USC Football: Alex Grinch Finds Positives in His Defense Despite Backlash After Week 0 Win

There were both positives and negatives from the win last weekend.

Entering the new season, the biggest question mark on the USC Trojans was how their defense would hold up. The team almost reached the College Football Playoff last season with a very poor defense, but some summer transfers and upgraded talent across the board have the Trojans excited.

Now, a Lincoln Riley-led team likely will never have a top-tier defensive unit; that's just now his style of the team. But if the Trojans were to be able to get their guys into a "bend but don't break" style for the season, the USC goals could be accomplished.

In their opening game victory over the San Jose State Spartans, USC showed some positive signs on defense. It's something that, hopefully, they can continue using going forward into the season.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is under a lot of pressure this season to make sure that his unit doesn't fall short of expectations. He spoke about his guy's performance against the Spartans.

“But the percentages are way tilted in the positive direction,”

Grinch said

. “I’m not really a rose-colored glasses type of guy, but you can’t ignore that. The percentage of plays that I thought we played at a high-level were obviously good. And it’s football. That ball makes like water, it’s going to find the crack. Where we’re deficient obviously showed up.”

Per SaturdayOutWest.com

Against San Jose State, there were some slip-ups. But overall, the Trojans looked much better on that side of the ball.

"Grinch also acknowledged the relative inexperience of several players on the defensive side of the ball — at least within the Trojans’ scheme"

Per SaturdayOutWest.com

If they can continue to get better each week, USC could have something. They have been known for their strong defenses in the past, and that's something that the program wants to get back to.

The Trojans have their next test ahead of them this weekend when they welcome in the Nevada Wolf Pack to the LA Coliseum.