Lincoln Riley, USC handed Paul Finebaum a bigger L than LSU: Best memes and tweets

Paul Finebaum predicted things would unravel for "average coach" Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans against the LSU Tigers on Sunday night.

"People will be able to turn off the TV and go to sleep early that night because it won't be that close," Finebaum said on First Take.

Well, jokes on you Finebaum. Riley and the Trojans didn't just keep it close. They bested the Tigers 27-20.

Riley could have done a victory lap around Finebaum after the game but he kept his comments relatively tame.

“I don’t coach for the media. I don’t coach for headlines," Riley said. "We just try to do what’s best in our program, and we just try to stay incredibly committed to it.”

Riley may have taken the high road, but that's fine. College football Twitter did more than enough trolling of Finebaum for him.

Best memes and tweets clowning Paul Finebaum's ice-cold take on Lincoln Riley

Riley's Trojans broke several narratives on Sunday night. The head coach answered Finebaum's question about being able to coach his team to a victory over an SEC opponent. He didn't look particularly scared in Vegas.

Quarterback Miller Moss looked every bit the caliber of quarterback Riley has coached up throughout his career. The loss of Caleb Williams didn't doom the Trojans.

Even bigger, Riley's decision to hire D'Anton Lynn paid off immediately. The USC defense held LSU 5-of-13 on third down and 117 yards on the ground. They tackled better, they pursued better, they made plays in the critical moments.

The knock on Riley has always been his defense. On Sunday, his defense won the game for him. Finebaum will either have to apologize for his take or double-down and find a different angle to batter Riley with.

Either way, Riley got the last laugh in Week 1. His next goal will be to keep feeding the Finebaums of the world plates full of crow with a tough Big Ten slate coming up.