Lincoln Riley confirms Jordan Addison was not medically cleared

Reigning Biletnikoff Award winner and USC wide receiver Jordan Addison missed his second-straight game with a leg injury. He was deemed a game-time decision, and Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley explained why Addison was left on the sideline in street clothes.

“He’s very close,” Riley said of Addison’s injury after the win. “As the week went on, toward the end of the week we knew he probably wouldn’t be ready to go, or if he did, on a pitch count. But he was not ready to play.”

Addison isn’t the only wideout to miss the past two games. Mario Williams‘ injury hasn’t been disclosed as of Sunday, but the Oklahoma transfer was a late scratch against Arizona last week and wasn’t able to dress for Saturday’s 41-35 win over Cal.

Instead, Tahj Washington and Michael Jackson III have made the starts in their places. Washington has filled in the WR1 role perfectly with consecutive 100-plus yard receiving performances and three touchdowns to his credit in the past two weeks.

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Jackson III had only produced numbers in two games prior to Saturday. The sophomore wideout came through big for the Trojans against Cal with a career-high 115 yards and two touchdowns as the Trojans improved to 8-1 on the season.

With the Trojans next opponents being a 1-8 Colorado team, Riley could keep Addison and Williams out and it likely wouldn’t make a difference. Instead, they could be rested and ready to go for the final two games of the regular season against UCLA and Notre Dame.

Still, without Addison and Williams, USC is missing nearly 1,000 yards of combined receiving yards. They’ve been able to stave off opponents without them in consecutive weeks, but the Trojans’ offense will need them back for their late push for the College Football Playoff.