Both of them said they don’t care, but it’s clear that Michigan Head Coach Sherrone Moore and USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley care about the Wolverines-Trojans game this Saturday October 11, 2025 quite a lot.
First, Sherrone Moore poked the bear by essentially calling USC irrelevant as a national college football brand, saying the Coliseum does not impress his team and that there is only a sellout Saturday because Michigan, and their fans, are coming to Los Angeles.
“We’re not celebrating going to the Coliseum, there’s no pictures and selfies because we’re at the nice Coliseum,” Moore said. “It’s sold out, but it’s sold out because Michigan’s coming.”
When asked about those comments, Lincoln Riley gave Moore the proverbial middle finger, saying frankly, he doesn’t care what Sherrone Moore says.
“I don’t really care what he says, we’re looking forward to playing,” Riley said.
Again, both coaches wanted to make it seem like they weren’t giving much thought to their opponent, but it’s clear that they are actually itching to get on the field Saturday.
Moore Downplayed USC’s Blue Blood Status
To understand why Moore’s comments actually indicate that he is fired up to play the Trojans, you need to understand the larger national significance of this upcoming game, especially from a USC perspective.
The Trojans are at a major crossroads right now. They are historically one of the best college football programs, but since Pete Carroll left over 15 years ago, they have been largely irrelevant nationally, save for a few brief moments. As a result, brand identity and fan attendance have suffered.
They brought Lincoln Riley to town with the promise that they would become nationally relevant again. There have been flashes of excellence, but it’s largely been an uneven roller coaster.
USC is a brand that new NIL rules have seemingly set up for success. But they haven’t yet proven that they can be the powerhouse everyone believes they have the potential to be.
Of course, everyone outside of USC does not want to see them rise to power again, especially in the Big Ten conference. Many traditional B1G powers like Michigan want to put USC in its place while they continue to reign at the top of the conference.
So essentially, Moore’s comments aim to put USC in their place. He wants the national narrative to be that USC has no fans or believers and will continue to remain nationally irrelevant, especially compared to Michigan.
Lincoln Riley Dodged The Question, But Even That Is Significant
On paper, Lincoln Riley’s response to Moore’s comments may seem like the most noncommittal, uninspired thing you could possibly say.
But if he wanted to downplay Moore’s comments and take even more of a moral high ground, he could have said something like this:
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Moore and the Michigan program. We know that that team and their fans will bring their A game on Saturday. They certainly did last season when they beat us, which gives them a right to talk. We look forward to welcoming them to the Coliseum on Saturday and having a great, competitive game.”
Instead, Riley essentially said: what Coach Moore said is just talk, I want to settle this on the football field.
Which means obviously, Riley is itching to get out there Saturday. He kept his emotions (mostly) under wraps with the media, but you can bet he is more excited for Saturday than anybody.
All of this discourse just adds an extra layer to one of the most anticipated college football games of the 2025 season.
USC fans, what do you think of Sherrone Moore’s comments and Lincoln Riley’s response?
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