Lincoln Riley says 'This is where I want to be' as USC's playoff hopes fade

With USC's playoff hopes fading after a second loss and plenty of noise about his future, Lincoln Riley said Tuesday that he still believes he is the right person for the job.

"Listen, if I didn't want to be at this place, I wouldn't have come here in the first place. I've had plenty of opportunities to leave," Riley said after practice, according to ESPN. "This is where I want to be. This is the right place for me. I'm the right person to be here. And that's as honest and transparent as I can be with you guys."

Asked whether he might fit better somewhere else, Riley pushed back. "I love it here," he said. "There's not many people in college football history that gave up what I gave up to come here."

The results have not matched the talk. Riley is in his fifth season at USC, 41-20 overall, without a College Football Playoff berth or a conference title. USC signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class this year and opened a $200 million facility, and billboards around Los Angeles before the season read "The time is now." Then came a Week 4 loss to Oregon and Saturday's 24-7 loss at Wisconsin, the fewest points any Riley-coached offense has scored.

The schedule doesn't ease up. USC plays Ohio State on Saturday, with defending champion Indiana and unbeaten UCLA still ahead, and the Trojans likely need to win out to change how this season is remembered.

Riley also played down any rift with athletic director Jen Cohen, who did not hire him. He called her "incredibly supportive" and their relationship "fantastic."

"When you're a head coach of a blue-blood school, you have to be ready to weather the storms, the overly positive or the overly negative," Riley said. "My job is to stay steady."