Alex Grinch isn't satisfied with USC Football's No. 1 pass rush in CFB

USC Football's pass rush has been the definition of relentless all season this year. The Trojans lead the nation in sacks (24). This defense is also tied for 11th in the country in tackles for loss (45). No matter what, this defense is always in the backfield when a play needs to be made, and they're always in the quarterback's face in general.

DL Tuli Tuipulotu leads the charge with a nation-leading seven sacks and a Power 5-leading 12.5 tackles for loss. He has been far from the only Trojan who's been impressive, however. Both DL Nick Figueroa and DL Solomon Byrd each have at least three sacks themselves. Everyone seems to be chipping in on the pass rush. Trojan Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch, however, still wants more:

Grinch is asking for 24 more sacks. The best part about this request is that it's obviously attainable, as SC's already proven they can pick up 24 sacks. Again, that's of course the number they've already hit. Grinch knows how dangerous his defense can be when they're on the type of pace they're on.

If SC keeps up this four sacks per game pace, they'd place within the top four marks in college football throughout the past ten years. Ryan Kartje of the LA Times found that on Twitter, and also found how this pass rush crew stacks up to where SC has been over the last ten years too:

This USC Football pass rush being much better than that strong 2012 pass rush speaks volumes to how well Alex Grinch is developing the SC D.

And why doubt that Alex Grinch and this USC Football pass rush can't continue sacking the QB at this rate? Grinch has already outperformed expectations as a DC by a landslide; taking this D from a unit that allowed 31.8 points per game last year (tied for 103rd in America) to a unit that only allows 18.67 points per game (27th in America). A huge part of that has of course been the pass rush.

It's clearly a very strong part of this team's identity, and something Grinch is going to feature when scheming for this defense. He also already clearly has ambitions to continue performing at this rate, and was clear in how he is not content with taking the foot off the gas at this point in the season.

Also, think about how many times SC has put pressure on the quarterback, but not brought him down. They lead the nation in sacks while still even leaving several on the field. They're only going to improve in the tackling department as the season progresses, if anything, as Grinch is still just six weeks into having his shot at developing the defense.

It's also going to improve as players get more comfortable playing at this level, and playing at this level consistently, as many players are playing more than Grinch maybe expected them to after starting Rush End Romello Height got hurt early on this year. This defense is elite at a couple of things, but perhaps most notably at getting to the quarterback and bringing him down.