USC’s Lincoln Riley misses practice with illness, school looking to bump Kliff Kingsbury to on-field role

USC coach Lincoln Riley missed the the Trojans’ Monday and Tuesday practice due to an undisclosed illness, a university spokesperson told 247Sports. Riley also missed his weekly appearance on the “Trojans Live” radio show Monday. According to the university, he is he working from home under doctor’s orders.

Dennis Simmons is running USC practices and speaking to the media in Riley’s absence. Simmons normally serves as the team’s passing game coordinator, outside receivers coach and assistant head coach. Has worked under Riley since 2015 when both were hired at Oklahoma. 

The school is also working with NCAA compliance to bump senior offensive analyst Kilff Kingsbury to a temporary on-field role to help fill in for Riley’s absence. Kingsbury was hired by USC following after head coaching tenures with the Arizona Cardinals and at Texas Tech. 

The Trojans currently sit at 6-2 after consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Utah. The USC offense ranks No. 3 in the Pac-12 in total offensive yards and second in points behind Oregon, but the lackluster defense has been the redundant story this season. The Trojans are allowing the most rushing yards (164.3) in the Pac-12. They rank No. 8 in the conference yards (407.6) and points (30.5) allowed this season. 

USC will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Berkeley, California to face Cal.