Lincoln Riley confirmed that he was yelling at Ross Bjork during a heated postgame altercation in Los Angeles on Saturday. The college football coach at USC did not reveal what the athletic director at Ohio State said to upset him.
He brushed it off as no big deal.
Even if the Trojans have already moved on from last weekend, the optics of the incident still do not reflect well on the Buckeyes. They are choosing not to address what happened after the college football game with the hope that it will one day soon blow over.
Ross Bjork triggered the incident.
USC was a two-score underdog against Ohio State on Halloween. The Trojans defeated the Buckeyes by a final score of 38-10.
Fans rushed onto the field as soon as the clock hit zero.
Two separate incidents occurred during the field storm. First, an Ohio State player spit on/at a USC fan who yelled at him from the stands. Just moments later, Lincoln Riley called Ross Bjork a “p—-“ during an explicit verbal dispute.
It appeared as though Riley and his family were trying to exit the field through the only team tunnel at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the same time as a few straggling Buckeyes, including an injured player who could not walk under his own power. Although the Ohio State football staff had the situation under control and reached an understanding with the opposing head coach, its athletic director decided to escalate the situation.
Bjork, who has a history of postgame incidents, said something in the direction of Riley and his family as he passed them by. He also pointed/gestured in their direction. That did not go over well with the head coach or his wife.
Mrs. Riley told Bjork to “watch his mouth,” which was rather ironic because Mr. Riley called Bjork a “f—— p—-.”
Lincoln Riley did not reveal what Ohio State’s athletic director said.
I reached out to the Ohio State athletic department with a request for comment. I did not hear back.
The Buckeyes did not comment on what happened even though a third video from Saturday confirmed that Ross Bjork was the instigator. They also did not say whether the player who spit on a fan would be punished.
Lincoln Riley took a similar approach. He took the high road during his weekly press conference.
“Not an issue. Just typical emotions after the game. We squashed it on the way up the tunnel. Ross is a good guy and a really good AD. Just really a non-issue.”
When asked what led to the altercation, Riley chose not to expand further.
“That’s really all I’m going to say about it.”
Both programs are choosing to move on. They both have to win out to have a chance at the College Football Playoff. An on-field incident during last weekend’s game is now in the past. Nothing more needs to be said.
Although Ohio State and USC did not provide any clarity on what Bjork said to trigger Riley, Riley seemed to explain the featured image for this article. It was originally captioned as: “Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork yells at USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley.” The photographer, Adam Cairns, specifically used the word “yells.”
However, Riley said that he and Bjork “squashed it on the way up the tunnel.” Cairns’ photo appears to show that reconciliation.