Lincoln Riley says USC will make 'tough decisions' on status of Jordan Addison, Eric Gentry, Ralen Goforth

USC came out of the bye week shorthanded as Jordan Addison, Eric Gentry and Ralen Goforth were all dealing with injuries. As the Trojans get ready for this week’s game against Cal, Lincoln Riley said their statuses will likely be determined closer to game time.

Riley previously said all three took big strides during the bye week, but didn’t play last week against Arizona. Even after the week of practice, Riley said the three will likely be game-time decisions once again.

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“Good week for them,” Riley said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “Really good progress. We’ve been able to use them all here a little bit in the back half of the week, which has been promising. I think we’re going to be right up on the edge and have to make some tough decision here right towards probably tomorrow afternoon and then into game time on where these guys are at. We’re pleased with the progress. That’s been important, obviously.

“None of these guys had simple, out-a-couple-of-day injuries. A lot of improvement. The bye week, obviously, helped. It was good to be able to get through last game without playing those guys and that time has certainly aided in it. We’ll have a bunch of close calls leading into Saturday.”

Lincoln Riley reveals the most impressive part of USC’s win over Arizona

USC is off to a hot start under Lincoln Riley, with just one loss and one of the best offenses in the country to show for the season now that they’re two-thirds of the way through it. The one loss, of course, came a few weeks ago at Utah in a 43-42 shootout.

Since that defeat, the Trojans had their bye week, then got back to business with a 45-37 win over Arizona. Just like that, USC is right back in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.

Riley was pleased with the team’s performance, specifically in the second half. He knew they needed to respond strong after a week off and a loss the last time out. The start of the game looked a little bit like Utah, though. Arizona scored 10 points in the first quarter and kept it at a four-point game through half. But in the third and fourth quarters, USC poured on four touchdowns to seal the deal.

“Yeah it was good. I mean, it was good,” Riley said after the game. “The week after, I mean, we went at it during the bye week. We were very aggressive and I think that was important, because we needed to take steps. I felt like the week of prep for Arizona was good. But, you know, we said it all the last two weeks. So like, we’ll find out on Saturday, right. And I think that time I was really proud of us.”