USC’s Lincoln Riley proud of improvement in win over Fresno State

Lincoln Riley is over the moon about the USC Trojans following their 39-0 shutout win over the Fresno State Bulldogs on Friday night.

Riley is going through for the 10th season of his head coaching career in college football, his fifth with the Trojans. He helped them on the transition from the Pac 12 to the Big Ten, having them punch above their weight against tougher opponents.

USC got off to a shaky start, only winning by a 42-26 score against San Jose State in Week 0. The offense was explosive, but the defense left a lot of room for improvement.

They needed a better performance, which they were remarkably successful in Week 1. USC torched Fresno State on both sides of the ball, earning praise from Riley after the game on the Big Ten Network.

“We were definitely better. It’s great to get the shutout, you know, those are hard to get in college football nowadays. So it’s great for our young guys to be able to go in and play well then and preserve that,” Riley said.

“I think we’re just gaining confidence as we go. [Patterson] does a great job with our group. Our coaches have done a great job. Obviously, we got a lot of new faces and young guys, and that’s starting to come together more and more. So we made some really good improvements from Week 1 to Week 2. Now we just got to keep going.”

“It's great to get the shutout, you know, those are hard to get in college football.”

Hear from Lincoln Riley after @uscfb blanked Fresno St., 39-0 #B1GToday pic.twitter.com/IBZM0AdTxT

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 5, 2026

How Lincoln Riley, USC played against Fresno State

Lincoln Riley is glad to see his USC Trojans show out in better fashion. They improve to a 2-0 record this season following their dominance over Fresno State.

Jayden Maiava was incredible with his throwing accuracy. He completed 23 out of 25 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns. Waymond Jordan and Deshonne Redeaux scored touchdowns in the run game, while Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt combined for 10 catches and 206 yards and two touchdowns.

The Trojans will look forward to their next matchup, remaining at home. They host the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns as kickoff commences on Sept. 12 at 11 p.m. ET.

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