Lincoln Riley gives firm, defiant response to roughing-the-passer calls which hurt USC
When a coach answers questions in front of the assembled press right after a game, he does not have the benefit of looking at the full game film and being able to make careful observations of plays. He can’t use the coach’s clicker to rewind the tape and break down each play in all its elements and its smallest components.
Once a coach is able to look at the film, he can offer a much more precise and informed verdict on various plays: how well they were executed, how well the opposition scouted out his scheme, and how poorly they were officiated by the Pac-12 refs.
What did Lincoln Riley have to say about the two roughing-the-passer penalties which went against USC versus Utah on Saturday? Find out what he said about that topic and various other USC notes of importance:
IN CASE YOU THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH EITHER PLAY
#USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley said on the two roughing the passer penalties: “We’ll tell ‘em to do exactly what they did every single time.”
— Jack Smith 🎙 (@jacksmithpxp) October 18, 2022
OBVIOUSLY THE RULE WASN'T CLEAR ENOUGH FOR PAC-12 REFS
Lincoln Riley shared on Trojans Live that he believes the definition of roughing the passer is much clearer at the college level than the NFL. He defined the characteristics of roughing the passer and quipped that maybe it wasn’t as easy to recognize on Saturday.
— Keely Eure (@keelyismyname) October 18, 2022
AND YET ...
#USC HC Lincoln Riley on roughing the passer penalty: "I think the college one is pretty easy to officiate." Listed the rules: Don't hit low, high, late or with crown of helmet.
"…I don't think there's any excuse to miss it in the college game."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
UNDENIABLY TRUE
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said the roughing the passer calls changed the entire flow of the game because the Trojans were getting off the field on both of those plays and suddenly were having to go back out on defense.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
IN OTHER NEWS BEYOND THE ROUGHING-THE-PASSER CALLS
#USC HC Lincoln Riley: "One play at the end of the game is not going to change how you feel about your football team."
He remains confident this team is capable of making a run potentially to the College Football Playoff this season.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
THIS IS ALSO TRUE
#USC HC Lincoln Riley on the pass rush: "We weren't good enough."
"You've got to affect the passer more."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
GREAT GAME REGARDLESS
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said on Trojans Live: "It was a great fight. We played really well in a lot of spurts. Those road games are tough to win on their own. We had some adversity. We put ourselves in position to win it and needed to make one more play to win it."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
PAIN
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said, 'It's disappointing to put ourselves in position to win it and not get it done.'
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
ACCURATE
#USC HC Lincoln Riley: "We're going to have a shot to win every game left on our schedule."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
IMPORTANT
#USC HC Lincoln Riley: "We did not tackle well. …You can't give them the 5-yard completion that turns into 18 yards."
Called it the most disappointing thing of the night. Chances to get third-and-6 turned into third-and-1. "We gave too many yards and didn't make them earn it."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
Lincoln Riley said his standard response when asked about a Bye Week is, “We don’t have a game this weekend, but it’s definitely not an off week.”
— Keely Eure (@keelyismyname) October 18, 2022
RESTING THE STARTERS
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said several of the 2s and 3s that aren't getting a ton of reps in games right now will get showcased this week during the bye week.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
MORE CONTRIBUTORS
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said they are going to need more people to step up in the second half in a similar fashion as Michael Jackson and Josh Falo did on Saturday.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
FIGHT ON
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said TE Josh Falo was way behind at one point and six weeks ago no one may have predicted the performance he had against #Utah.
Gives Falo a ton of credit for continuing to work hard.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
ON ERIC GENTRY
#USC HC Lincoln Riley on Eric Gentry running back onto the field during timeout: "That's just this team. It doesn't surprise me at all. He's one of 50 guys that would have done that. The guys care about winning, care about each other."
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
ON DALTON KINCAID
#USC HC Lincoln Riley on Dalton Kincaid: "Really good tight ends are classically a tough matchups."
Riley again reiterates the Trojans' poor tackling in their zone coverages, allowing Kincaid to turn 4- or 5-yard passes into explosive plays.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 18, 2022
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT NO. 1
My favorite clip from Saturday night is my shot of #USC WR Michael Jackson III's first career TD
Full field-level highlights here: https://t.co/OrGylhRLTB @ThePeristyle @mike3jack pic.twitter.com/dDNfvX9snM
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) October 18, 2022
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT NO. 2
Praise God!🙏🏾 A warrior right there! Seen bro battle through a lot💯 pic.twitter.com/HgUm2bqbO1
— RG 🏹 (@ralengoforth) October 17, 2022
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT NO. 3
— Tuasivi Nomura (@sivinomura) October 17, 2022
A FINAL REMINDER OF HOW BAD THE ROUGHING CALLS WERE
Roughing the passer or no? USC still not happy w this call: pic.twitter.com/oUernbGKuY
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) October 17, 2022
