In an unusual move, Lincoln Riley wanted to make a statement before officially starting his postgame press conference Saturday night.

USC defensive back Christian Roland-Wallace had been suspended by the Pac-12 for the first half of the Trojans' 66-14 win over Nevada, stemming from something that happened (or didn't happen) in the Arizona-Arizona State game last season when Roland-Wallace was a Wildcat.

"We're very disappointed that the Pac-12 didn't allow Christian Roland-Wallace to play the first half of the game today. Not one time during the offseason were we informed of a pending suspension. We became aware Thursday afternoon after the majority of the preparation was already done," Riley said. "Upon learning about the suspension, we felt the need to go back and look at it ourselves. We requested video from the incident in that Arizona-Arizona State game last year. When we looked at it, it was apparent that Christian was not involved in any way that you could even imagine an ejection. We feel like it was an incorrect call. When we brought this to the attention of the conference, they stated it was too late and that the ruling had been made."

The incident in question came at the end of that game after Arizona intercepted ASU in the final minutes to preserve a 38-35 win. The teams got into a skirmish on the field, leading to multiple ejections.

"Whether he played or not is not the most important thing to me, but in my months here with Christian I've seen the kind of person that he is, the kind of teammate that he is and I don't want this to put him in any bad light because it shouldn't and it's wrong," Riley continued. "And so, I think very important to make sure that what happened in this matter is understood. Christian's been a very valuable member of our program, continues to be and we're going to make sure that his reputation stays intact like it rightfully should. ...

"I think it was an oversight. And listen, with guys transferring, all that's going on right now in the world, there's going to be mistakes made. We're not perfect. I make plenty myself. I just think disappointed that there aren't mechanisms in place, and even when they're not, that's when sometimes you just do the right thing. I think the video was very apparent. I think we've seen every angle, every bit we possibly could. If there's something we're missing then I'm wrong, but from what we've seen. Again, you've got a senior here that's busted his tail -- we don't get 60 games. Missing a half of ball, for a guy that wants to help his team, for a guy that wants to go play in the NFL, that's a big deal. And most importantly to me, the reputation of somebody that's been a class act for us from the beginning, so that's just where we're at."

Riley said he talked with Arizona coach Jedd Fisch this week about it and they were on the same page regarding Roland-Wallace.

Riley also wanted to make clear that he was speaking out on behalf of his player -- not sending a message to the Pac-12.

"It is what it is. We're going to move on," he said. "The most important thing to me is not trying to send a message at anybody. I'm not trying to send some crazy message to this conference. That's not my goal here. My goal here is, understand that this kid did not deserve -- from what I've seen -- did not deserve to sit and I want to make sure the reputation of him stays intact. That is the No. 1 goal and then we'll all move on."

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