Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back after USC’s 41-27 loss to No. 20 Oregon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Week 4, saying Lincoln Riley is not the coach to lift the Trojans back to where they want to be.
Speaking Sunday on ESPN’s The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum pointed to a night that was supposed to be a showcase for Riley at home and said it turned into the opposite. Oregon left with the win, and Finebaum said Riley got “punked on the field” while also taking another public shot from Ducks coach Dan Lanning after the game.
Finebaum was careful to say he wasn’t labeling Riley a fraud or calling for USC to fire him. That decision, he said, belongs to the school. But he didn’t soften the rest of his assessment.
“But I will tell you right now, Lincoln Riley is not an elite coach. He is not a coach capable of turning a program like Southern Cal around,” Finebaum said.
“I think he's a good coach. He was a better coach at Oklahoma than the Oklahoma fans now believe.”
The ESPN analyst has gone after Riley before, and before the 2025 season he described Riley’s coaching as “fraudulent” on The Dari Nowkhah Show.
The postgame scene only added fuel. Lanning, who is now 3-0 against USC, took a swipe at the Coliseum crowd after the game.
“I've watched three of their games here, and it hasn't been packed yet,” Lanning said. “But we were here tonight, and it was packed tonight. I guess when the Ducks show up, that's how you fill up the Coliseum.”
He didn’t stop there, using the moment to pitch Southern California recruits.
“I guess if you're interested in winning football games and you're from this area, you should come to Oregon,” Lanning said. “If you want to go to a Chris Brown concert, you should go here.”
Finebaum said that kind of public jab made the night even worse for Riley.
“But that, in essence, almost ended Lincoln Riley's season, by one of his peers and a guy that used to be trying to become Lincoln Riley,” Finebaum said. “Now, who in the world wants to be Lincoln Riley?”
On the field, Oregon won despite not having starting quarterback Dante Moore, who left in the second quarter after a late hit. Backup quarterback Dylan Raiola stepped in and threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns.
USC had its chance after tying the game 27-27 with 12:41 left, but Raiola responded with a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dakorien Moore. Later, Riley opted to go for it on fourth-and-7 from USC’s own 49-yard line with 7:19 remaining. Jayden Maiava’s pass fell incomplete, and Oregon finished things off with another touchdown.
The defeat dropped USC to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. It also left the Trojans 5-15 against top-25 teams under Riley and still without a win over Oregon since 2016.
USC returns home to face Washington on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana are still on the schedule later this season.
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