Paul Finebaum slams 'absolute fraud' Lincoln Riley after Oregon loss

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Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans were handed a 41-27 loss to the Oregon Ducks over the weekend, prompting new criticism for the one-time college football powerhouse. One of those to take a shot at Riley was Paul Finebaum. The ESPN personality called him "a complete fraud."

USC needed a win over Oregon to take a step forward in the Big Ten race. However, the Ducks got a much-needed bounce back after posting a loss to Oklahoma State. They also picked up a fifth consecutive win over the Trojans.

There have been casual conversations about Riley being on the hot seat. Not the heat got turned up. Los Angeles isn't what it used to be in the Hollywood hey days with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush running the show. With that said, the attention goes right to Riley's performance.

"What I think we saw here was a tale of an elite coach (Oregon's Dan Lanning) and a complete fraud as a coach, and I think everybody knows who the fraud is. It is Lincoln Riley," Finebaum said Monday on "First Take."

"He has the same record at this point in his tenure as Clay Helton, who got fired and run off. It cost about $10 million to get rid of him. It will cost about $70 million to get rid of Lincoln Riley, but I promise you, USC people, it would be worth it because this guy is bringing your program down to the gutter."

Finebaum also went after Riley and USC handled the injury of Oregon star QB Dante Moore. Trojans linebacker Desman Stephens II hit Moore with a nasty helmet-to-helmet blow as he slid down.

Moore was knocked out, and Stephens was seen celebrating the play afterward as Oregon players moved to confront him and other USC players. Stephens was suspended for one game for actions Riley said were "unacceptable."

Finebaum blamed Riley for not doing enough in the situation.

"He barely even handled the situation on the field," Finebaum said.

"Thanks to Dan Lanning, there wasn't an absolute massive brawl afterwards. He kept his team cool, which I don't think was very easy to do. I wouldn't have blamed the other side if they had just started a street fight with USC after that, just completely classless. The fact that Lincoln Riley took till Sunday to decide to suspend Stevens, it's ridiculous."

No. 18 USC is 4-1 and faces Washington at home on Saturday, Oct. 3.

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