Lincoln Riley’s USC’s home-and-home series against Ole Miss gets canceled: Reports

On Tuesday, reports claimed Lincoln Riley's USC will not face Ole Miss in the 2025 and 2026 college football seasons. The two teams were set to square off against each other in a highly anticipated non-conference home-and-home series, but the games have been apparently canceled.

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter spoke to Clarion Ledger about why the series against the Trojans might be ruled out.

"I think that's going to happen," Carter said. "I think you're seeing some of these more marquee matchups maybe coming off the books because of that. If you look at USC, they're going into the Big Ten and they're playing nine conference games now. I think that's probably in our future, too.

"We're actually a little bit on hold from a scheduling perspective right now until we know what the SEC schedule is gonna look like moving forward."

Ole Miss and USC were tipped to play in Los Angeles in 2025 and Oxford in 2026. The initial matchup in LA would have been the first game in history between the two programs.

Lincoln Riley's USC vs. Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss had interesting storylines but top programs and coaches will not clash in near future

Lane Kiffin has a history with USC. He was an assistant coach with different roles for the Trojans from 2001 to 2006. After briefly working as a head coach for the NFL's Oakland Raiders and Tennessee, he returned to USC as a head coach in 2010.

Kiffin spent just over three seasons in his second stint with USC before being fired in September 2013, five games into that season. He compiled a 43-28 record as the Trojans coach.

Kiffin took charge as the Rebels coach in 2020, and just a few months later, the Ole Miss vs. USC series was added to the books. There was a lot of anticipation for his return to the team as an opposition coach, but the series will not take place as originally planned.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Riley was appointed as USC coach in November 2021. He has compiled a 19-8 record thus far.

Riley coached quarterback Caleb Williams to a Heisman Trophy in 2022 and subsequently saw him get selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

While Riley has been gaining a reputation as a top coach, an opportunity to square off against Kiffin's Ole Miss would have been a mouthwatering challenge.