Paul Finebaum gives honest assessment of USC after Notre Dame loss
USC tumbled for the first time this season on Saturday with their 48-20 loss in South Bend to Notre Dame. That led to quite the rough evaluation of the Trojans from Paul Finebaum on the day after.
Finebaum judged USC on ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ on Sunday following their 28-point defeat to the Irish. He believes that this is now proof that, regardless of the glitz and glamour or their stars in Hollywood, we overhyped the the Trojans coming into the season.
“I’m all for Caleb Williams – whatever. But we tried to make too much out of USC before the season,” Finebaum said.
“They’re not the Lakers, okay? I think some of the media just turned Caleb Williams into his own entity. But that was a rough night for him and that program,” said Finebaum. “And, at some point, Lincoln Riley? I mean I know the defense played better than the score. But the perception is still going to be the same.”
The loss to Notre Dame was the worst outing of the season by far for the Trojans. On one hand, the defense was atrocious as usual. They gave up a new season-high of 48, their third straight game of giving up 40 or more. That’s even more concerning when you realize that USC only gave up 251 yards of offense on the road.
On the other hand, their own offense’s performance is what really did them in. After making up for their defense’s mistakes in their 6-0 start, things finally caught up to USC’s offense. Williams threw for under 200 yards and tossed three picks for a trio of the team’s five turnovers.
Now, with five games left to go with four against ranked foes, there’s no telling how the Trojans finish. However, this shook Finebaum’s faith for more than just this season. He is now starting to have concerns about USC ahead of their move to the Big Ten next fall.
“Southern Cal? I’m so intrigued by that decision now. Not that they made the move – of course they made the move. But, just, how can they get ready for it?” Finebaum asked. “We were worried about Oklahoma – don’t need to be anymore. Texas? Don’t need to be. But Southern Cal is the one you’d better be concerned about as they make the move next year.
Utah vs. USC odds: Early point spread released on Utes, Trojans
Week 8 of the college football season will pit two of the early favorites to win the Pac-12, USC and Utah, against one another. This is a matchup with huge implications for the conference title. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the favorite to win in Week 8 is USC.
Vegas favors the Trojans to come out of this contest with the win early on. They opened as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under is at 57.5 points.
Both teams enter the matchup with a 5-1 record but the advantage in conference play goes towards USC as Utah fell to Oregon State earlier in the season. However, in terms of momentum, that goes to the Utes as the Trojans are attempting to bounce back from a 48-20 road drubbing at the hands of Notre Dame.