"Very similar to what we just walked into" - USC coach Lincoln Riley likens upcoming Colorado matchup to tricky Arizona State Week 4 experience

The USC Trojans have been one of the most dominant teams as coach Lincoln Riley has gotten them to sixth in the nation heading into their road conference game against the Colorado Buffaloes. However, instead of being in an attacking mode against Deion Sanders or the Buffaloes, Riley went a complimentary route while focusing solely on his team.

While talking to the media, Lincoln Riley compared their 42-28 high-scoring affair last week against the Arizona State Sun Devils to their upcoming game.

"Very similar to what we just walked into right? Again, everybody wants to write the book week after week and a lot of things change week to week," he said(via On3). "Whether they won by a lot, lost by a lot, or anything in between, we're gonna see a good football team at their home and those are always a challenge."

If the Trojans want to win this game, they need to continue to dominate offensively. Entering Week 5 of the college football season, they are leading the country with 55 points per game and are third in the sport with 569.3 total yards per game.

How far can Lincoln Riley and this USC Trojans team go this season?

Currently, the USC Trojans are sitting outside of the 2023 College Football Playoff standings and the betting markets have them as the seventh-best odds to win. Lincoln Riley is known as an offensive coach and this offense, as we touched upon earlier, has been the best in college football.

As the eighth-ranked program in the United States, they need to climb at least four more spots as the top four teams make the playoff format. They still have games against Colorado, Arizona, Notre Dame, Utah, California, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA left on their schedule.

They would need to win the Pac-12 Conference Championship to have a shot to make the postseason. In order to make the conference title game, they need to be the top two teams in the Pac-12 and they currently lead it with a 4-0 (2-0) record. Having a quarterback like the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams helps as well.

The issue is going to be the defensive side of the football. Can they get enough stops to win games against the elite teams? Time is going to tell but if they can hold teams to 20-24 points per game, they should be in the College Football Playoff this season.