USC Football: Defense Developed In Game 2, Per Writer

They are showing signs of improvement from last season.

The new college football season is now underway after a thrilling first few weeks. The USC Trojans improved their record to 2-0 on the season after a dominating victory over Nevada this weekend.

But through the first two games, the Trojans are who we all expected them to be. A high-powered offensive unit that can put up video game numbers. But the biggest question surrounding this team was their defense.

Without a strong defensive unit, the Trojans hopes of becoming National Champions was always going to be a pipedream. But through two games, the defense has looked much better than last season, and there is hope that they will continue to improve as the year goes on.

Against Nevada, the defense showed some glimpses of what they could be, leading to a complete team win.

“Saturday was different. Sixth-ranked USC dominated Nevada on both sides of the ball (!) in a 66-14 blowout victory that bumped the Trojans to 2-0 entering the first game of their final season of Pac-12 play”

Per Mirjam Swanson of The OC Register

The Trojans spent this entire offseason understanding that they wouldn’t go anywhere without a decent defense. It’s why defensive coordinator Alex Grinch came into the year on the hot seat, but it seems that they have learned some things.

USC was missing some players on Saturday, but that didn’t stop them from putting on a show. They made the Wold Pack offense look lost at times and held the bend but don’t break approach.

“Facing Nevada for the first time since 1929, USC gave up 360 total yards – and 150 of those came on two passing plays. Otherwise, the Trojans held Nevada to just two touchdowns, bookends in a blowout, and forced them to go three-and-out six times.”

Per Mirjam Swanson of The OC Register

The Trojans high-powered offense is going to help them win a lot of games, but the defense will help turn them from a good team to a great one. They are still learning together, but the results have seen them looking like a team that is growing.