Talking about the USC Trojans vs Notre Dame rivalry craze? The winner of the rivalry game earns ‘The Jeweled Shillelagh’ trophy or, more famously, “the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football.” However, something dampened the mood of Lincoln Riley camp – the injury report. The No. 20 USC Trojans will be without key pieces during the Fighting Irish face-off. Riley’s starting running backs, Eli Sanders and Waymond Jordan, will miss the marquee matchup. However, Riley didn’t crack under pressure. 

On October 16, the Trojans’ head coach was invited as a guest on the USCAthletics podcast. Analyst Corey asked, given the thinning running back room, plagued with injuries, whether Riley limits King Miller’s touches to avoid overuse because of the lack of depth. Yes, it’s the same Miller, who earned the fourth honor of the week, the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award for his heroic feat against Michigan.

Riley answered, “No, we get a bye week next week. We’ll rest them up. We’re actually not more thin, we’re really not. I mean, we’re going to take four backs to the game and all four will be ready to play, and so I mean, that’s same.” Miller impacted Saturday’s game in various ways, underscoring his importance to the team.

A one-man highlight reel, he made Riley proud as he touched the ball 22 times across rushing, receiving, and kick returns. He ran 18 times for a career-best 158 yards, punched in a 15-yard TD in the third quarter to put the game away, and churned out eight first downs, six on scoring drives. Add two catches for 14 yards and two kickoff returns for 45 yards, and it was a full-field showcase. However, Miller is not the only reason behind Riley’s lofty confidence.

The head coach said, “It’s actually one more than we took to the game last week. So, um, you know, we’re not as thin. We’re obviously not as experienced as clearly. But yeah, we got multiple guys.” Who are the ones Riley is counting on?

On October 14, Chris Trevino tweeted, “Lincoln Riley said freshmen Riley Wormley and Harry Dalton are ‘available’ moving forward, given the injuries at RB. Riley added that Bryan Jackson came out clean after this weekend. Going to ramp him up more. #USC.” Talking about Riley Wormley?

The Southlake Carroll Dragons standout ranked in the top 5 in 6A Region I District 4 for one stat. In high school, he came up with 583 yards and averaged 9.9 yards per carry. Cut to Riley’s other running back weapon, Harry Dalton, who holds a record of 3696 yards with an average of 112.0 yards per game. Meanwhile, as a big match awaits USC, something interesting is cooking in Riley’s squad. 

Lincoln Riley ticked off his wishlist 

The Trojans are already on a grand streak, after pulling off a statement 31-13 win against the Michigan Wolverines. Sealing another victory against Notre Dame will make things smoother for Riley and co. And what better way to savor the fruits of their fantastic win than to up their recruiting game? 

Riley and the Trojans are already enjoying the top seat per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football team recruiting rankings. They are the No.1 class with 34 recruits, including two 5-stars, 20 4-stars, and 11 3-stars. But maybe Riley is yet to hit the ‘rest’ button. He has been losing sleep over the Cal commit, Jayden Crowder.

The 3-star cornerback from Rancho Santa Margarita committed to Cal in November 2024, but an offer from the USC Trojans on October 11, 2025, really shook things up earlier. Riley and his team hosted him over the huge recruiting weekend as they defeated the Wolverines and offered him a scholarship.

This was taken up on the October 15th episode of The Rivals podcast. Steve Wiltfong dropped his expert commentary, “I just like the way it’s trending. A flip. I mean, we’re running out of daylight in the 2026 class. The early signing period is around the corner. I like the way it’s going. We’ll see how dialogue continues with USC today. I ultimately see him in the Trojans class and have predicted him as such, but we’ve seen Cal hold serve.”

Only 24 hours have passed since the analyst commented on the Jayden Crowder scenario, and Lincoln Riley brought him home. On October 16, Hayes Fawcett tweeted, “BREAKING: Class of 2026 CB Jayden Crowder has Committed to USC, he tells me for @rivals The 5’11 170 CB from Eastvale, CA decommitted from Cal yesterday. Blessed and Excited to be a part of this journey! Fight on ✌🏽.””

With their mission complete, all eyes now turn to how the Trojans will perform against Notre Dame this weekend.