Lincoln Riley doesn't care about College GameDay, because GameDay hasn't cared about USC

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During his weekly Monday appearance on the USC Athletics TrojansLive radio show, USC football head coach Lincoln Riley said he is not using ESPN College GameDay as an extra motivator or point of emphasis for his team this week as the Trojans prepare to take on Oregon to keep their playoff hopes alive.

ESPN’s most prominent college football pregame show will be coming to Eugene, Oregon this Saturday and making the matchup between the No. 16 Trojans and the No. 6 Ducks the show’s featured game.

USC hasn’t been featured on College GameDay since 2016, when the Trojans travelled to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies.

What Riley had to say

“I think for us, these are all the same people who thought we were gonna suck,” Riley said. “Like seriously. This is all the same people [who said] we were gonna do this and USC was this and that so for us to pay attention to them now would be a little bit counterproductive. So, we haven’t forgotten that.”

USC national disrespect before, during the season

The Trojans were not ranked to begin the season, and it took them 4 games to break into the rankings. They weren’t consistently ranked week in and week out until their 31-13 win over Michigan in their 6th game of the season.

GameDay’s specific 2025 disrespect

Speaking of Michigan, only 2 out of GameDay’s 6 panelists picked USC to beat Michigan. Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit picked the Wolverines. Only Rece Davis and guest picker Sabrina Ionescu picked the Trojans.

The panel also picked against USC in their road win against Nebraska. This time, Howard and Saban sided with USC, while Herbstreit, McAfee and guest picker Alex Smith picked Nebraska.

The panel was kinder to USC against Illinois, with only Howard picking the Illini to upset the Trojans (and he was ultimately right). Howard, Saban, Herbstreit and Aaron Donald also all picked USC to beat Iowa, with only McAfee siding against the Trojans. So maybe they’re starting to learn.

More about Oregon than USC?

This is the second time College GameDay is headed to Oregon this season; the show previously stopped in Eugene when Indiana played Oregon on October 11. Indiana was ranked No. 8 at the time while Oregon was ranked No. 2, and the Hooisers won 30-20.

GameDay also went to Oregon’s game against Penn State on September 27 in Happy Valley. So this will be a whopping third time GameDay has featured the Ducks this season.

GameDay also featured Oregon twice in 2024 (including once at home), twice in 2023, and once in 2022 at home.

Remember, GameDay hasn’t featured USC AT ALL since 2016. The last time GameDay came to USC’s campus was in 2013!!

Riley probably feels, and understandably so, like the show is only in town for Oregon and not the Trojans.

GameDay’s missed opportunities in Lincoln Riley era

Part of the reason USC hasn’t been featured on GameDay in awhile is because the Trojans have struggled to maintain national relevance since the Pete Carroll era ended. But since Lincoln Riley came to town, there have been opportunities for the show to feature USC.

Some that come to mind: USC’s regular season games vs. Utah, UCLA and Notre Dame in 2022, the Pac-12 championship in 2022, USC’s matchup with Notre Dame in 2023, USC’s games against LSU and Michigan in 2024, USC-Notre Dame in 2025. Those last 2 rivalry games in 2022 especially sting. That was a real missed opportunity for GameDay to highlight a Heisman and CFP campaign unfolding in real time.

Riley hasn’t forgotten GameDay’s disrespect in 2025, but he likely hasn’t forgotten the disrespect over the years also.

Will this affect the show?

I’m curious to see whether anyone affiliated with GameDay responds to Riley’s comments, or if all the hosts pick against USC this Saturday. If they do, they are just giving Riley and his crew more bulletin board material.

Grab your popcorn, or your breakfast burritos, for Saturday morning.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football will be on College GameDay, but Lincoln Riley won’t care

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