Lincoln Riley Says Alabama Scheduled For Championships, Hints At Dropping Notre Dame Rivalry

Lincoln Riley clearly noticed what many outside observers noticed about the Alabama Crimson Tide football program under Nick Saban: they scheduled well.

Alabama, like many teams, generally avoided scheduling 50/50 type games against top non-conference opponents, relying on the dominance of the SEC to generate strength of schedule regardless. Though there were notable exceptions, the home and home series against the Texas Longhorns, for example, Alabama had its format dialed in. Riley thinks the USC Trojans should do the same thing.

Speaking to reporters, Riley addressed the challenges of scheduling now that the Trojans are in a loaded Big Ten, as well as how different priorities can create different outcomes.

"‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years, I thought, on how they scheduled in the non-conference," Riley said. "They would occasionally hit the marquee non-conference game, they’d play two other not-very-good teams, they’d play one late so they got essentially a little bit of a bye week there late in the season. They didn’t schedule for their fans – they scheduled to win championships.

"My hope is we can do the best thing, schedule to win championships that includes a rivalry game for all that comes with that and all that it means. But if you get in the positions, you’ve got to make a decision on what the priority is."

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley. Photo: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Riley Addresses Possibility Of Dropping USC-Notre Dame Rivalry Game

If scheduling marquee national opponents is more for the fans than for championship aspirations, what does that mean for the longstanding rivalry between USC and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? Riley addressed that as well, saying it once again comes down to what fans want vs. what makes sense competitively.

"I would love to," Riley said about continuing the tradition. "I know it means a lot to a lot of people. Again, the purist in you, no doubt. Now, if you get in a position where you’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that? Shoot, then you’ve got to look at it."

Fans want it both ways; they want to see their team play meaningful regular season games against highly ranked opponents. They also want their team to compete for conference and national championships. Scheduling those tough out of conference games though, can be counterproductive.

Win, and it boosts your resume substantially. Lose, and you have no margin for error the rest of the season. The difference between a 50/50 game against Texas and a 95/5 game against Middle Tennessee State is massive, not just in win expectancy, but the ability to rest players for tougher opponents.

At least, it used to be that way. 

The expanded playoff should, in theory, provide more opportunities for two or even three loss teams to get into meaningful postseason games. Especially if those teams played the type of schedules USC is playing in 2024. LSU, Michigan, Washington, Notre Dame, Penn State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, UCLA…have a good season against those teams, and you should be rewarded.

But as Riley says, it depends on what you want. Replace LSU and Notre Dame with Southern Alabama and Georgia State and the schedule, while still tough, looks a lot different. Sure, Michigan, Washington and Penn State are tough teams, but a one or two loss season suddenly seems a lot more achievable. Would you rather watch USC play LSU and Notre Dame? Or see them go 10-2 and make the playoffs?

It's pretty clear Riley wants to make the playoffs. And understandably so. It's just not clear whether the USC administration or the Trojan fanbase agree.