USC Coach Lincoln Riley Reveals Unfortunate Injury News Before Michigan State Game

Chasen Johnson and Zacharyus Williams Injury Update

"Chasen has a (knee) injury, he’ll end up missing the rest of the year so really disappointed for that. Zach got hurt at the end of the Georgia Southern game. We’ll see how it is. It’s probably going to be few weeks at least for him…Well just see how it plays out from there."

What Riley Liked In USC's Road Win At Purdue

"The biggest thing to me was the overall mentality of the team and handling the unique situation that became. We made some ready good plays on all sides. All sides had major contributions in helping us win that road game. But there’s also a handful of things on all sides that are going to continue to have to improve. So, we try to come in with a good, fresh perspective of being excited about the progress and a lot of the things that the team is doing. But also, making sure that we really look at and handle areas that we have to clean up…Now it’s just can you continue to improve while winning…You just got to keep going. The best teams and the best players continue to get better. I know that sounds boring, but it’s just, sometimes football is kind of boring. I love it. I don’t get bored, but sometimes it’s the same thing over and over and over and the people that can come out there every single day and the teams, and be intentional about what they are doing…That’s just what it is. That’s what championship teams and programs and players do."

How Staff Handles A Late Kickoff

"We sleep a lot too…I’m never too disappointed when one of those pops up. It gives us a chance, especially with then home game here, we’ll have a lot of recruiting responsibilities. We got a lot of great recruits that are going to be here in town, so it certainly gives us some time to do that. To catch up on recruiting, to handle some of the meetings that we might do throughout the week. We’re able to push a few of those things from a staff perspective…It’s nice. It spreads out the week a little bit for us…Extra hour of sleep then business as usual."

Safety Bishop Fitzgerald

"He’s been important. Pairing him up there with Kamari (Ramsey) and Christian Pierce has been a really good thing for us. This three have complete each other really well. I think Kamari’s role in that, he’s wearing some different hats for us right now defensively and I think his unselfishness and versatility as a player…it’s pretty cool to see…Bishop has stepped in there; made some really aggressive plays on the ball. I’m proud of how much he’s trusting our defensive system and coverages despite it still being kind of early for his time here."

Wide Receiver Tanook Hines

"Catches like you saw the other night on third down. He’s kind of gotten to the point where when we throw it to him and he doesn’t catch it no matter what it looks like while the ball is in the air, it’s kind of a surprise. He goes after the ball with a unique mindset for a freshman…He plays physical for us. He’s been a really good blocker…It’s pretty impressive."

What Riley Has Seen From Michigan State

"Offensively, a lot of it centers around their quarterback; returning guy that they recruited for that system. They run the ball very well. They got some explosive receivers…Defensively, it starts with their ability to stop the run. Been one of the best run defenses in the country."

USC Undefeated Entering Michigan State Game

The USC Trojans are out to a 3-0 start in 2025 with win over the Missouri State Bears, Georgia Southern Eagles, and Purdue Boilermakers. USC will aim to improve to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in Big Ten conference play with a win over the Michigan State Spartans in front of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum