Paul Finebaum eviscerates Lincoln Riley, USC ahead of opener vs. LSU: 'It feels like the train's already left the station'

USC will find out just how good it is in the post-Caleb Williams era early on in the 2024 season. The Trojans are set to open the year against LSU in Las Vegas in a top-25 showdown.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum said on First Take on Tuesday that he expects Lincoln Riley and the Trojans to really struggle against the Tigers.

“I think that’s where it starts to unravel for Lincoln,” Paul Finebaum said. “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.”

Both USC and LSU lost plenty of talent off of last year’s roster, including their star quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. However, Finebaum believes LSU is better prepared to move forward and have success than USC is.

“LSU’s missing the Heisman trophy winner from last year. They’re missing some other key players,” Finebaum said. “But I totally agree. People will be able to turn off the TV and go to bed early that night because it won’t be that close.”

LSU is currently a 6.5-point favorite over the Trojans, according to FanDuel, but Finebaum doesn’t expect the game to be that close. Fellow ESPN employee Matt Barrie added that he expects a fairly easy win for the Tigers, too.

“I don’t know that USC will keep it within two scores of LSU,” Barrie said Monday on First Take.

Finebaum has been outspoken about his disbelief in USC and Lincoln Riley for much of the summer. Finebaum believes Riley wasted really good offenses and quarterback play for years by having bad defenses on the other side of the ball.

USC did bring in a new defensive coordinator this offseason in D’Anton Lynn, but Finebaum doesn’t expect that move to make much of a difference.

“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.”

Finebaum added that if USC loses the opener, Riley could lose the fan base and eventually his job.

“I don’t think Lincoln Riley is that dynamic personality that can keep everybody bought in,” he said. “It feels like the train’s already left the station. … Last year was so bad, and with this new schedule I don’t see it getting any better.”