USC earned a massive win on Saturday, dominating No. 15 Michigan en route to a 31-13 win to move to 5-1 on the season. However, Lincoln Riley's team didn't emerge from the game entirely unscathed.

On Monday, the Big Ten fined the Trojans $5,000 for an availability report violation, according to CBS Sports' Richard Johnson. Running back Bryan Jackson played in the second half against the Wolverines despite being designated as "out" in USC's final injury report.

Jackson ultimately saw five carries, which he took for 35 yards and a touchdown.

"On Saturday, USC listed a student-athlete as 'out' on its availability report for the game against Michigan, but that student-athlete later participated in the game," the Big Ten said in a statement to CBS Sports. "The student-athlete had previously been sidelined due to injury and did not initially dress in uniform for the game; however, following a sequence of unfortunate injuries that occurred in the first half at the student-athlete's position, he was medically cleared to play, suited up, and later entered the game.

"Although these circumstances were unfortunate, it is critical for availability reports to be accurate. Consequently, the conference is imposing a $5,000 fine and admonishes all institutions to use the 'out' designation only if there are no circumstances under which a student-athlete could participate in a game. The conference considers the matter closed and will have no further comment."

The decision to play Jackson, who hadn't played since Week 1 with a turf toe injury, came after running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders exited the game with injuries. Riley explained after the game that Jackson had been practicing in a limited capacity and was only expected to be used in an emergency situation, which ultimately came about.

He added that the team had allegedly cleared the decision with the Big Ten, but in spite of that claim, the Trojans were still fined by the league.

"Unique situation," Riley said. "It was a wellness issue obviously in the game. He has been practicing in a very limited capacity in the build up the last several weeks. He had a turf toe. There was the expectation coming into this game that outside of the near catastrophe that we weren't going to play him.

"The game plays out, we have a couple of injuries that you obviously never expect to happen. We were able to get into communication with the league office and explain the situation. Our doctors medically cleared him. Again, it just became a wellness issue for us. We made sure to clear it."

It's a relatively minor fine, and it's one that doesn't have much precedent since college football leagues moved to mandated weekly availability reports. It will be interesting to see if USC opts to contest the fine, but for now, the school is on the hook for violating conference availability report rules.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Big Ten fines USC for playing RB in win over Michigan

Reporting by Tyler Nettuno, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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