Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley, left, shakes hands with Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham after Utah defeated Southern California 34-32 in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Lincoln Riley was away from his team at Southern California on Tuesday for the second straight day due to an illness.
Riley missed Tuesday’s practice as the No. 24 Trojans (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) continued preparations for their road game at California on Saturday. He was at home under doctors’ instructions, but the school wouldn’t comment on the nature of Riley’s illness.
“The guys have handled things in a pretty professional way,” said Dennis Simmons, USC’s assistant head coach and receivers coach. “It’s not like he’s gone forever. It’s one of those deals where we’ve got an objective, which takes place this Saturday afternoon, and that was our main focus. … We work for an incredible man and a great leader. He set a great plan together, and we’re just following it until he returns.”
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said the Trojans’ game-planning wouldn’t change in Riley’s absence. USC has lost back-to-back games for the second time in Riley’s tenure as it prepares to travel to Berkeley.
“From the staff’s standpoint, the head coach has a specific role … and we can communicate with him as normal,” Grinch said. “We’ve got our roles on defense, roles on offense, and we’ll crank this thing out.”
“Kliff has honestly done a lot of the things that he’s done in the past,” Simmons said. “He’s obviously been more active in the quarterback room, but aside from that, his role has been as beneficial as it has since the day he got here.”
Simmons and Riley have worked together since 2015, and most of Riley’s coaching staff has spent multiple seasons with him. That familiarity has made this temporary transition relatively smooth, but it’s obvious the Trojans are in a vulnerable spot after dropping two straight games and falling to their lowest AP Top 25 ranking since Riley arrived.
