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USC vs. Arizona Report Card: Grading the Trojan Defense

By Alicia de Artola

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The USC Trojans found a way to limit the electric Arizona offense in Tuscon and survived another scare in the final minutes to eek out a 28-26 victory.

The bend-but-don’t-break nature of the defense succeeded in holding the Wildcats to just 13 points through three quarters, but a late flurry aided by some questionable refereeing decisions and an onside kick put the game on the edge late.

Here’s our report card for the USC defense in week seven.

A.

Since being embarrassed against Boston College for 452 yards on the ground, the Trojan defensive line has responded with force, holding the next three teams they have faced to an average of 55 rushing yards.

Against Arizona, they held one of the Pac-12’s top rushing offenses to a measly 86 yards rushing with a 2.7 yard per rush average.

In the pass rush, all three of the Trojan’s sacks on the night were generated by the men in the trenches.

There’s no question that the standout for this unit was Leonard Williams, who continues to showcase why he considered one of the top talents in the nation. With eight tackles, two sacks and a viciously forced fumble, Williams was an unstoppable force.

Delvon Simmons and Claude Pelon also put in strong performances as the latter logged a sack and the former finished with seven tackles.

. Standout. Leonard Williams. DEFENSIVE LINE

Standout. Su'a Cravens. LINEBACKER. B+.

The Trojans linebackers had another solid outing this week, with Hayes Pullard tying for the most tackles on the team and Su’a Cravens once more showing his nose for impact plays with a tackle in the backfield and an athletic high-flying pass break up.

A concern going into the game, Terris Jones-Grigsby wasn’t able to do damage in the passing game.

The only big negative to note was the mixed up coverage which allowed Arizona to score the first of their two fourth quarter touchdowns. Jared Baker was left open on a wheel route by Anthony Sarao and easily ran the ball into the endzone from 41 yards out because of it.

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B+

The Trojans linebackers had another solid outing this week, with Hayes Pullard tying for the most tackles on the team and Su’a Cravens once more showing his nose for impact plays with a tackle in the backfield and an athletic high-flying pass break up.

A concern going into the game, Terris Jones-Grigsby wasn’t able to do damage in the passing game.

The only big negative to note was the mixed up coverage which allowed Arizona to score the first of their two fourth quarter touchdowns. Jared Baker was left open on a wheel route by Anthony Sarao and easily ran the ball into the endzone from 41 yards out because of it.

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