Lincoln Riley cites Nick Saban’s scheduling at Alabama: ‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years’

Lincoln Riley expects his USC Trojans will be playing the new expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

In order to do that, it appears he will be taking notes from Alabama and former coach Nick Saban.

During Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, Riley said the way the Tide scheduled was key to playoff success. Now, his Trojans will have a “decision” to make when it comes to filling out the schedule.

“‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years, I thought, on how they scheduled in the non-conference,” Riley told reporters, per On3. “They would occasionally hit the marquee non-conference game, they’d play two other not-very-good teams, they’d play one late so they got essentially a little bit of a bye week there late in the season. They didn’t schedule for their fans – they scheduled to win championships.

“My hope is we can do the best thing, schedule to win championships that includes a rivalry game for all that comes with that and all that it means. But if you get in the positions, you’ve got to make a decision on what the priority is.”

For USC, the question revolves around whether to continue play annual rival Notre Dame now that the Trojans are in the Big Ten.

“I would love to,” Riley said about playing the Irish in years to come. “I know it means a lot to a lot of people. Again, the purist in you, no doubt. Now, if you get in a position where you’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that? Shoot, then you’ve got to look at it.

“Listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There’s been a lot of other teams (that) sacrificed rivalry games. I’m not saying that’s what’s gonna happen, but as we get into this playoff structure and if it changes and we get into this conference, we’re gonna learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship. That’s gonna evolve.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.