USC coach Lincoln Riley has described his sideline confrontation with Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork following the Trojans' upset victory over the Buckeyes as a "non-issue." Riley's comments came three days after the incident, where he was heard yelling profanities at Bjork on the field.
Riley stated that the matter was resolved almost immediately after it occurred. "Yeah, not an issue — I mean, just typical emotions after the game," Riley said Tuesday. "We squashed it on the way up the tunnel. Ross is a good guy, a really good AD. It’s really a non-issue."
The altercation took place as teams were exiting the field after USC's 30-18 win. Amidst the congestion of players, staff, and students rushing the field, Riley and Bjork's paths crossed near a checkpoint. Riley was overheard shouting "Are you kidding me? F--k you! That’s bulls--t" at Bjork and a group of Ohio State staffers.
Reports suggest the Ohio State contingent was prioritizing the exit of injured defensive end Eddrick Houston, leading to a bottleneck and heightened emotions. A gesture from an Ohio State staffer reportedly helped to de-escalate the situation.
Separately, Riley concluded his postgame media availability with a prepared statement affirming, "I’m the right person for this job." He explained this was due to an unusually long wait to enter the locker room, which gave him time to process the game's emotions and articulate his thoughts. "It was kind of a unique situation," Riley noted, "because I got up to the locker room pretty quick ... I had probably close to 30 minutes before we got the whole team in there ... I had really like 30 minutes in there to kind of sit down, process it all and I decided to jot down a few notes."