Paul Finebaum stands behind criticism of well-known Big Ten coach

As one of four new Big Ten coaches, Lincoln Riley makes the jump from the Pac-12 to the new and improved Big 10.

The former Oklahoma head coach has a 19-8 record with the Trojans despite having yet to win a Pac-12 championship. His lone appearance came in 2022 with a loss to Utah. To some, this raises doubt about whether Riley is the man for the USC job, which always comes with high expectations.

On Friday afternoon, ESPN College Football analyst Paul Finebaum doubled down on past criticism of USC’s head coach.

“I did say a lot of things about Lincoln Riley in the past, and I meant them. I don’t think he’s a great elite coach,” Finebaum said on the Dan Patrick Show.

He went on to say that Riley “inherited a masterpiece” from Bob Stoops while praising his work for quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, and Caleb Williams. Mayfield, Murray, and Williams are all previous winners of the Heisman Trophy.

Finebaum then blamed the USC coach for his lack of achievements despite the talent he’s acquired. Most notably, not being able to win a national championship and “has never been on speaking terms with the word ‘defense.’”

We will certainly see what this USC team is made of from their first game as they open the season up in Las Vegas against LSU. If the Trojans can’t start to live up to the expectations that they’ve had once Riley arrived, it will only fuel the fire for critiques such as Finebaum.