ESPN's Paul Finebaum calls USC HC Lincoln Riley 'average'

It's been a mixed bag for Lincoln Riley in two seasons as USC's head coach.

He went 11-3 in his first season in Southern California with a Cotton Bowl loss and followed that up with an uninspiring 8-5 season in 2023 with a Holiday Bowl win.

Yes, he brought the Trojans a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Caleb Williams and generally has raised the profile of the program back up on a national level. Still, we're not at prime Pete Carroll-era levels, yet, and (fair or not) it's not even close.

With that said, the newly released AP preseason top 25 checked USC in at just No. 23 and critics seem to be sensing that troubled waters could be on the horizon for the Trojans — especially with Williams now in the NFL.

One of those critics is ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who suggested on "First Take" that USC's opening matchup against No. 13 LSU could spell trouble.

“I think that’s where it starts to unravel for Lincoln. 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," Finebaum said (h/t On3 ).

That's a strong take but it's worth noting that if we're judging Riley versus LSU head coach Brian Kelly alone, he's far outmatched in terms of individual resumes.

Kelly has been a head coach since 2004 and has a 165-69 record. His career has included multiple big-game wins and a trip to the BCS National Championship, where his Notre Dame team ultimately lost to Nick Saban and Alabama. There's no shame in that.

Riley is also thought of as a top coach in some circles, but he's only been a head coach for seven seasons and his bowl game record is a disappointing 2-4. Last season wasn't a trainwreck for USC but it was also a so-so campaign.

"Meh" doesn't get the job done at USC.

For Finebaum, though, that's apparently all Riley is.

“Southern Cal, to me, isn’t going anywhere, except maybe seeing Lincoln Riley depart here in a year or two. I’m just so underwhelmed by what he’s done there,” Finebaum said. “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? He’s simply blown more national championship appearances and shots at the playoff because of his stubbornness. I think he’s an average coach.”

Riley's coaching record going back to his time at Oklahoma is 74-18. That's not average, and not even close to it, but winning the big games is all that matters in college football.

The 2024 season isn't "do or die" for Riley and USC, but it is time for the Trojans to pack a substantial punch in order to quiet down the critics.