As USC prepares for its Big Ten conference opener at Purdue on Saturday, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and his unit are focused on one word: consistency.
The Trojans enter their first road game of the season with momentum from a dominant start winning by 60 in Week 1and 39 in Week 2. However, lingering concerns about penalties and the pressure of breaking their Big Ten road losing streak weigh heavily as they prepare to face the Boilermakers in West Lafayette.
“We have the ability to be a really good defense but we need to be able to show that through the entirety of the game,” Lynn said Wednesday evening, addressing what he sees as the biggest need for his unit moving forward.
That consistency will be tested immediately against a Purdue offense that Lynn describes as remarkably efficient under first-year head coach Barry Odom.
“They’re a very, very efficient offense, I don’t think they’ve had any three-and-outs yet, they sustain drives,” Lynn said. “The way they tie in their run game with their RPO, with their screens, they have a lot of plays that make it easy to keep the chains going.”
The Boilermakers didn’t punt a single time against Southern Illinois last weekend and punted just three times against Ball State in Week 1.
One bright spot for the Trojans has been the emergence of senior defensive end Anthony Lucas, who recorded his first two career sacks against Georgia Southern last week. The veteran, who started six games last season before suffering a season-ending injury, is finally seeing his patience pay off.
“He’s been rushing the quarterback great in practice, he’s a guy that can rush from different angles, rush off the edge, inside, we can do some stuff with him off the ball,” Lynn said. “We’re always trying to find different ways to allow him to impact the game.”
For Lucas, the breakthrough was about execution and trust in his coaching.
“I knew I wanted to execute the calls coach Lynn gave me, get free of my man and impact the team,” Lucas said of his two-sack performance.
The depth along the defensive line has met Lynn’s expectations in terms of bodies available to play, giving the Trojans the rotation they need for Big Ten competition. Lucas credited that depth for his success, noting that it’s been “really great having the reassurance of the interior and having big guys to help me and stuff the middle.”
Lynn also praised sophomore linebacker Desman Stephens II and his adjustment to the demands of directing traffic on the defense.
“[Stephens II] has been great, it’s a lot you know. You have to get the call, sit at the front, talk to all of the positions, and for him it being his first year out there. He’s doing an outstanding job,” Lynn said.
The Trojans are expected to finalize their cornerback rotation as they transition out of non-conference play. Players like redshirt freshmen Braylon Conley and Marcelles Williams, along with redshirt senior SJSU transfer DJ Harvey among others have been competing for snaps, but Lynn indicated the rotation will be streamlined moving forward.
Perhaps the most pressing issue facing USC is a rash of penalties that have plagued the team’s early success. Against Georgia Southern, the Trojans were flagged for three hands-to-the-face penalties in the first half alone, with two coming on first down..
In contrast, the Boilermakers have only committed five penalties, the lowest in the Big Ten and second lowest in the country.
Head coach Lincoln Riley has attributed these infractions due to a “lack of discipline,” emphasizing that such penalties must be eliminated as USC faces more talented Big Ten opponents.
Lynn echoed those concerns, noting the emphasis on cleaning up technique during practice.
“It’s something we’ve been putting a big emphasis on in practice, we have to practice how we play,” Lynn said. “Penalties like that can kill drives.”
He also noted similarities between Purdue’s offense and USC’s own scheme, which has aided in preparation. Lucas highlighted quarterback Ryan Browne as “a good runner, gets out of the pocket a lot, they do a lot of screen games and reads RPOs well.”
With their first Big Ten road test of the season looming, USC’s defense knows its margin for error will shrink. If the Trojans can pair their early flashes of dominance with discipline and consistency, Saturday could mark both a step forward and a statement as a legitimate Big Ten contender.
USC and Purdue will kick off at 12:30 p.m. PST at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.