USC Coach Lincoln Riley Addresses Costly Penalties In Loss To Oregon

The No. 7 Oregon Ducks defeated the No. 15 USC Trojans at home, 42-27. With the win, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks are one step closer to a College Football Playoff appearance.

With the win, Oregon was able to knock USC out of playoff contention. After the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley highlighted the sequence that changed the momentum of the game and ultimately led to the Oregon Ducks’ win.

Lincoln Riley On The Defining Sequence Against Oregon

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning Lincoln Riley USC Trojans Big Ten College Football Playoff Dante Moore Autzen Stadium Malik Benson — Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts in the first half of the Pac-12 Championship against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“Two good football teams really going at it. I thought in a lot of ways the game was pretty back and forth,” Riley said. “I think we’ll look back on it and say the really defining sequence of the game in a lot of ways was the, I think was the missed field goal penalty. You know, touchdown and then getting down there and not getting points.”

“That along with the punt return,” Riley added.

“I mean, both defenses, you know, made big plays. Both offenses made big plays. It was just kind of a heavyweight battle. Like I said, two really good teams going at it, and in that little sequence there, you know, they made more plays than us. And that’s, that was you know, really in my opinion the difference in the game.”

Lincoln Riley Highlights Battle Against Oregon

“Hell of a battle. Our guys fought like crazy. Obviously did it very short-handed and just continued to go and gave ourselves some pretty cool opportunities and just weren’t quite able to get over the hump there.”

“We’re right there. I mean, this was two heavyweight teams going out,” Riley said. “Two good football teams right here. These two teams won a lot of games. Yeah, I mean, we’re playing good enough right now, what we’re, you know, a sequence like that from beating anybody.”

USC's Special Team Woes Against Oregon

“The punt return, we just, we hit kind of a low line drive punt, and it was probably our worst coverage of the day on top of the punt being the low line drive. And so, it’s kind of that one as a punter that you try to avoid because it gets down fast, and there’s going to be a lot of room, and then we got held up at a couple of spots. And we did not do a good job leveraging the ball. So, yeah, obviously it was a huge, huge play in the game.”

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“They’re a good offense, good team. You definitely don’t want to give them something like that. So, that sequence again, to me, both teams kind of had their moments outside of that to me. There were some moments where they outplayed us. There were some moments where we outplayed them. That sequence to me was the one where the real separation in the game occurred.”

“Our kicker’s been one of, if not the best in the country all year. I mean, he didn’t hit the ball bad. Just caught the cross or caught the bar and popped back out.”

On the Offense’s Performance vs. Oregon’s Defense

“Just missed a couple assignments in the run game where we had some opportunities, and listen, they’re good up front. I mean, we knew that. I mean, their D-Line’s good. Their D-tackles did a nice job against us.”

“And then we didn’t help the fact by missing a couple assignments that hurt us. So, no, we didn’t run the ball nearly as well as we expected to.”

“Yeah, we had a couple of busts. I mean, J’Onre Reed went in there and gutted it out for us. He wasn’t very healthy. You know, Kilian going down was a factor. I mean, there’s no question about that. Obviously, not having Paige.”

“[Tanook Hines] played good. He did. Made a lot of big plays down the field. You know, they gave a lot of attention to Lem, I mean, Lem obviously still affected the game in a lot of ways, but you know, Tanook and Ja’Kobi both made a lot of big plays.”

Trojans' Young Players Stepping Up vs. Oregon’s Offense

“They fought. They’re two fighters. You see, they tackle the ball. They’re violent. They’re contact seekers. You know, a couple plays that we want back from a communication standpoint, but for both those guys in that moment, you know, against a good offense like that, they both made a lot of plays.”

Lincoln Riley on the Running Into the Kicker Penalty

“It’s a judgment call. And, you know, they deemed that it wasn’t enough to be a 15-yarder,” Riley said. “Those are ones that one looked like to me, it could have gone either way.”

“We had some of the penalties that we haven’t been having that obviously showed up and definitely hurt us. We were gutsy, made a lot of plays, but in the end, a couple plays short,” Riley said. “Just kind of panicked and did something that we don’t teach, and it obviously hurt us.”

The No. 7 Oregon Ducks will close out the regular season on the road against the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29.