After an 11-1 regular season, USC football’s postseason play can only be described as forgettable. Though sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams capped off his magical year with a Heisman Trophy, on the field the Trojans fell just short of a College Football Playoff appearance and a Cotton Bowl win.
What was the largest shortcoming for the Trojans, though?
The defense.
There were some upsides for the defense as the Trojans forced 29 turnovers this season — tied for fifth in the country. Those can be credited to defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s schemes that proved to be fantastic in forcing turnovers. However, when it came to the most basic of defensive attributes — stopping the football — Grinch’s strategies failed.
The Trojan defense was 80th in total rush defense and 112th in passing yards allowed. To make matters worse, USC also gave up a whopping 6.5 yards per play. Against Tulane, USC gave up 305 total rushing yards and let junior running back Tyjae Spears go for 205 of those yards and four — count ‘em, four — touchdowns. The Green Wave averaged 10.4 yards per play. To put that in perspective, Colorado, arguably the worst defense in college football, allowed 7.2 yards per play on the season. Though Tulane is a formidable opponent, the Trojans’ defense shouldn’t have collapsed the way it did.
Let’s give Grinch some vindication — the offense didn’t help the team out much either in the closing minutes. After electing to run the ball on the one-yard line, leading to a safety that put the USC defense in a difficult position.
However, it is a common theme that this defense undercuts the offense. Tulane had the ball for 19 less minutes than USC did. Throughout the game, the Trojan offense marched down the field methodically. Then, the defense stepped on the field, and it felt like Tulane was going to score every single play.
If you’ve watched any USC football games this season, you can probably guess what the defense’s biggest flaw was — tackling. Missing tackles is no new problem for the Trojan defense. Against Utah in the Pac-12 championship, USC missed 24 tackles en route to a 23-point loss.
Another issue was the gaping holes in the secondary. The two biggest plays from the Green Wave offense were simple five-yard slants across the middle of the field. The schemes Grinch draws up generally do not cover the middle of the field. Back in November when Cal nearly beat the Trojans, the Golden Bears offense found success with straight slants, allowing them to change it up and throw it deep.
These two problems of big holes in the secondary and the inability to tackle have been consistent themes this entire season for the Trojan defense.
So what has to change?
Obviously Grinch cannot be blamed for everything. However, this USC team was eerily similar to past Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch-led Oklahoma teams that had incredible high-scoring offenses, but also defenses that were easily bested and often cost the Sooners big games. I’d like to say that the Trojans can just keep building the defense through the transfer portal, and — to Grinch’s credit — they have grabbed some good players from the portal. At a certain point though, it will come down to a coach’s ability to call good formations and teach proper tackling techniques. I’m just not sure USC can trust Grinch especially after his past years at Oklahoma.
In particular, there is one solution to this poor defense that I would suggest the Trojans explore: Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
The Badgers had a strong defense this season, allowing offenses allowing only 303 yards and 20 points per game. With new head coach Luke Fickell joining the Badgers, Leonhard may look to other opportunities. While unlikely, it’s possible Leonhard would like to bring his stout defensive mindset to sunny Los Angeles to be on the staff of one of the best coaches in college football.
It is my belief that Riley wants to give Grinch a chance to build his own defense before he calls it quits on his defensive coordinator of four years. That makes it highly implausible Grinch and USC part ways after this season, but many Trojan fans, including myself, are ready for a change, and I will be a strong supporter of the #LeonhardtoSC movement.