USC vs. Washington Report Card: Grading the Trojan Defense

C+. The Trojan defensive line continued to struggle with controlling the trenches, though the situation was not as dire as has been in previous games. The trouble is that Washington’s offensive line is as inexperienced a line as USC will face this season, so a better showing was expected. Delvon Simmons led the unit with eight tackles while Greg Townsend Jr. came away with 1.5 tackles for loss.. Standout. Delvon Simmons. DEFENSIVE LINE

B. Freshman linebackers like Cameron Smith, Osa Masina and Porter Gustin stood out with positive performances against the Huskies. Smith in particular proved himself as sure as tackler as USC has on the roster. Su’a Cravens was his usual self.. Standout. Cameron Smith. LINEBACKER

D. The best thing you could say about the Trojan cornerbacks was that they were very lucky to be facing a freshman quarterback Jake Browning on such an off day. From Adoree’ Jackson down the line, the cornerbacks left receivers open regularly, Browning just failed to hit them accurately. Iman Marshall did lay a big hit.. Standout. Iman Marshall. CORNERBACK

Like the cornerbacks, the safeties were fortunate to escape several situations unscathed as Browning struggled to find his receivers deep despite the room to work. Leon McQuay had a nice pass break up and Chris Hawkins led the unit in tackles, but Marvel Tell had his strongest performance to date.. Standout. Marvell Tell. SAFETIES. C

Justin Wilcox. COACHING. C. Considering the situations the defense was put into, its a wonder that Washington did not score more points. It is hard to judge when the Husky offense was so inept at times, but the Trojan defense did their job, especially in the fourth quarter when they generated two big stops. Still, the issue of generating pressure persists.. Standout