USC's Lincoln Riley Says LA Coliseum Will Be 'The Mecca of College Football'

Lincoln Riley has high hopes for his tenure at USC.

During his introductory press conference Monday, Riley told reporters he wants to turn Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum into the "Mecca of college football."

Given how much the program stagnated under Clay Helton—the Trojans are 4-7 entering their season finale against California on Saturday—USC will likely need a year or two before it's competing with the elite of college football. Riley is optimistic about speeding that process along:

While Riley had been linked with a possible move to LSU, his decision to head westward was largely unexpected.

Coaches typically don't leave a perennial national title contender when they have plenty of job security. Jimbo Fisher was the last when he ditched Florida State for Texas A&M, but a layer of internal friction preceded that move. There was no such drama in Norman, Oklahoma, leading everybody to wonder why Riley left.

The 38-year-old said he relished the challenge coaching at USC provided:

He also talked about how he went from leading Oklahoma in a rivalry game against Oklahoma State to being announced as USC's coach less than 24 hours later:

There's bound to be more reporting on the inner workings at Oklahoma this past season and the series of events leading up to Sunday's bombshell. Riley may have dropped a hint at his press conference:

No factor is weighing on fans' minds more than Oklahoma's impending move to the SEC.

The Sooners won 10 Big 12 titles under Bob Stoops and that success carried on under Riley with four straight conference championships. Life in the SEC promises to be more difficult against tougher competition and probably won't come with a coinciding lowering of expectations in Norman.

The ousters of Ed Orgeron and Dan Mullen at LSU and Florida, respectively, show how high the standards are for upper-tier SEC programs. Riley was untouchable right now, but a few eight- or nine-win seasons down the road might have changed that.

USC's administration will obviously want Riley to deliver, but he's likely to have a lot of leeway. Helton wasn't fired until he was into his seventh season as the permanent head coach.

For now, Riley's arrival should provide an injection of excitement into a fanbase that began voting with its feet.