Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back after USC’s Week 4 loss to Oregon, and on Monday he went straight at Lincoln Riley.
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Finebaum said USC should be willing to swallow the massive buyout and move on from the Trojans’ head coach after Oregon’s 41-27 win at the Coliseum.
"I think everybody knows who the fraud is," Finebaum said. "It is Lincoln Riley."
Finebaum drew a direct line to Clay Helton, the coach USC fired in 2021, and argued Riley’s results are too similar for comfort.
"He has the same record at this point in his tenure as Clay Helton, who got fired and run off," Finebaum said. "It cost about $10 million to get rid of him.
It will cost about $70 million to get rid of Lincoln Riley. But I promise you, USC people, it would be worth it because this guy is bringing your program down to the gutter."
Riley finished his first four seasons at USC with a 35-18 record, which matched Helton’s mark through his first 53 games. Riley is now 39-19 with the Trojans.
The harshest part of Finebaum’s Monday blast stood in contrast to what he said a day earlier. On The Matt Barrie Show, he had made clear he wasn’t ready to go all the way to a firing demand.
"not going to be one of these, 'Lincoln Riley is a fraud. He should be fired.'"
Still, even then, Finebaum was far from a defender.
"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 criticism only intensified after USC linebacker Desman Stephens II was suspended for one game following his hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. Stephens struck Moore in the head and chest with his shoulder as Moore slid after an 11-yard run in the second quarter. Officials ejected Stephens for targeting, and Moore was taken off on a backboard before later being diagnosed with a concussion.
Stephens was seen laughing and celebrating on the sideline after the play. When Riley was asked after the game why Stephens was allowed to remain there, he replied, "Because he's on our football team," Riley said.
USC announced Stephens’ suspension Sunday, meaning he will miss Saturday’s game against Washington. Riley later called Stephens’ actions "unacceptable."
Finebaum also took issue with how long USC waited to hand down the punishment.
"The fact that Lincoln Riley took until Sunday to decide to suspend Stephens, it's ridiculous," Finebaum said.
The loss dropped USC six spots to No. 18 in the AP Top 25. The Trojans are now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, and under Riley they are 5-15 against top-25 teams. Riley still hasn’t taken USC to the College Football Playoff.
Finebaum added one more jab, this time at USC’s standing in Los Angeles.
"They don't even have the best team in Los Angeles right now," Finebaum said. "That belongs to UCLA."
UCLA is 4-0 and ranked No. 23 under first-year head coach Bob Chesney after a 54-3 win at Maryland in Week 4.
Washington comes to USC on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the Trojans still have Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana left on the schedule.
In Other News...
USC Now Faces One Costly Question After The Oregon Loss
The loss to Oregon left USC with more than just a mark in the standings. In a top-20 showdown that ended 41-27, the Trojans got production from a few key places, including wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who paced the offense with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, and running back King Miller, who added 74 rushing yards. On defense, Jahkeem Stewart was back in the lineup, giving USC another body in a game that demanded everything.
Desman Stephens IIs ejection for targeting added another layer to an already costly afternoon, especially after the hit that injured Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. USC has spent enough time this season trying to piece together consistency, and games like this tend to sharpen the bigger question around discipline and availability as much as execution. The Trojans left with the more immediate concern of what the loss means in the moment, but also with the kind of looming issue that can shape the next stretch if it is not cleaned up quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Locksley Is Suddenly In A Conversation Maryland Fans Dread
Week 4 brought a fresh round of anxiety to the coaching carousel, and Marylands Mike Locksley suddenly finds himself in the kind of conversation Terrapin fans have been trying to avoid. A rough loss has turned the spotlight on a coach who entered the season with expectations attached and now sits in a crowded group of Power Four leaders feeling the heat, with the calendar still early enough for things to change but late enough for every slip to matter.
Locksley is hardly alone in that uneasy space, with South Carolinas Shane Beamer, Florida States Mike Norvell and Colorados Deion Sanders among the names drawing scrutiny after a difficult weekend. For Maryland, the concern is less about one bad afternoon than what it signals about the trajectory ahead, and the next stretch of games will say plenty about whether the noise around Locksley is just a bad week or the start of a much louder debate. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Faces A USC Decision Fans Can't Ignore
The hit that sent Oregon quarterback Dante Moore to the hospital during USCs game against Oregon has put Desman Stephens and the Trojans in the middle of an ugly moment that has lingered well beyond the final whistle. Stephens celebrated after the collision and showed no remorse, and the reaction was swift, with calls growing for USC to suspend or dismiss him from the football program.
Lincoln Riley now faces the kind of decision that reaches beyond one player and into the standards of the program itself. The episode has sharpened questions about accountability and the culture around USC football, because this is no longer just about a controversial play, but about what the Trojans are willing to tolerate when the spotlight turns harsh. [Read more 🡒]