USC's Lincoln Riley Offers Honest Perspective on Potential Playoff Expansion
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USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley went on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd on Friday. Riley talked about the upcoming season and also about potential College Football Playoff expansion in the near future.
Lincoln Riley on Playoff Expansion: "16 (Teams) Would Be Natural Jump"
Cowherd asked Riley about where he stood on the playoff possibly expanding and how many teams would make sense.
"I think 16 would be a natural jump. As soon as you went to two super conferences…It doesn't mean the other conferences are bad. They're not. There's two that are clearly different than everywhere else. That's what puts pressure on on the current system right now," Riley said. "If you're trying to get the best teams in, and that's where I think expansion matters."
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Can USC win close games in tough road environments?@colincowherd is joined by @uscfb Head Coach @LincolnRiley to look ahead to the Trojans' 2026 season pic.twitter.com/zinuefvlu9– Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 21, 2026
The playoff is currently at 12 teams. This new format began in 2024. From 2014-2023, the playoff was made up of just four teams. Conference realignment has clearly played big role in this expansion, as Riley talked about. College football is now dominated by the Big Ten and the SEC, Conferences like the ACC and Big 12 just trying to get more than one team in the playoff while the two "super conferences" consistently are getting 3-4 teams in the playoff.
Riley added that there is a benefit to the playoff expanding even more. It will allow for non-conference rivalry games to take place more often, such as USC's rivalry game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. USC and Notre Dame have played each other 96 total times dating back to 1926. The annual regular season game will be on hold from 2026-2029 before getting back on schedule in 2030.
When there are conferences loaded with as much talent as the Big Ten and SEC, that means teams in those leagues will have more difficult schedules. More difficult schedules means more losses. More losses and playoff chances slip away.
Having an extra game outside of this gauntlet of a conference schedule makes it more difficult to make it into the playoff. If the playoff has easier access, these teams would be more inclined to keep difficult non-conference rivalry games on the schedule.
For USC, they have still yet to make a playoff under any of its different iterations. The closest USC came to making it in the Riley era was in 2022, when they went 11-1 in the regular season and entered the Pac-12 Championship game in a win-and-in scenario. USC would go on to lose the Pac-12 Championship to the Utah Utes, missing the playoff in the process.
Riley has an overall record of 35-18 at USC after four seasons. There will be immense pressure on Riley to get USC to the playoff in 2026. Even without Notre Dame on the schedule this season, USC will have a tough road to get to the playoff. They are set to face off against the top three teams in the Big Ten from a year ago: the Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Oregon Ducks. All three of these teams made the playoff in 2025, with Indiana winning the national championship.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC's Lincoln Riley Offers Honest Perspective on Potential Playoff Expansion.
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