On Saturday, the USC football team defeated Michigan 31-13 in front of a sold out Coliseum. As we wrote on Sunday, everything about the game and the atmosphere was exactly what the Trojans program desperately needed.
Head coach Lincoln Riley certainly took note of the atmosphere at the Coliseum. Following the game, I asked Riley what his message to the fans was. Here is what he had to say:
“That’s what it should feel like in there, Riley said. “I can’t tell you the difference it makes. When you’re USC, and you go on the road and play at other people’s houses, we have to deal with that every single time, and it’s a challenge. It’s part of the great thing about playing on the road, but you have to overcome it. You could just feel the impact of our crowd tonight, like you could feel the energy. It impacted the game. I felt like it impacted the opponent. And that’s what great home crowds do. And I think everybody didn’t even want that one to end. So whenever we’re back here in a couple of weeks, let’s light it up again.”
Plain and simple, the Trojans have often lacked a true home field advantage for some time due to lackluster atmospheres at the Coliseum. For one game at least, that was not the case. Now, it falls on USC fans to turn Saturday night’s atmosphere into the norm.
As Riley mentioned, however, the flip side is that the Trojans also have to go out on the road and deal with challenging atmospheres as the visiting team. That will certainly be the case this Saturday, when USC will travel to take on archrival Notre Dame. The Trojans have not won in South Bend since 2011, having dropped their past six games there. With the future of the rivalry very much uncertain and both teams’ seasons seemingly at crossroads, USC should have plenty of motivation to try and make this the year that the streak finally comes to an end.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC head coach Lincoln Riley praises fans’ role in Trojans’ victory over Michigan
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
