USC Football: Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch Faces Criticism After Poor Showing
Coming into the season, the biggest spotlight on the USC Trojans football team was how their defense would hold up. Last season, the defense let the team down, so this offseason, the Trojans were committed to improving that side of the ball.
They knew that the defense had to improve to reach their goals of reaching the College Football Playoff and ultimately winning the National Championship. They brought in multiple transfers to the program to help with things, and through the first three weeks of the new year, things were looking good.
But over the weekend, the defense seemed to resort back to their old ways against Arizona State. They allowed 28 points to a team that has struggled to put any offensive consistency on the field, and at times, the defense looked lost.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch came into the year on the hot seat, but after this performance by his defense, he will be under the microscope even more going forward. While they did escape with the two-touchdown victory, the Trojans know that in order to stay competitive, they need to be better.
They aren't going to be able to perform like this against better teams, and their schedule gets tough from here on out. USC heads to Boulder for a matchup against the Colorado Buffalos this coming weekend; they come home for a game against Arizona. They then take on top-ranked Notre Dame and Utah in back-to-back weeks.
So if the defense can't improve things, the Trojans could be in for a world of trouble in mid-October. They will need to make sure that they learn from this game and fix any issues that they have.
USC won't ever be a top-tier defensive unit, but they need to get to the point of "bending without breaking." If they can do that, Grinch's job will be safe, and the Trojans could very well be the team many hope they can be this season.
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