USC coach Lincoln Riley out with "undisclosed illness," Trojans scramble with Kliff Kingsbury

First, USC was absolutely bludgeoned at Notre Dame. 

In a 28-point blowout-loss in which the Trojans saw reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams toss a trio of interceptions, special teams yield a kickoff-return touchdown and the Fighting Irish physically bully their guests on both sides of the ball, USC saw its perfect start promptly unraveled.

A week later, the Trojans suffered their third-straight loss in as many tries under second-year coach Lincoln Riley against gritty, physical Utah.

Now, on the heels of notable former Trojans alums including Matt Leinart and Su'a Cravens calling out the putrid, 107th-ranked defense, USC is without its head coach.

The reasons are unspecified and unclear, aside from it being labeled an illness.

But Riley has missed the Trojans's opening two days of work this week in advance of Saturday's matinee affair at California.

USC has issued a statement saying that Riley has been working remotely "under doctor's orders."

Now, the Trojans are seeking to elevate current offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury -- the former Texas Tech and NFL's Arizona Cardinals head coach -- into an on-field role as one of the program's designated coaches in order to alleviate the absence of Riley.

Kingsbury has logged a total of 10 seasons as a head coach at the collegiate and pro levels. He joined USC as an senior offensive analyst after he was dismissed from the Arizona Cardinals after the 2022 season. 

USC has not indicated how long Riley is expected to be away from the team.

But his absence comes on the heels of the Trojans's back-to-back losses and also just days after Riley refused to make any USC players available after their last-minute, come-from-ahead loss to Kyle Whittingham's Utah squad. 

While USC has not issued a formal public statement, the school's official football social media account on X -- the platform formerly known as Twitter -- features a pinned post of Riley shaking hands in a pre-game walk prior to the Arizona game, with a headline reading "Embrace the competition."