USC football is, if you are not willing to be generous, falling apart at the seams. The Trojans are at the forefront of an investigation by the NCAA. Lincoln Riley has just one more distraction to deal with as the Trojans prepare to face Nebraska this Saturday.
According to a release from the NCAA, the Trojans have violated coaching rules and will face consequences, imposed by the NCAA and the school itself.
“Eight analysts for the football program engaged in on- and off-field coaching activities during spring 2022, fall 2022 and spring 2023, resulting in the football program exceeding the permissible number of countable coaches by six for two academic years… As a result of the violations, the parties also agreed that football head coach Lincoln Riley violated head coach responsibility rules,” the release mentioned.
As a result of the violation, USC football will endure the following:
- One year of probation.
- A $50,000 fine.
- A restriction for the special teams analyst from practice and film review for six consecutive days during two weeks of the 2024-25 season.
- A restriction for the remaining analysts from practice and film review for six consecutive days during four weeks of the 2024-25 season.
- A reduction in countable athletically related activities for the football program by 24 hours during the 2023-24 season (self-imposed by the school).
This mishap by the USC staff has been accompanied by other pieces of bad news which form a cloud of distractions entering the Nebraska game. The Trojans and fans have started seeing multiple incoming commits flip away from the school, most recently three-star cornerback Shamar Arnoux, who flipped to Auburn on Thursday morning.
Is this the beginning of a drought or is this just a speed bump for the football program? At any rate, USC and Lincoln Riley need to shove aside the noise in the system and get a win on Nebraska to calm things down.
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