"Just happen to have a fraud as their coach": SEC analyst Paul Finebaum trashes Lincoln Riley over recent struggles 

Paul Finebaum is one of the biggest critics of Lincoln Riley since he took the USC job. The veteran ESPN broadcaster downplayed the works of the coach, who enters his fourth season with the Trojans in 2025.

Finebaum didn't mince words about his opinion on Riley as the 2025 college football season draws closer. In a recent installment of "The Paul Finebaum Show," a caller asked whether USC would ever return to national prominence.

Paul Finebaum responded with cautious optimism on USC, a historical college football royalty. The analyst noted that he believes the program can find success again in the landscape. However, he suggested that Riley is holding them back.

“I do believe USC is capable because there is so much to offer there,” Finebaum said. “They just happen to have a fraud as their coach.”

Riley's tenure at USC has not gone as anticipated. Following his successful tenure at Oklahoma, he was seen as the man to bring the Trojans back to the top. While he had a good start to life in 2022, the last two seasons haven't had much to write about.

The coach enters the 2025 season on the hot seat after two straight unimpressive years. The Trojans are 15-11 in the last two seasons, and their first year in the Big Ten was disappointing.

Lincoln Riley expresses confidence in D’Anton Lynn’s defensive scheme

USC's major problem in the last two seasons has been on the defense. Lincoln Riley fired Alex Grinch as the team's defensive coordinator in the tail end of 2023 and hired D’Anton Lynn in 2024. Entering his second season, Riley has confidence in Lynn's defensive scheme.

“In Year 2, we got two reasons to be very optimistic,” Riley told Greg McElroy in his appearance on “Always College Football.” “One is exactly what you said. The schemes, it’s not new install.

“There’s a confidence that’s been built up systematically here that I think is important both systematically and just the mentality and the way that you play and the expectations and the standard defensively at USC.”

USC had noteworthy improvements on defense in the 2024 season compared to 2023. However, a lack of concentration in the final quarter resulted in several one-score losses. Lincoln Riley is confident that this will be fixed next season.