Paul Finebaum: USC, Lincoln Riley have most pressure entering Big Ten

Coming into the Big Ten for the first time, USC and Lincoln Riley have the most pressure in the conference this season.

That’s the take of ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, who opted for new blood after colleague Heather Dinich put the pressure on Ohio State. But Riley has to get it right this season and stabilize the ship.

Finebaum explained why ahead of USC’s turn at Big Ten Media Days.

“Southern Cal because of the fact that they are the biggest name in that part of the country,” Finebaum said on Get Up. “They’re heading into the Big Ten and they’re coming off a disappointing season. How about a terrible season? And (Lincoln Riley) has to do something about it. He can’t just show up today and talk about ‘well we made mistakes last year, we lost a couple of close games.’ He has to lay out a blueprint, so I think in some ways he has, he’s gone out and gotten a new defensive coordinator. But that’s seemingly an every year or every couple of years thing for Lincoln Riley. 

“But he has to put his stamp on this new league because this is the same man, in my opinion, after being beaten in Norman a couple of times, that ran away from the SEC. Now he ends up having a league of the same ilk, and he has to deal with it and he’s not dealing with it from a position of strength, having lost Caleb Williams last year.”

Lincoln Riley under the microscope going into 2024

As far as expectations for USC under Riley going into the Big Ten, they’re not near the top.

“ESPN Analytics gives them just a 3% chance to win the Big Ten,” Dinich said. “That’s fifth behind Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan and a lot of that has to do with the fact that as Paul pointed out, they have no Caleb Williams. But then you go to Miller moss. He has one career star, but it was a heck of a good one. Six touchdowns to one interception in that Holiday Bowl against Louisville. 

“And as he mentioned a new defensive coordinator in D’Anton Lynn. That is the Achilles heel under Lincoln Riley, that’s no secret there but they have a scheduled tailor made to impress the selection committee. Season opener against LSU, at Michigan and guys don’t forget that end of season  rivalry against Notre Dame. That’s huge, especially with realignment and everything moving to keep that intact. That’s playoff implications for both of those teams possibly.”