Paul Finebaum rips Lincoln Riley for USC's disastrous campaign ending the season with 3 straight losses - "Just a total fraud"
For USC coach Lincoln Riley, the 2023 season did not play out the way he would have expected. Prior to the start of the campaign, the USC Trojans were expected to be one of the top-performing teams with talents such as 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams. Unfortunately, after starting on a strong note, the Trojans fumbled in the second leg of the season, losing five of their last six games.
In their final regular season game in Week 12 against the UCLA Bruins, USC fumbled again and lost 20-38, finishing their season with a 7-5 overall record (5-4 in the SEC).
Recently, CFB analyst Paul Finebaum joined the bandwagon to criticize Riley for the way the team performed this year. During an appearance on the 'Matt Barrie Show' after the UCLA loss, Finebaum did not mince his words while talking about the coach.
"I don't know when I've seen a worse coaching job by anyone than Lincoln Riley this year. It's a complete disaster. And quite frankly, he 'ought to pack up. I don't really see what his path is moving forward," Finebaum said.
Then, Finebaum went on to talk about how Lincoln Riley should bear some responsibility for the poor finish to the season rather than dumping the blame on former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who was fired earlier this month.
"He blamed everything on Alex Grinch. They haven't been any better- they've been worse. Well, maybe, Lincoln, you 'ought to look in the mirror? Maybe you're just a total fraud as a coach? Maybe you just lived off a couple of Heisman winners?" Finebaum added.
After transferring from Oklahoma as the head coach last year, Lincoln Riley led USC to an 11-2 campaign in his debut season. Unfortunately, it did not end on a successful note, as the team lost both the Pac-12 championship game to Utah and the Cotton Bowl to Tulane Green Wave.
Paul Finebaum criticized Lincoln Riley for ruining Caleb Williams' final season
USC quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to declare for the 2024 NFL draft and start his professional football journey. Despite winning the Heisman last year, Williams could not replicate the brilliant performance of last season.
Here's what Paul Finebaum said:
"Have you ever seen a college season ruined more than what Lincoln Riley did for Caleb Williams? I said this a year ago right here that I thought it was really a shame that Bryce Young had such a terrible final year. He lost two games. You have a generational quarterback and you finish 7-5?"
In his last game against UCLA, Williams put up 384 passing yards and one TD pass, bringing his 2023 record to 3,633 passing yards and 30 TD passes.