Lincoln Riley slammed as ‘an average coach’ as First Take star replacing Stephen A. Smith reckons USC will ‘unravel’

THE folks at First Take seemingly aren’t big fans of the program at USC.

With Stephen A. Smith still absent from the show, ESPN featured Paul Finebaum who went on a rant against USC.

First Take

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USC lost its top player, Caleb Williams, to the NFL Draft, and Finebaum doesn’t think they will do much without him.

Specifically, Finebaum targeted head coach Lane Kiffin, calling him “an average coach.”

Finebaum predicts that USC will struggle in their opener against LSU, and the season will go downhill from there.

“I think that’s where it starts to unravel for Lincoln,” Finebaum said.

“You can’t get more of a prominent shining moment of the first college football weekend than when you’re on that Sunday night with the entire world watching you.

“And I fully expect Lincoln Riley to show what an average coach he is against to me a coach who can be elite at times in Brian Kelly of LSU.”

LSU is currently the favorite to win the game by 6.5 points, but Finebaum thinks it won’t be a close game at all.

“LSU’s missing the Heisman trophy winner from last year. They’re missing some other key players,” Finebaum said.

“But I totally agree. People will be able to turn off the TV and go to bed early that night because it won’t be that close.”

Finebaum isn’t shy about his distrust of Riley and USC, targeting their offense as an area that has been wasted over the years.

“Southern Cal, to me, isn’t going anywhere, except maybe seeing Lincoln Riley depart here in a year or two,” Finebaum said.

“I’m just so underwhelmed by what he’s done there.

“He had the big year with Caleb Williams, and then he trainwrecked it. He wouldn’t adjust, as he’s never done.

“So everybody celebrated, ‘Oh, he finally went out and got a defensive coordinator.’ What took him so long?”

College football top 25 rankings

BELOW are the preseason top 25 rankings of college football's best programs

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas State
19. Miami
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. USC
24. NC State
25. Iowa

“He’s simply blown more national championship appearances and shots at the playoff because of his stubbornness. I think he’s an average coach,” he declared.

Finebaum shared that if USC loses its opening game to LSU, the fans could turn on Riley quickly which could lead to him losing his job.

“I don’t think Lincoln Riley is that dynamic personality that can keep everybody bought in,” he said.

“It feels like the train’s already left the station. Last year was so bad, and with this new schedule I don’t see it getting any better.”

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