His voice was hoarse, his exhaustion evident. The flu had been wreaking havoc on USC’s locker room since late last week. But by Tuesday, four days ahead of its crosstown matchup with UCLA, it had finally caught up with Lincoln Riley, whose third rivalry week at USC now promises to be an especially viral one.
The coach seemed to even cough on cue when asked about the flu.
“It’s had a little bit of an impact,” Riley said. “It’s part of it, though. Like I told the guys today, Saturday at 7:30, nobody’s going to care what you had or didn’t have.