Lincoln Riley is under great pressure just two years into his tenure at USC, with college football’s most recognized analyst predicting a bleak future for him.
Lincoln Riley, once hailed as the most promising name in college football head coaching, is just 19-8 in two years at USC, and the pressure is rising as the institution prepares to make a historic move to the Big Ten as part of this year’s league realignment.
So much so that college football’s most recognized pundit believes the Riley era at USC is nearing its end.
Speaking on his podcast lately, Paul Finebaum suggested that it’s possible that USC would end the 2024 football season with a losing record, and that Riley has lost control of the team.
“Bruce Feldman said a minute ago that he thought they are looking at about seven wins, which is pretty dangerous when you are the USC coach and you have two back-to-back bad seasons,” Finebaum informed the crowd.
“I mean, I believe it’s over for Lincoln Riley. To me, he has lost control. And once you lose control, you’re in the heart of quicksand,” Finebaum explained.
Since Riley joined USC two years ago, things haven’t gone as planned. His famous abrupt escape from Oklahoma and appearance in the Coliseum seemed like something out of a Hollywood epic, and for a while, it appeared that the Trojan faithful had finally found their man.
USC won 11 games in Riley’s first season, and quarterback Caleb Williams was named Heisman Trophy winner, but the team’s leaky defense undermined it just as a College Football Playoff berth appeared to be inevitable.
An nasty loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, followed by a 1-point loss to Group of Five club Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, marked the conclusion of an otherwise promising season.
Then, a year ago, Riley’s squad went 8-5 behind another poor defensive effort, losing to four ranked teams but winning the Holiday Bowl against Louisville.
USC now faces a daunting 2024 football schedule that includes a season opener in Las Vegas versus SEC powerhouse LSU before going on a tough Big Ten slate.
College Football HQ rated USC’s 2024 schedule as the second-most challenging in the conference, with road games against Michigan and Washington and home games against Penn State and Notre Dame, both of which are playoff possibilities this season.
Finebaum has already criticized Riley and his job at USC.
Last season, the ESPN expert and long-time college football critic called Riley’s Trojans a “complete disaster” on The Matt Barrie Show.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen a worse coaching job by anyone than Lincoln Riley this year,” Finebaum remarked following USC’s sixth loss in six games to UCLA.
“It’s a terrible disaster, and very simply, he has to pack up. I don’t see his path moving forward.”
“Maybe, Lincoln, you oughta look in the mirror,” the president replied. “Maybe you’re just a total fraud as a coach.”
This season is Riley’s chance to prove those words wrong; otherwise, USC may be forced to make a difficult decision much earlier than planned.
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