Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where it seems Lincoln Riley isn’t ready to say “adios” to USC any time soon. The coach earned the biggest win of his five-year tenure Saturday, reviving the Trojans’ playoff hopes in a real way with a Halloween night trouncing of No. 2 Ohio State.

It was a major statement for Riley, who’d spent the week defending himself and responding to doubts about his future at USC. There was no better, more convincing way to answer those questions than by beating down one of the Big Ten’s best teams while your back is against the wall.

Riley could’ve left it at that and let the moment speak for itself. He even pointed out, midway through a mostly subdued postgame news conference, that “it’s not about me. It’s about these guys.”

But Riley ended up having more to say. After 10 minutes of answering questions, he pulled out a piece of paper, with a statement he’d already prepared. “I wanted to make sure to articulate my thoughts,” he said.

(I can’t tell you exactly why Riley waited until the end of his news conference to make this statement. He had plenty of opportunities before that moment to get his message across. Nor could I tell you when he wrote this statement. Was it before the game? Because he couldn’t have had more than 20 minutes available after.)

“This program is … built on internal joy, not external applause,” Riley read. “This win is for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls. I said before this game that I’m the right person for this job, and as long as people know that, that’s all I care about. I appreciate being part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I’m gonna continue to fight on, ‘cause that’s what being a Trojan is all about.”

And then he punctuated the strange scene with an “Adios.”

Needless to say, as innocuous as the message might’ve been, this was not exactly normal behavior in the aftermath of such a joyous breakthrough moment. When Riley stood up and left, nearly every reporter in that news conference began exchanging raised eyebrows and puzzled glances.

In retrospect, it wasn’t all that out-of-character for USC’s coach. From basically the day he arrived in L.A., Riley has hammered home the message that nothing outside of his own building matters. That sentiment, in some sense, has colored how the whole operation has run under Riley these last five seasons. Every aspect of the program has been more insular and closed-off.

Ultimately, it’s Riley’s prerogative how he wants to run his program. But the irony is that he has proven, time and again, just how much the narrative outside does matter to him.

Take that news conference, for example. Nothing shows the world that the outside noise doesn’t bother you quite like preparing a statement ahead of time about how much the outside noise doesn’t bother you.

Of course, it’s not the first time Riley has come off defensive or passive aggressive. Earlier this season, he apparently took issue with a social media exchange about USC players being discouraged from showing their personality. So, at the very end of that week’s news conference (again), just as defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart made a joke about wanting gumbo after the game, Riley took a jab, apparently at the media: “Yeah … no personality, huh??”

Then he walked out of the room.

Saturday night should’ve been one of the happier moments of his tenure with the Trojans. Instead, as he left the field, he cursed at Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork during a brief verbal altercation. One social media post suggested Buckeyes staff members may have cursed at Riley’s wife and children, triggering the coach’s reaction directed toward Bjork. Then after appearing mostly unmoved during the news conference, he read that statement.

Riley deserves a ton of credit for leading the Trojans to victory over Ohio State. And he’s right to say the outside world doubted them. Because they did. I know I did.

But on the biggest night of USC’s season to date, Riley managed to make himself look small. And afterward, even some inside the walls of USC couldn’t help but cringe about it.

Extra points

—Gary Patterson deserves credit for keeping the Heisman front-runner in check. Over Ohio State’s first seven games this season, wideout Jeremiah Smith averaged upwards of 20 yards per reception. Against USC? Just 8.3. And while some of that downturn is because of Ohio State starting a backup quarterback, I thought Patterson’s plan to limit Smith was stellar. USC bracketed Smith and kept him from getting behind the defense. He still finished with 10 catches, but only two of them came beyond 10 yards. It seems like Patterson is finally finding his stride coaching his secondary.

—Mark Bowman only played 23 snaps and ran 12 routes in his return from injury. The freshman tight end’s presence as a big-play threat was still felt. His 70-yard, hurdle-and-run is a serious candidate for play of the year so far. But beyond that, Bowman added a big-play dimension to the Trojans’ offense that it has sorely been missing the past month. His ceiling is absolutely sky high.

—Waymond Jordan returned to the backfield rotation … and looked much more like himself. Jordan sat out against Wisconsin, and Riley was honest about the fact that he still wasn’t looking like his usual, shifty self after a pair of ankle surgeries. Well, a week later, I thought Jordan looked much more confident against Ohio State than he has all season. He still hasn’t broken a big play this season, but this was an encouraging performance, as he finished with 65 total yards in 14 touches.

—Another freshman started on the offensive line and impressed in a tough matchup. With Hayden Treter out because of injury and backup Kaylon Miller coming off a tough week, freshman Kannon Smith stepped in at left guard. Against one of the most talented fronts in college football, he didn’t allow a single pressure in the pass game. And in the process, he made a real case to keep the job. “He battled his [butt] off,” Riley said. “He’s a tough sucker.”

Three questions ahead of college hoops season …

USC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams open their seasons on Monday. Here are the questions I have as the teams tipoff …

First up, Eric Musselman’s Trojans …

1. Will Rodney Rice step into a starring role as hoped?

Rice looked like a bona fide star at the start of last season, then injured his shoulder, and we didn’t see him on the court again. Musselman lamented that his loss totally changed the tenor of the Trojans’ season.

USC’s staff is saying all the same things about Rice’s potential in the lead-up to this season. Rice’s ballhandling ability should help free up Alijah Arenas and give freshman Christian Collins room to grow as a playmaker.

2. What can USC expect out of Alijah Arenas?

After a roller coaster freshman campaign, there hasn’t been much talk about the former five-star prospect of late. That may actually be a good thing. The focus coming into his sophomore season has been about building confidence and taking things off of his plate.

Arenas needs to be more efficient as a scorer. Because when he’s not pressing, his ability to create his shot is unique on USC’s roster.

3. How will USC fill the void without Eric Reibe at center?

USC has lacked a productive 7-footer in the middle since Musselman took over the job. And as soon as he actually got one in the building, he hurt his foot.

Reibe could be back, at the earliest, by January. But in the meantime, USC will have to really rely on Jacob Cofie, who’s more of a four-man, and two highly touted twin freshmen, Adonis and Darius Ratliff, in the middle.

And the Women of Troy …

1. Juju Watkins is back. What should we expect?

Watkins hasn’t played a game that counts in almost 600 days. But there’s no reason to think she won’t step in right away and be the superstar that she was before her knee injury.

The question is more how the rest of USC’s lineup will fit in around her. The only starter who was at USC when Watkins was last playing is Kennedy Smith. The Trojans now have Jazzy Davidson, who can do a little bit of everything, and a potentially prolific freshman scorer in Saniyah Hall. Maybe that means less of Watkins taking matters into her own hands on offense.

However it works out, it’s a good problem to have.

2. Will USC be better in the frontcourt?

There was no mistaking where USC was weakest last season. The frontcourt was outmatched by just about every other contending team the Trojans faced. But this year, Lindsay Gottlieb is counting on that not being a problem.

USC added two Aussie bigs in Sitaya Fagan and Pania Davis, as well as an athletic Spanish center in Sara Okeke, and brought back Laura Williams, who had the most potential of any from USC’s frontcourt last season. Plus, the Trojans will have so much size on the wing with Watkins, Davidson and Hall, they may even have some looks without a true center in the lineup.

3. Is Saniyah Hall USC’s next star freshman?

It sure seemed that way in USC’s exhibition win over California, as Hall was nine of 13 on the offensive end while contributing five steals in a lockdown defensive effort.

Hall has surprising size and strength and an uncommon level of confidence for a freshman. The numbers may not be eye-popping this year, considering the supporting cast. But if Hall settles into a role, she should be absolutely lethal. And ready to pair with Davidson next season as an even bigger star.

What I’m watching this week

Sometimes you just need a TV show to make you feel good. That’s the place that “Nobody Wants This” occupies in my TV oeuvre.

The Netflix comedy about a rabbi navigating a relationship with a non-Jewish woman enters its third season, and while it feels like the initial schtick is losing its scheme a bit, this season relies more on the supporting characters to lead the way. Timothy Symons, as Sasha, is a gem especially.

In case you missed it

Until next time ...

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