USC’s Lincoln Riley Says Utah ‘Does a Good Job’ of Stealing Signs

Riley is 0–3 against Utah in his head coaching career.

The Michigan sign-stealing scandal has dominated talk around college football this week, with a number of top coaches reacting and weighing in with ideas to counteract similar schemes.

While the alleged scheme concocted by Michigan staffer Connor Stalions certainly seems beyond the pale, many around college football have acknowledged that in-game sign stealing is the norm. According to USC coach Lincoln Riley, one program that is particularly good at it is one of his Pac-12 nemeses: Utah.

During last weekend’s USC-Utah game, a 34–32 win for the Utes in Los Angeles, Riley was seen sending in signals to quarterback Caleb Williams from behind a screen. 

Whether #Michigan's spy gate is a factor or not, I'm not sure, but #USC is utilizing a screen guy in front of Lincoln Riley as he signals in the plays to Caleb Williams.

First time I've seen the Trojans do it in front of Riley in his two seasons. pic.twitter.com/w3LiOS8zzd

— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 22, 2023

When asked Thursday about the use of the screen, Riley said it wasn’t a reaction to the Michigan story. Rather, he said Utah is “an opponent we’ve played against multiple times, an opponent that we know that does a good job trying to grab signals,” per Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times.

“That kind of stuff has been going on forever,” he added, per All Utes.

USC coach Lincoln Riley says that Utah is adept at sign-stealing, a hot topic in college football amid the scandal at Michigan. In-game sign-stealing is not barred by the NCAA :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Sign-stealing during a game is not banned by the NCAA. The Michigan situation, which is now under investigation by the organization, differs in that Stalions is accused of administering a scheme to use electronic equipment to record potential future opponents’ sidelines from the stands at other games in an effort to decipher their signals. 

Riley has good reason to be wary of allowing the Utes to get any edge in a game, as he holds an 0–3 record against Kyle Whittingham’s program.