Lincoln Riley Flips Out On Pac-12 Officials For Charging Him With A Timeout Despite The Fact That He Called A Timeout

Lincoln Riley was caught lying in 4K on Saturday night. The first-year head coach of USC football tried to claim that he did not call a timeout, but he very blatantly called a timeout.

As the Trojans rolled into Pasadena for Riley's first-ever crosstown rivalry, they controlled their path to the Playoff. If USC was to finish the season as 12-win Pac 12 champions, it had a chance of sneaking into the four spot. If USC was to lose to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, it would eliminate the Pac 12 conference from Playoff contention.

Out of the gates, both teams traded possessions. The Trojans offense took over at its own 45-yard-line.

A 37-yard pass moved the ball to the UCLA 18 with a fresh set of downs. A handoff went for four yards on the proceeding first down. An incomplete pass set up 3rd-and-6 at the 14-yard-line.

In that moment, as Caleb Williams stepped up to the line of scrimmage with the play clock running down, Riley called a timeout. He walked over to the Line Judge and signaled for a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty.

It was granted, but not by the Line Judge in that moment. Additionally, there were some questions about when the officials spotted the ball and if they allowed enough time for USC to get the snap off.

Either way, Lincoln Riley called a timeout.

There was no debate. Except, for some reason, there was a debate.

Riley went over to the officiating crew and got very upset with the fact that they charged him with his second timeout of the first half. Even though he called a timeout. It was caught on video.

Here is how the entire, bizarre scene played out: (Pay extra attention to the referee's shrug at the 24-second mark.)

Perhaps Riley was trying to argue something else. Perhaps he forgot he called a timeout.

Whatever happened, there is no way to deny that he called a timeout, because he called a timeout. Strange.