USC’s playoff hopes died a familiar death Saturday night in Eugene, Oregon. The No. 15 Trojans fell 42-27 to the No. 7 Ducks in a game that encapsulated everything wrong with Lincoln Riley’s tenure in Los Angeles. USC finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play, firmly out of everything except a bowl game nobody will care about. And Paul Finebaum, who’s been Riley’s harshest critic for years, had a message for the $110 million coach.

Speaking with Matt Barrie on ESPN’s The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum didn’t pull punches when asked if the “Lincoln Riley thing” had phased out at USC. “Yeah, I mean, as you know, I’ve been a critic, but that would maybe include me with about 50 college coaches. But I’ve been particularly hard on him,” Finebaum said. “I felt like he’s done a good job this year, but he lost again in a big moment, and ultimately that really hurts because he’s not going to the playoff again. USC fans don’t really get excited about, ‘hey, we had a 9-3 season, we’re going to a good bowl game.’ Oh, really? Where’s that? And how many tickets will be eaten.”

Then came the final blow. “So, I’ve argued here a couple weeks in a row. I think Lincoln Riley ought to high tail it out of Southern Cal and see if he can get in one of these major coaching jobs.” Finebaum had previously floated Riley’s name as potentially “in play” for other openings like LSU or Penn State. He said that Riley’s agent should be working overtime,”I would be telling my agent, if I was Lincoln, ‘Find me a good job. Get me out of here’.” ​

The frustration makes sense when you look at what USC is paying Riley versus what they’re getting in return. Riley made $11.5 million in total compensation, with over $10.2 million in base salary that ranked him as one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. He’s compensated like an elite coach. But he hasn’t delivered elite results since the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game. 

For USC and Riley, this season was an utter failure because of one front: defense. USC’s total offense is top 10 in the nation, but their total defense? Doesn’t even break in the top 50. And be it rushing defense or passing defense, USC players have gotten manhandled by any above-average offense.

Riley came to USC because he wanted the spotlight after five years at Oklahoma. But now he’s coaching in a conference where Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon dominate the conversation. The move to the Big Ten was supposed to elevate USC. But instead, it’s exposed how far the program has fallen and how ill-equipped Riley is to rebuild it.​​

Saturday’s loss crystallized everything wrong with Riley’s tenure. USC had a chance to tie the game at 28-28 just before halftime. But Riley called two running plays with Lemon, who got stuffed. Then he watched kicker Ryon Sayeri bounce a field goal off the right upright to end the half with zero points. “The defining sequence in a lot of ways,” Riley admitted afterward.

USC wants playoff appearances and national championship contention. But after four years, Riley has delivered neither. Maybe it’s time both sides admit this experiment failed and move on before the program sinks even deeper into irrelevance.​​

Riley takes accountability

Lincoln Riley didn’t shy away from the obvious after Saturday’s 42-27 loss to Oregon; his team beat itself. “Hell of a battle. Our guys fought like crazy,” Riley said to reporters postgame, clearly proud of his team’s effort despite the outcome. “Obviously did it very shorthanded and just continued to go and gave ourselves some pretty cool opportunities. Just quite weren’t able to get over the hump there. We’re disappointed. Didn’t play our best. Some of the penalties that we haven’t been having obviously showed up and hurt us.”

Riley specifically addressed the 85-yard punt return touchdown that flipped momentum in the second quarter. He admitted “it was probably our worst coverage of the game on top of the punt being a low line drive.” He also said that USC “did not do a good job leveraging the ball.” He also called out safety Akili Arnold for the costly leaping penalty over the center on Oregon’s missed field goal attempt. 

The frustration was obvious. Riley’s team outgained Oregon 358-364 in total yards but lost the special teams battle, the penalty battle, and ultimately the game because of self-inflicted mistakes. He acknowledged his players “fought” and were “gutsier” than in previous losses. But when you’re making over $11 million annually, “we made some plays but in the end just a couple of plays short” doesn’t quite cut it for USC’s expectations.​