USC Football: Reporter Criticizes This Element Of Trojans' Game In Latest Win

Undefeated but not indestructible.

Your USC Trojans continued ran their win streak to start the 2023 season to five games on Saturday, but they also failed to quiet doubters in the victory against the Colorado Buffaloes. 

Lincoln Riley's roster beat the Buffaloes last Saturday morning in a 48-41 win, yet questions remain rampant on the topic of their defensive unit, specifically in Week 5's second half. 

The coach might be right, it’s not necessarily all the same issues plaguing the Trojans’ defense. But it is the same

issue

. They’re giving up too many yards and too many points. And even if they haven’t technically gotten a problem wrong yet, a quick check of their work will show that they’re going to fail a test soon when it’s No. 7 Washington or No. 8 Oregon they’re trying to solve. Or maybe even next week when they face Arizona quarterback Jayde de Laura, who is averaging 307 passing yards per game,

third-most in the Pac-12

. Go ahead, kids, point at the scoreboard and recite “a win is a win is a win” as often as you like.

via Mirjam Swanson, The OC Register

The Trojans now sit ninth after another unconvincing win in conference play thanks in large part to their suspect defense down the stretch at Boulder. 

Fresh from their shaky performance against unranked Arizona State, the Men of Troy seemed to hit the snooze button as Shadeur Sanders and the Buffalo offense sliced and diced their way through the final 30 minutes of game time. 

National championship aspirations continue to slip USC's grasps because as great as Caleb Williams is, Oregon and Washington's more proven units showed more to AP voters in the recent polls. 

Heisman aspirations are still very much on the table for the Trojans' signal caller, but his defensive unit may prevent the ultimate prize as it did last season in the Pac-12 championship. 

Their next test come against another unranked conference opponent Arizona and all eyes are surely on upset watch for Alex Grinch's side of the ball. 

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