As the USC football program embarks on their inaugural season in the Big Ten conference, some analysts still believe that head coach Lincoln Riley might not be up to the task of reviving the Trojans football team. One pundit that thinks along those lines is ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who discussed his take on Southern Cal's coach on the “Dan Patrick Show.”
“I did say a lot of things about Lincoln Riley recently and I meant them,” Finebaum stated during an interview with Patrick. “I don't think he's a great elite coach.”
There's no doubt that the transition to the Big Ten is weighing heavily not only on Riley and the USC football team, but also on their fellow former Pac-12 schools in Oregon, Washington and UCLA. There are many challenges that will come with moving to one of college football's best conferences, and it will be up to Riley and his staff to have their program ready for this first campaign.
Is Paul Finebaum right about USC football's Lincoln Riley?
There was a lot of excitement when the Trojans were able to lure Riley aboard from the University of Oklahoma. He was hailed as the savior of USC football. Yet, his first couple of seasons at the helm didn't quite meet expectations. Even after he brought quarterback Caleb Williams with him to Los Angeles, it felt like Southern Cal just didn't hit the heights that were expected of them.
Because of the failure to meet the expectations of many fans and others, there are now some rumblings on if Riley is the coach to take Trojans to the next level. In the Big Ten, that next level will be exponentially harder. Especially with those three former Pac-12 schools joining Southern Cal, and perennial contenders like Ohio State and Michigan still around. Finebaum expounded on his take further in his conversation with Patrick.
“I know that the pushback is like what he did at Oklahoma,” said Finebaum. “I know what he did there. He inherited a masterpiece from Bob Stoops and yes, he was able to maneuver and finesse Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray into Heisman Trophies, and he nearly got one for Jalen Hurts, and he did get one for Caleb Williams. But it's really what he hasn't done that I think is so noteworthy. He hasn't even won a championship.”
Finebaum is correct when he says that Riley hasn't won a championship, and perhaps the best time for him to break through and win one was when he was at Oklahoma. Or the first couple of seasons in Los Angeles with Williams at signal caller. Yet, the veteran coach still has trouble with the defensive side of the ball, and it seems as if he can never pick the right defensive coordinator. Hopefully hiring the rising D'Anton Lynn from UCLA will help during their first Big Ten season, and into the future. If Riley wants to prove fans and analysts like Finebaum wrong, then he needs to deliver a couple of titles back to Tinseltown.
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