Welcome to the Times of Troy, our weekly newsletter featuring all things Trojans athletics. Ryan Kartje, who covers USC football and men’s basketball for The Times, will be your host. To sign up to get this newsletter delivered every Monday to your inbox, click here .

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter. Hopefully, by the time you read this, you will have finally dried off. Or maybe it’s still pouring rain where you are. But whatever the weather, things are looking pretty sunny for Lincoln Riley and USC right now.

The Trojans are now just two wins away from a trip to the College Football Playoff. But the bigger statement Saturday, while rallying in the rain to beat a team like Iowa, wasn’t so much about this season, but rather the program’s trajectory after next week’s marqu

See Full Page