Lane Kiffin Fined: Kiffin Standing Up for His Players Is Exactly What USC Needs

If there isn't drama coming from USC head coach Lane Kiffin, then something is wrong. Kiffin is known for causing trouble in some way, shape or form, but maybe this time he has a point.

Last week the Trojans were involved in a classic game against the Stanford Cardinal that went into triple overtime that resulted in the third loss of the season for USC. The game didn't end without controversy though, as it appeared that wide receiver Robert Woods stepped out of bounds with one second left in the fourth quarter.

This would have meant that the Trojans would have time for one more play to possibly kick the game-winning field goal.

Instead, after an instant replay by officials, they said that Woods was tackled inbounds with one second left and that the game would go to overtime. 

What makes things even worse is that Kiffin has said that side judge Brad Glenn had promised that he would be awarded a timeout if Woods was declared inbounds. It never happened. 

"After numerous (conversations) with the conference office, we have agreed to disagree," Kiffin said in a statement released by the school following the Pac-12 announcement. "As I have been saying the past two days, we have moved on from last week's game and we are preparing for a very challenging conference game this Friday at Colorado."

Kiffin would later be fined $10,000 for saying he was "extremely disappointed" and he was "basically lied to" by Pac-12 officials. It is against the rules to criticize the officiating in the Pac-12, and that's clearly what Kiffin did.

"The Pac-12 has specific rules that prohibit our coaches from making public comments about officiating, and this prohibition specifically includes comments that create doubts about the credibility of the conference's officiating program," conference commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement released late Monday. "The Conference expects each Pac-12 coach to adhere to our standards of conduct and to conduct himself or herself in a manner which will reflect credit on the institution and the Conference."

Kiffin also had a problem with the suspension of safety T.J. McDonald, who received a 15-yard penalty for a late hit on a USC receiver. He was suspended for the first half of next week's game against Colorado. 

"We respectfully disagree with the suspension imposed on T.J. McDonald," Kiffin said Monday. "He made a bang-bang play and his intent was not to hurt the receiver or launch his body at the receiver or lead with his helmet. If you watch the hit in real time, we feel it is impossible to competitively play that play any differently."

While Kiffin may cause a lot of problems, you can't really blame him in this situation. There were some very questionable calls that had a huge impact on an emotional game. Instead of letting his players take the fall, he is doing the right thing by sticking up for his team.

USC has had somewhat of an up-and-down season and an "us against the world" mentality.

If it takes Kiffin to step up and take a fine for his team, I'm all for it. 

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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