The positives and negatives from USC's defensive performance against Georgia Southern

The defense is in an interesting place at USC. Currently in year two under coach D'Anton Lynn, this has been a unit that has come under a lot of criticism during the coach Lincoln Riley tenure.

Long story short, the Trojans neglected absolutely vital elements of this unit, particularly on the line, for too long, and it caught up with the program. Now looking to make amends while adding the needed talent depth at all positions, it should not come as a surprise that the Trojan defense is not quite setting a national standard as of yet. That is certainly the goal, but it would be unreasonable, particularly after years of sanction effects and overlooked aspects, to expect that at this exact moment.

Even so, the Georgia Southern game left many concerned. Setting aside any feelings or potential emotional malice against coach Clay Helton, the defense showed two contrasting sides on Saturday at the Coliseum.

On the one hand, the pass rush looked very capable and pressured JC French IV enough to make him feel uncomfortable. By the same token, there were busts in coverage, penalties, and weaker conversion by the Eagles, which have some concerned for when USC lines up against Big Ten opponents.

Reason this needs to be fixed by USC ASAP

This is certainly a valid concern. It is known and was witnessed in 2024 what happens when even one self-inflicted mistake occurs. This conference tends to punish football that is not clean.

It is, of course, unreasonable to expect for there to never be a bust in the secondary. Offensive players inherently have the advantage, and someone is going to misread a route over the course of four quarters. It happens. The frequency and ease, however, with which these types of things do occur need to be tightened up by USC, with conference play set to begin with a trip to Purdue next and the schedule only getting more difficult from there.