USC Football: Trojans Linebackers Come Under Fire Yet Again For ASU Defense

Things need to change quickly.

Multiple position groups failed to showcase their best against the Sun Devils for national title contenders USC during their close week four win. 

One writer expressed significant disappointment in the Trojans' linebacking corps for their poor tackling and the endless pockets of space given to Arizona State's playmakers all evening long. 

LINEBACKERS: F Two key points here: First, Mason Cobb didn’t play against Stanford or Nevada, so he was rusty. He hadn’t played since August 26 in the opener against San Jose State. It could be that Cobb was just out of rhythm in his return to action. Hopefully that’s all this is.The second point: Even if you allow for Cobb’s rust, the objective assessment of his performance can only be that he was not good. The linebackers — Cobb, Eric Gentry, and others — missed a lot of tackles and did not make the forward steps we need to see. Good teams are going to blow these guys away if this is how they’re going to play for the rest of the season. They flunked.

via Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire

Poor tackling ultimately ended the Trojans' season last year after many of USC's units failed to get Utah on the ground in the pivotal Pac-12 championship loss. 

Fears have already started to float about the overreliance of Caleb Williams to carry the rest of the roster to victory on any given weekend. 

Such a fear becomes increasingly apparent after the slightest underwhelming showing from the Heisman caused a near-upset loss just a month into their season. 

Though USC eventually conquered their unranked conference opponent, such a struggle to get there doesn't exactly bode well for their hopeful place in college football's final four. 

Lincoln Riley's bunch have their work cut out for them in week five as his linebackers and defensive unit take on Colorado's talented Shadeur Sanders early Saturday morning.