Lincoln Riley calls out Big Ten over USC’s schedule for Weeks 10, 11
By David Wasson
Published:
USC coach Lincoln Riley had plenty to be happy about following the 23rd-ranked Trojans’ 21-17 comeback victory over Nebraska on Saturday night, but that didn’t stop Riley from taking a jab at Big Ten schedulers.
The Trojans (6-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) played the Cornhuskers in Lincoln in a 7:30 pm ET kickoff, with the game finishing around 11 pm ET. Figure 2 hours to get out of Memorial Stadium and to the airport, then fly halfway across the country back to Los Angeles.
Which means, just like that, Riley’s team was arriving in the wee hours of Sunday morning Pacific Time – just in time to get ready on a short week to face Northwestern on Friday night (9 pm ET, FOX).
“Now thankfully, the Big Ten took care of us schedule-wise and we’ll get home at 3 o’clock and turn this thing over to play on Friday, and it is what it is,” Riley joked with reporters.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava completed just 9 of 23 passes for 135 yards in the face of Nebraska’s first “Blackout” game, but the Trojans were still good enough to force the Cornhuskers (6-3, 3-3) into their 29th straight loss against a ranked opponent.
Nebraska also heads to California in Week 11, taking on UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
