Kyle Whittingham Responds To Lincoln Riley's Comments About Sign-Stealing

USC's head coach recently implied that Utah steals signs amid the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan

When speaking to the media following their loss against Utah last week, USC head coach Lincoln Riley was asked about why he was being covered with a sheet when signaling plays to Caleb Williams and the offense.

The question was inspired by the ongoing sign-stealing drama with Michigan that the NCAA is currently investigating, but Riley revealed that wasn't the reason that he was being blocked while giving signs. Instead, he revealed that he feels as if Utah is looking for their signs as well. 

"an opponent we've played against multiple times, an opponent we know that does a good job trying to grab signals," said Riley when talking about Utah. 

On Monday during his weekly presser, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about the matter of stealing signs during a game, and expressed it is more on the team to make sure they have signs that can't be picked up on.

"If your signals are being stolen in game, it's your fault," Whittingham said. "If you're that simplistic, that easy to read and that easy to decipher, that's your problem, that's not the opponent's problem. I would never have a problem with teams trying to steal our signals. You've got guys looking at signals and trying to gain any advantage you can. That's like telling your defenders, 'Hey, close your eyes when they come out in the formation so you don't know what information is.'"

He explained that he wouldn't be upset if someone was doing it while playing Utah, because it would more so be on them.

"You want every bit of legal and above-board advantage that you can get, and if you're so simplistic that you're just giving it away with your signals, then you better take a look at your signals," Whittingham said. "I would never, ever personally feel that somebody that does that to us is out of line because if they're doing it, then congratulations to them and we've got to fix things."

The Trojans weren't the only ones to use a screen to signal plays, as the Ducks also did so in their 35-6 win over the Utes. There are no rules that prevent teams from looking at an opponent's signs in-game. What Michigan is being investigated for is attending games of possible future opponents, and stealing their signs in that manner.