Paul Finebaum has some strong takes regarding Lincoln Riley.
But not nearly as strong as Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s.
During Wednesday’s episode of First Take, the sports radio legend took issue with comments that Finebaum made earlier in the week, referring to Riley’s time at USC as a “failure.” Russo touted the success that Riley had during his previous tenure at Oklahoma, with the two personalities proceeding to debate whether the 40-year-old left Norman because USC is a better job (Russo’s stance) or because he was worried about competing in the SEC (Finebaum’s take).
The debate, however, really picked up when Finebaum called attention to the Trojans’ 19-8 record in two seasons under Riley, including USC losing five of its final six regular-season games after a 6-0 start in 2023. After Russo noted the state of the program when Riley inherited it and that he hasn’t been in Southern California long enough to turn the Trojans around, Finebaum replied by reminding him that he brought arguably the nation’s top player in Caleb Williams with him from Oklahoma, which seemingly reminded “Mad Dog” that the now-Chicago Bears quarterback won the 2022 Heisman Trophy.
“He won a Heisman Trophy! At a place where they win Heisman Trophies!” Russo shouted, before listing off USC’s previous Heisman winners, including O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen and Carson Palmer. “You talk about a Heisman Trophy at USC, that means everything… they love Heisman Trophies! And he brought a Heisman Trophy there. That counts! That counts!”
As a befuddled Finebaum attempted to make sense of Russo’s logic, the former WFAN star continued with his rant and, for some reason, referenced Knute Rockne, who spent his legendary college career at Notre Dame. The segment ended with Russo reiterating his belief that USC is a better program than Oklahoma, before taking a stray shot at one of the SEC’s less heralded programs.
“It’s a much better program than Oklahoma,” Russo said of USC, fighting back a laugh as he seemingly realized how ridiculous his argument was. “I’m surprised at you. Go talk about Vanderbilt football.”
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo argues with Paul Finebaum, insisting Lincoln Riley has been a success at USC because Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy.
“He won a Heisman Trophy! At a place where they win Heisman Trophies!… You talk about a Heisman Trophy at USC, that means… pic.twitter.com/GUQjqO7Wjz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 17, 2024
For whatever reason, the argument seemed to resonate. The Athletic’s Chris Vannini shared that he watched it happen in-person (but it could only hear Finebaum’s side) at SEC Media Days and Matt Leinart — one of the USC Heisman Trophy winners Russo referenced — took to social media to unsurprisingly side with Mad Dog.
Listening to Finebaum talk about Usc and Riley makes me want to puke. I see you Doggy!
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) July 17, 2024
Over the course of the past two years, Russo has made a habit of putting his personal stamp on First Take as a reoccurring guest. And considering the excitement he managed to bring to what is otherwise the slowest day on the sports calendar, it’s easy to see why that won’t be changing anytime soon.
