USC Football Defensive Preview

Oh it's stinky, smelly, yucky, the whole nine yards

Sione Vaki rumbling for more yards against USC

The Basics

• The Trojans are led by DC Alex Grinch

  • USC runs a mix of base 3-4 and 3-3-5 variation

  • Cal last played an Alex Grinch defense last year in the Coliseum (41-35 USC win)

  • Trojans haven’t been able to stop the run nor defend the pass, their lifelines rest on sacks, TFL’s, and creating turnovers

2022 Defense in Review

• FEI Ratings: 106th on defense

• Gave up 29.2 points per game last season

• was 2nd in the conference in sacks, led the league in interceptions

USC’s defense both last year and this season has been nothing short of a tirefire when they weren’t in the backfield or generating turnovers. Tuli Tuipulotu was a game wrecker along the defensive line, but there wasn’t really much else to glean anywhere else. Linebackers couldn’t fit run gaps, safeties were getting beat on double moves, and of course there are the typical after the play personal foul penalties. In games against Arizona, UCLA, Cal, both matchups against Utah, and in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane, the USC defense was not up to the task in any respect. You could be forgiven for thinking an Alex Grinch defense needs another year to develop but as we’ve found out…….things are not looking good in South Central.

USC Depth Chart

The Provisional Starters

DL Solomon Byrd, DL Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, DL Bear Alexander (suspended for the first half against Cal for targeting)

LB Jamil Muhammad, LB Mason Cobb, LB Tackett Curtis

CB Domani Jackson, S Calen Bullock, S Jaylin Smith, S Bryson Shaw, CB Christian Roland-Wallace

Players to Watch

USC as a whole doesn’t have a plethora of players that will make you pay like some other defenses in the Pac 12. However, they live and die by setting you behind the chains (when you’re not running it down their throats). Solomon Byrd and Jamil Muhammad have combined for 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss on the season by shooting gaps and consistently being in the backfield. The Trojans as a whole haven’t been as productive against the pass really in any facet other than sacks. Their linebackers are not getting it done in coverage, and the secondary is getting shredded more than cheese. Nickleback Jaylin Smith and safety Calen Bullock lead the team in tackles but if you ask me, unlike Utah, its a damnation because of how out of position they are as a unit on a given basis.

*DL Bear Alexander coming back in the second half gives me some pause if the Cal offensive line isn’t holding up

How Cal can win this game

If the Bears are going to upset USC, they simply need to stay on schedule. If Fernando Mendoza sees pressure coming his way, he can’t take a sack. Limiting the number of TFLs in the run game will also be crucial because otherwise USC cannot be effective in any respect whatsoever. If Cal can be as on schedule as they were against Oregon State in Mendoza’s first start, then they will be in the game down the stretch. There isn’t much bigger picture analysis that needs to be had.

This USC defense is not good. If the Bears can hold their blocks, open up holes for Jaydn Ott and Isaiah Ifanse, and most importantly give Fernando Mendoza time to throw, I expect Cal to put up at least 31 points. This is one of the rare matchups where its an expectation that Cal needs to put up droves of points, and I hope they are up to the task.