USC defense is in safe, capable hands under coach D'Anton Lynn

For many USC fans, the thought of seeing a nine-win, let alone a double-digit win season, is unfathomable. Trojan skeptics mostly fall within two camps. They either do not believe in Jayden Maiva to lead the offense and/or the scary sight of a porous defense is too much to overlook.

Part of why there are voices within the USC fan base who are hopeful is because of how coach Lincoln Riley has addressed and admitted to some of his recent past shortcomings. More importantly, he is putting into action a plan to improve on the Trojan areas of weakness.

It is unknown if the fruits of those efforts will showcase themselves in 2025. Coach Riley is making an effort to make the needed adjustments. Even in the unlikely event of his departure from the program, the next head coach will be in a better position because of what this program has undertaken, particularly since the arrival of Chad Bowden.

An additional notable addition to this staff, defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, is now entering his second full season at USC. Formerly at UCLA and in the NFL, coach Lynn's track record speaks for itself.

When considering the veteran players on defense, particularly on the line of scrimmage, and some of the newcomers, there is a lot to like about coach Lynn being in his second season in charge of this unit at USC.

Looking to at a minimum exceed current expectations of USC defense

There will always be a degree of doubt from a sizeable portion of the fan base until the improvement itself manifests on the field. Projecting forward and looking at prior coach Lynn stops from his coaching experiences, it is hard to see the Trojan defense taking a step back or being nearly as bad as some are claiming it will be.

Depending on how the offense ends up looking, the defense may only need to not be terrible in order for the Trojans to reel off a number of wins this year. Even if that ends up being the case, however, coach Lynn is someone who will constantly push for improvement and will want to mold this USC unit into one of the best in the nation.