The Moment Arrived. USC Answered.
A rainy West Coast thriller, a playoff push coming into focus, and the leadership lens that defined the night
It was a rainy Saturday in Los Angeles—real LA rain, the kind that shows up in waves and is usually dedicated for late December. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, soaked and shimmering under stadium lights, hosted a top-25 showdown between Iowa, a Big Ten blue blood, and USC, one of the most iconic brands in the history of college football. To say our crew was excited to broadcast this game would be a massive understatement.
Coming in, any fan of college football knew exactly what the narrative would be: one of the most physical programs in the country in Iowa versus a USC team painted as explosive and electric but often questioned if they could handle the trenches for all 4 quarters in a classic “Big Ten” game.
The rain poured, the visitors punched first in the passing game and as the first half ended Iowa owned the trenches. It felt like a Hollywood script where the hero takes a few too many blows early in Act I.
And then, as it tends to happen here in Hollywood, Act II arrived.
USC punched back.
On a 3rd down and 5 late in the third quarter the Trojans blitzed for the first time all game and it led to a wild interception that would turn the tide on the West Coast and allow the Trojans to stay on their College Football Playoff run.
By the time my partner Rhett Lewis was tying a bow around a brilliantly chaotic game, I looked up at the sky. The sun had broken through. And behind Lincoln Riley—in his final postgame interview of the night—a rainbow arched across the Coliseum. You cannot script that. Trust me, I’ve tried.
That rainbow pulled me back in time.
Back when I was on staff at USC, the only sign inside the facility read:
OWN THE ROSE BOWL.
It wasn’t hype. It was a north star. If you controlled what you could control—if you won the games you were supposed to win—your floor was Pasadena and your ceiling was in the hands of voters. And for the most part, Pete Carroll’s teams lived it.
It’s been a while since USC has been in a real playoff chase. But here they sit on this Sunday morning: right in the thick of it.
Earlier this week, our TV crew asked Lincoln Riley how he talks to his team about the playoff push. His answer was simple and sharp:
“We lean into it. Why not?”