The matchup would have been a made-for-TV storyline: Lincoln Riley, USC's head coach, walking back into a stadium against the program where he started his coaching career, in a neutral building no less. Instead, it's off. Brett McMurphy reported the Trojans have pulled out of discussions to play Texas Tech in Houston in 2027 and Las Vegas in 2028, ending a six-month back-and-forth between the two schools.
USC has withdrawn from a potential series w/Texas Tech to play in Houston (2027) & Las Vegas (2028), sources told @On3. The neutral site games would have pitted Lincoln Riley vs. his alma mater. Discussions b/w the schools were ongoing for the past 6 months but ended this week. "It's dead," a source said
The Riley angle is what made this one sting. He played quarterback at Texas Tech in 2002 as Kliff Kingsbury's backup under Mike Leach, then spent 7 seasons total on the Red Raiders' staff before his career took off elsewhere. He's a West Texas guy from Muleshoe with real roots in Lubbock, including a longtime relationship with Texas Tech mega-booster Cody Campbell. A Riley-vs-his-old-program game in a neutral building would've written itself.
It's not the first time Riley's name and Texas Tech have been linked lately, either. Speculation swirled earlier this year about whether Riley could eventually make his way back to Lubbock if USC stumbled, but that chatter cooled off fast once Texas Tech rocketed up the College Football Playoff rankings this season, making a coaching change there look far less likely. Now the scheduling tie-in between the two programs is gone too.
Neutral-site series like this one are big business for both athletic departments — Houston and Las Vegas games mean bigger payouts, bigger TV audiences, and a chance to recruit in new markets, which is presumably why the two sides spent 6 months trying to make it work in the first place. Whatever snagged the deal, McMurphy's source didn't leave much room for interpretation: "It's dead."
For now, USC and Texas Tech go back to being programs with a shared history but no future date on the calendar. Whether either side revisits a series down the road remains to be seen, but as of this week, the Riley homecoming game college football fans were quietly hoping for isn't happening.