded all reasonable preseason expectations.
Watching the CFP semifinals Saturday surely caused pains for Trojans fans lamenting what could have been had Williams not injured that hamstring early in that Pac-12 championship loss to Utah, or if the defense hadn't in turn played its absolute worst game of the season.
Riley has made sure that second loss to Utah remained a present thought for the Trojans this month -- but in a constructive way.
"You know, that football game, we got away from a lot of what we had done well to be in that football game. And we've tried to identify the reasons of why that happened and why some of the trust in what we were doing wasn't there, specifically, in the second half," Riley said. "And we've tried to learn from it and kind of vowed to be better in this game and to be the team that we were the previous 12 games. And so that's been a big point of emphasis for us. ... We've certainly vowed to not repeat that again."
Riley has been pretty clear about his expectations for this program and where it's going. He intends for this first-year success to merely be the foundation for what's to come. He said it plainly back on National Signing Day last week, calling this campaign "just the tip of the iceberg" and pledging that the talent level and potential of his future USC teams will only grow.
But it's been an incredible season and really 13 months now for a program that had lost its way and a fan base that had lost hope to a degree.
Finishing that all off on a winning note Monday should indeed mean a great deal to the Trojans and their supporters, as it would mark the fifth official 12-win season in program history (not counting the 2004-05 seasons when USC later vacated wins due to NCAA penalties).
"We talk about a lot how we want to be remembered, and I think to be able to go out and finish the season the way we started off would be ... a great momentum moving forward as we progress in our time at USC," outside wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons said earlier this week.
Winning Monday would also secure an appropriate ending for this particular collection of players, who along with their coach and Heisman-winning quarterback brought USC football back to life.
"It's been a fun season. As fun a season as I've had coaching in a long time. And I think a lot of our staff members would say the same thing and certainly don't want it to end," Riley said. "But it's obviously a great opportunity to try to finish on a high note."