Lincoln Riley was irate in a postgame incident involving Ohio State’s staff after USC beat the Buckeyes
Following Ohio State’s upset loss to USC, some sort of incident was caught on video involving Lincoln Riley, Maurice Clarett, and others.
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ first game without Julian Sayin at quarterback went about as poorly as anyone could have imagined. Ohio State fell 30-18 to the unranked USC Trojans in Week 9 of the college football season, and the Buckeyes now have two losses with plenty of questions to answer.
The numbers from this one don’t match the final score. Ohio State held the ball for nearly 20 more minutes than USC and outgained the Trojans 464 total yards to 338, but still lost by double digits. Penalties, red zone struggles, and a poor defensive performance overall did the Buckeyes in.
Lincoln Riley incident goes viral after the game
The loss wasn’t the only story coming out of Southern California. An incident involving members of Ohio State’s support staff and USC coach Lincoln Riley have gone viral after the game.
Fans stormed the field following the Trojans’ upset of the No. 2 team in the country, and the area was packed as everyone exited. During that chaos, Riley was seen yelling some expletives in Ohio State’s direction, though you can’t tell who toward exactly.
Riley can also be seen grabbing on to Maurice Clarett, who works as a part-time mentor and consultant with the Buckeyes. From there, Riley had some back-and-forth with Ohio State special assistant Quinn Temple as well.
Nobody knows exactly what was said between the two sides. However, something clearly happened after the game, and the video has spread quickly. Head coaches don’t often get this worked up with an opposing team’s staff, and it was definitely an interesting moment after the game.
Ohio State couldn’t support its freshman quarterback
Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey made his first career start in place of Sayin. Ohio State needed to be better around him in a tough road environment, and that never happened.
Moving the ball wasn’t the issue. The Buckeyes piled up yards and controlled the clock for most of the night. The problem was finishing drives. Too many trips inside the 20 came away without touchdowns, and too many flags pushed the offense backward at the wrong times, 11 to be exact. When a team gives a first-time starter that kind of margin to work with and still can’t convert, the issues go beyond the quarterback spot.
The timing makes the loss sting even more. Ohio State was coming out of a bye week and had two weeks to prepare for this USC team. Still, the Buckeyes couldn’t get it done on the road.
Now Ohio State is a two-loss team with no room for error the rest of the season if it wants to make the College Football Playoff. It won’t be easy, and every game from here on carries playoff weight.
On the USC side, this very well could be the win that saves Riley’s tenure with the Trojans. Knocking off the No. 2 team in front of a home crowd is the type of result that changes the conversation around a program in a hurry.
For Ohio State, the focus shifts to the continuing to work around the quarterback situation and cleaning up the mistakes that cost it in Los Angeles. The Buckeyes showed they can move the ball with Fahey under center, but they can’t keep leaving points on the field and handing opponents free yards.
The rest of the regular season is now a must-win stretch for Ohio State. How the Buckeyes respond over the next few weeks will tell us exactly where this team is going.
