USC football coach Lincoln Riley is sick and has missed two straight days of practice, according to Ryan Kartje of the L.A. Times. The illness is apparently significant enough that USC is working to make assistant Kliff Kingsbury the acting assistant in Riley's absence, according to the Athletic.
Riley was first reported to be under the weather after he did not make himself available to the media after Saturday's 34-32 loss to the Utah Utes. Riley also missed his weekly radio appearance with “Trojans Live” on Monday.
Once USC works sufficiently with NCAA compliance, Kingsbury could be moved to a temporary on-field role to assist with Riley's absence. Kingsbury is in his first year with the Trojans after head coaching stints with the Arizona Cardinals and Texas Tech.
Kingsbury will have his work cut out for him, as the Trojans have lost two games in row–getting blown out 48-20 by Notre Dame the Saturday before the loss to Utah–severely hampering their playoff aspirations.
Some good news for the Trojans, though, as they have a chance to bounce back against a less formidable opponent this Saturday when they take on the 3-4 Cal Bears.
USC football will certainly miss Lincoln Riley if he's unable to coach this weekend, but the team is fortunate to have someone in Kliff Kingsbury with ample head coaching experience, both at the collegiate and NFL level. Given Kingsbury's offensive success coaching both Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, it will be interesting to see what he is able to get out of star quarterback Caleb Williams this weekend.
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