Lincoln Riley ‘absolutely’ wants to keep USC-Notre Dame game
Las Vegas – After shots were taken all summer on the USC hand in the future of his rivalry with Notre Dame, coach Lincoln Riley reiterated during the Big Ten media day on Thursday that he wants to “absolutely” maintain the historic match.
“Do I want to play game? Hell, yes, I want to play the game,” said Riley. “This is one of the reasons why I came here. But also, my allegiance and my loyalty are not in Notre-Dame and no one else. I am the USC head coach. I will support the USC. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make the USC as good as possible. I’m not going to let anything stay between the two. “
Riley has gained warmth in the future of rivalry since the Big Ten media day of last year, when he shared the concerns for the first time on the way the planning of a marked non-conference team could have an impact on the hopes of Trojans.
Notre Dame has since used Riley’s comments as a public lever effect, putting responsibility for the future of rivalry on the USC.
“It’s pretty black and white for me. Do you want my opinion? I want to play them every year,” said Notre Dame Marcus Freeman’s coach. “When? I don’t care. I don’t care when we play them. Beginning of the season, mid -season, end of the season – I don’t care. I want to play the USC every year because it’s great for university football.”
The point of collision in these negotiations, confirmed Riley, remains the uncertainty surrounding the format of the playoffs of university football. Throughout the week in Las Vegas, the Big Ten coaches expressed their support for an eliminatory model that would give the conference four automatic qualifications, with game games to determine which of the best Big Ten teams would have these spots.
Riley added on Thursday that there are “a million reasons” for which the favorite format of the conference should be adopted, but the maintenance of historical rivalries like USC-our lady “could be the most important”.
“We give to all the reasons that university football preserves matches without conference which means a lot for the history of the game, the bases of fans and the former players and everyone,” said Riley.
But this format would also take the planning of non-conferences almost completely outside the equation when it comes to determining who deserves to be in the playoffs.
The Big Ten and the Southeast Conference seemed to be in locking to request four automatic qualifications earlier this summer. But the dry has since defended a different format, leaving the big ten and its coaches to defend their favorite format alone.
The impasse between the two power conferences could mean that no modification is made in the format of the eliminatory series in the predictable future. Likewise, the USC and Notre Dame do not seem closer to haunting an agreement to continue their series, the last match of which is currently scheduled for this fall. The two, said Riley, come from “radically different situations”, with the USC linked to Big Ten and Notre Dame not attached by a conference. Trojan horses want a short -term agreement that allows flexibility with any secure format. The Irish seek a long -term agreement.
However, Riley said he was “really full of hope” that the USC and Notre Dame could understand.
Why Vegas?
Normally, the Big Ten holds its media days in the petroleum stadium of Lucas d’Insianapolis, and the three-day event could certainly have gained momentum of the WnBA stars.
But the place was reserved for the week. Thus, rather than going back to another old house, Chicago, the 18 -team conference chose Las Vegas, a city where it does not have a real team but which is closer to some of its new programs: USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
“I think that, of course, we are a conference that goes from one ocean to another, so having a certain presence closer to our members of the west coast is not a bad thing,” said Commissioner Tony Petitti. “It started with logistics, to be really frank.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
