USC Football: Writer Wonders If Trojans' Defensive Issues Will Cost Them Later
The USC Trojans defense looked like a much-improved unit through the first few weeks of the new college football season. The defense cost them last season, but over the offseason, the Trojans decided to put major emphasis on the unit.
But after week four, the Trojans are left with a similar feeling about their defense despite getting the win over the weekend. USC took down Arizona State on the road, but they allowed 28 points to the Sun Devils and, at times, looked lost out there.
“Chief among them is how their defense will hold up against those contenders, when it struggled at times to stop the Sun Devils, who hadn’t scored in six quarters coming into Saturday and were down to their third-string quarterback.”.
To the credit of the Trojans, the unit did step up when it mattered most, but questions are still there. Nobody ever believed this team would become a defensive juggernaut, but having issues against a team like Arizona State wasn't on the bingo card for many.
“We want the hard games,” linebacker Tackett Curtis said. “Nobody wants just the easy win — that’s what we live for, the hard games. We live for the pressure.”
There is still plenty to learn from this game moving forward. The Trojans know that they need to be better, and they can take away the fact that they still won a road conference game by two touchdowns.
“That won’t fly against better Pac-12 offenses, starting next week in Colorado, where USC will face an explosive group that was just embarrassed on a national stage by the Ducks and will no doubt be out to prove itself again. The schedule doesn’t let up after that, either.”
But if the defense doesn't improve for the Trojans, they will have no chance to reach their goal of winning a National Championship. Their schedule only gets more challenging as the season progresses, so they must correct things sooner rather than later.
Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Trojans!
