"What has he done": Paul Finebaum rips Lincoln Riley to shreds after USC's loss to Notre Dame

The Lincoln Riley experiment in Southern California has not gone according to plan. After three seasons, Riley is 25-14 (17-10 in Pac-12/Big Ten) and has not gotten the same success he had with the Oklahoma Sooners. This season was dreadful, as in his first campaign without Caleb Williams under center, USC finished 6-6 and barely qualified for a bowl game.

On Tuesday's episode of "The Dan Patrick Show," Paul Finebaum ripped into Riley and his lack of success and questioned why he has not yet been fired.

"Would someone in California explain to me why Lincoln Riley, as of almost noon, is still the head coach of Southern Cal?" Finebaum said. "What has he done? He had one season with Caleb Williams. Last year, I thought that was disaster, but then again I forgot about this season."

Harsh words coming from Finebaum, but with a record getting worse each season, it is difficult to defend Riley. One factor that is going to be part of the decision to retain or fire him ahead of next season will be his contract.

ESPN's Pete Thamel said in October on the "College GameDay" podcast that it would cost USC $90 million to fire him during the 2024 season. While USC is a private institution and does not have to disclose its numbers for contracts, it would be a hefty price to pay to fire Riley.

What went wrong with the 2024 USC Trojans?

On paper, the 2024 USC Trojans look like they should be better than their record indicates in the first year of Big Ten play. The team is 45th in the nation in scoring (31.3 points per game) and 56th in defense (23.5 points per game against). The defensive woes simply went away with the hiring of defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.

Everything is trending in the right direction on paper. However, there were some shaky decisions made on the field that cost the team. Kicking was not at the level it needed to be as they were 14 of 20 on field goals, with a -2 turnover ratio. When playing in close games like the Trojans were each week, these things are going to glare against good teams.