That's What It Is Supposed To Feel Like USC!

Pepperidge Farm remembers what life is supposed to feel like as a Trojan fan. Big matchups. A sold-out Los Angeles Coliseum. And USC football rising to the occasion with a signature victory that the rest of the country will be talking about for weeks, if not longer.

On a rainy Saturday night on Halloween, USC football rose from the dead and gave Trojan fans something they desperately needed: a reason to feel good again. Before the Coliseum seats even had a chance to get wet, Trent Mosley had already taken the second play of the game 69 yards to the house for a touchdown. And then the defense took over.

When it was all said and done, the Trojan Family was storming the field, celebrating a 30-18 victory that felt like so much more than just another win.

USC didn't just beat Ohio State.

What Lincoln Riley and the Trojans accomplished was bringing back a feeling that has been missing. One week after some were practically writing Riley's epitaph, he found a way to get his team to rise up and meet the moment.

For one night, at least, USC football looked, sounded, and felt like USC football again.

There have certainly been moments of fun and some big wins since Riley took over his second blue-blood program.

Obviously, 2022 was special, with Caleb Williams winning USC's eighth Heisman Trophy while the Trojans also took down UCLA and Notre Dame.

In 2025, Trojan fans enjoyed convincing home victories over Michigan and Iowa, proving USC was more than capable of playing the Big Ten's brand of physical football. Heck, just a few weeks ago, the Trojans mastered the art of winning during a Whiteout.

And that's what makes this whole thing so frustrating for Trojan fans and the media.

How does USC go from looking so inept and unprepared against Wisconsin to turning around a week later and looking like the 2008 Trojans holding the Buckeyes to FGs?

So will the real Lincoln Riley and USC Trojans please identify yourselves? Because if what we witnessed Saturday night is who you are, then prove it. Use this next week off to get even better, take that same mentality on the road, and beat the Indiana Hoosiers.

Whatever routine was used going into the Wisconsin bye week, throw it in the round file. Take the preparation, mentality, and game plan used for Ohio State and make that the template going forward. Not just for one week. Make it the standard.

And while you're throwing things into the round file, that prepared statement could probably go in there, too.

I understand Riley's feelings after listening to everyone call for his head on a platter, including alumni and donors. However, there's a difference between having a chip on your shoulder and making a point of rubbing a victory in the faces of those who questioned you.

Don't alienate the very people who desperately want to believe in you with an "I told you so" soliloquy.

Following the victory, Riley pulled out a folded piece of paper and read a prepared statement at the end of his press conference, after answering questions about the game. Here's what he had to say:

"This program is built on internal joy, not external applause," Riley said. "This win is for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls. I said before this game that I'm the right person for this job, and as long as all those people know that, that's all I care about. I appreciate being part of this university, and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I'm going to continue to fight on because that's what being a Trojan is all about. Adios."

Fair enough, Coach. Enjoy the victory. You earned it.

However, understand that external applause comes with winning, just as external criticism comes with losing. That's part of the deal when you're the head coach at USC.

Go ahead and enjoy this victory lap.

However, remember, it's only a preliminary race. Each ensuing race moves the Trojans one step closer to the ultimate race: the College Football Playoff. And that's the goal.

There is still a large group of us within the Trojan Family that knows what this feeling is supposed to be like. Some of the fans who rushed the field may have forgotten what it feels like, while others were experiencing that Cardinal and Gold euphoria for the very first time.

The more USC wins these types of games, and the more it does so with the kind of execution we witnessed on offense, defense, and special teams, the more familiar that feeling will become.

Because that's what USC is supposed to feel like. And now it's up to Riley and his Trojans to prove Saturday night wasn't the exception. It was the beginning of the standard.