Tyler Stearns |
The talk of the offseason for the USC Trojans was the defense. USC's defense was arguably the worst in power five last season, ranking in the 100s for all team stats besides TFLs (23), sacks (T-47), and turnover margin (T-85) (On3). They were not physical, they were undisciplined, and they weren't athletic enough to compete with the better teams in the PAC-12 (+ Notre Dame). They could work around their defensive struggles in Riley's first year because of how good the offense was with QB Caleb Williams and WR Jordan Addison, but this past year they regressed offensively.
Riley fired Grinch after their loss to Washington where they gave up 52 points. The decision seemed to have been made since the Colorado game, however, Riley stalled. But when he made the call, defensive line coach Shaun Nua and Linebackers coach Brian Odom stepped up and became Co-DCs. The defense didn't get any better in the following weeks, so the Trojans only retained Nua in a less important role when the new hire was announced.
USC announced D'Anton Lynn as the new defensive coordinator ten minutes before the PAC-12 Championship. The hire was met with little to no criticism, as he had turned around the UCLA defense from one of the worst in the Power Five to one of the best. His scheme and physical attitude towards the defensive side of the ball made the hire an easy one.
SC was able to attract a few big transfers in both windows, getting some notable players like Akili Arnold, Easton Mascarenas Arnold, Gavin Meyer, and Kamari Ramsey. They also retained some valuable defensive players from last year who made the jump to the first team, like Jaylin Smith and Jacobe Covington.
Going into the matchup versus LSU, the biggest question for the Trojans was if they were going to be able to handle LSU's physical style of football. The Tigers had a similar situation to the Trojans of 2022-23, having a Hesiman-winning QB and a dominant offense with a poor defense that lost them games. But they, like USC, hired a new defensive coordinator and brought in a plethora of talent from the portal and high school recruiting.
On the first drive of the game, LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier threw it all over the field, finding Kyren Lacy multiple times. But the USC defense came up clutch, stopping the Tigers from a touchdown on 4th and goal. After this first drive, the USC defense adjusted, and though Nussmeier was still passing well throughout the game, the SC defense was able to contain the Tigers' offense on many big third downs. USC won the game 27-20 mostly due to the defensive stops made in the third quarter when the Tigers had a chance to put the game to bed.
What was different about the defense? Number one, their linebackers were amazing. Mason Cobb, Eric Gentry, and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold were in position, stopping the run, and rushing well when called upon to do so. The second big takeaway was the tackling. USC missed very few tackles for the first time in a long time. The only major missed tackle was on the first drive, where Easton Mascarenas Arnold dove at the feet of LSU tight end Mason Taylor who didn't go down and picked up another ten yards. The third major difference was the red zone defense. USC held LSU to six points in three trips to the red zone, drives that the Tigers would love to have back.
USC looked like a physical, disciplined football team on Sunday. The offense was good, as it will always be under Lincoln Riley, but the hiring of Lynn has turned USC into a serious playoff contender.
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