Utah State is an inferior team. The USC Trojans should beat teams like the Aggies 10 out of 10 times. But sometimes it isn’t just about beating inferior teams, it’s how you beat them.
The offense, even with a total output of 48 points, was a bit sloppy and has some things to clean up over the next two weeks. But this wasn’t about the offense. This win was all about the defense.
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It was fitting that the Coliseum had issues with the power throughout the night because the defense played lights out.
After an eye-opening performance against the LSU Tigers, the college football world was waiting to see if the defense played above their weight or if the unit was for real.
Now going up against Utah State is not exactly a good barometer to fully answer that question, but what we saw on the field tonight, does give us a good glimpse of what is being built.
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Zero points. 190 total yards.
Let me repeat that. The USC Trojans defense gave up zero points and allowed less than 200 yards of total offense. It is the first time since 2011 that USC has recorded a shutout, and this was with reserves playing most of the 2nd half.
Lincoln Riley Proving His USC Trojans Defense Is For Real
This unit just feels different. You can tell they are well coached, they are disciplined, and the scheme is sound. The tackling is night and day from last year, and every player is connected and focused on doing their job because they trust what their teammates are doing next to them.
They got their first sack of the season, ended with three, and their second interception when Easton Mascarenas-Arnold snagged a tipped ball.
Even when Utah State was able to gain a couple of first downs (finished with 10 total), the defense always clamped down and came up with a big stop forcing punts or a turnover on downs.
“It’s hard to shut people out in modern college football,” Lincoln Riley said during his post-game press conference.
To give a little bit more context, USC opened the 2023 season against San Jose State, Nevada, and Stanford. They gave up 28 points to San Jose State, 14 points to Nevada, and 10 to Stanford. But there were still glaring issues in those games.
Tackling was not sound. Broken plays happened too often. Bad penalties occurred.
None of that was an issue tonight.
As it was in the LSU game, tackling was dominant. Outside of one 20-yard run, zero big plays were given up. And USC as a team had a total of 4 penalties for 27 yards.
A truly dominant defensive performance.
The defensive line played great as a unit and Anthony Lucas put on another really solid performance, pressuring the quarterback and playing sound in his gaps.
Mascarenas-Arnold has proven to be the leader and stalwart of the defense, finishing with 7 total tackles and the INT as mentioned above.
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Kamari Ramsey is a menace on the backend finishing with 3 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
If Mascarenas-Arnold is the leader of the defense, Eric Gentry is the soul. He is a bottle full of energy and he plays like it every single snap. He had a standout performance finishing with 7 total tackles, 1 sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Again, I get that this is Utah State. USC should have done this. But the USC defense of the last two years would not have done this, proving that this unit is different.
How different?
That remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say that the positive trend is here to stay, and Lincoln Riley is proving that his USC Defense is for real.