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Should Lincoln Riley bring back Alex Grinch as USC's defensive coordinator?

USC's defense is statistically one of the worst in the country

USC's defense suffered an embarrassing meltdown on Friday night in the Pac-12 football championship game.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Trojans missed 24 tackles. The woeful tackling led to 30 second-half points from Utah in a 47-24 loss to the Utes

But that wasn't the first time Alex Grinch's defense has been gashed this season.

USC gave up 28 points to Stanford in its second game of the season - the most points the Cardinal scored all season outside of their 41-10 season-opening win over FCS opponent Colgate.

In the Trojans' 43-42 loss to Utah on Oct. 15 they allowed the Utes to roll up 562 yards of offense. One week later they allowed 543 yards of offense to Arizona in a 45-37 win.

Like all teams, USC had to deal with key injuries this season. But you can easily make the argument the Trojans' defense got worse as the season progressed. Throwing out the Colorado game, the Trojans gave up 39 points per game over the last six games of the season.

Statistically, USC's defense ranks in the bottom half of the country. They're No. 111 in passing yards allowed per game (266.5), No. 102 in total yards allowed per game (415) and No. 81 in points allowed (27.9). 

This begs the question: Should Lincoln Riley bring back Grinch as defensive coordinator?

Grinch made a name for himself as Washington State's defensive coordinator before being hired as Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator in 2018. He joined Riley in Oklahoma in 2019 and has been with him ever since. 

Grinch probably deserves another year to right the ship defensively, but Friday's woeful performance has many USC fans calling for changes. 

What do you think? Should Grinch be fired? Or does he deserve another year?

Cast your vote: