How the Grinch Stole USC's College Football Playoff Hopes

Alex Grinch has ruined the seasons of one of College Football's greatest quarterbacks.

When Lincoln Riley was shockingly hired away from Oklahoma to join the University of Southern California on Nov. 28, 2021, a feeling of hope circulated the Trojans' football program.

Riley, who had been with Oklahoma since 2015 and the team's head coach since 2017, didn't seem to be one of the candidates to move schools in an offseason that saw tons of coach movement.

The Trojans saw many of their potential suitors sign elsewhere, and fans everywhere began to question who would possibly run this team moving forward.

Those same fans had just suffered through years of mediocrity with Clay Helton at the helm, concluding with a transitional year of Donte Williams after Helton was fired following a 1-1 start.

But USC had already lost their lore as one of College Football's top programs, and they needed someone to bring it back. And since there was no chance Pete Carroll would ever return to relive the glory days, there was truly no one better for the job than Lincoln Riley.

Riley brought over his 55-10 record, his three College Football Playoff appearances, and his ability to mentor Heisman-winning quarterbacks. He also brought his innate ability to recruit prospects and, in the new age of College Football, recruit transfers — and none were bigger than his five-star quarterback from Oklahoma, Caleb Williams.

Together, Riley and Williams were ready to take the College Football world by storm — and they did just that. 

In their first season at USC, the Trojans got off to a quick 6-0 start and only had one close call — a 17-14 win at Oregon State where Williams endured the worst game of his young career.

However, all was going well for the Trojans until they dropped a shootout against Utah, 43-42, to move to 6-1 on the year. Usually, 42 points gets the job done — but unfortunately, this was only a sign of things to come.

Williams and the Trojans were able to respond with five straight wins, but their defense didn't do them any favors, allowing 37, 35, 45, and 27 points in four of the five games.

And when Williams hurt his hamstring in the Pac-12 title game against Utah, the Trojans' porous defense proved just how much of a liability they were, as the Utes steamrolled the Trojans en route to a 47-24 victory.

USC ended up in the Cotton Bowl, where their defense allowed 46 points and the offense collapsed late in a 46-45 loss to Tulane. Usually, though, 45 points gets the job done.

Was it a successful Year 1 in Southern California for Riley and Williams considering the state of the program the year prior? Probably. But Year 2 had much larger expectations.

This season, the Trojans entered as the No. 6 team in the country, as everyone saw what now Heisman-winning QB Caleb Williams and head coach Lincoln Riley could do together.

Only problem? That defense that plagued the team throughout 2022 didn't have any significant changes made.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch remained in charge, and in his second year at USC with Riley, things have gone from bad to significantly, significantly worse.

The Trojans gave up 28 points in their season opener against San Jose State, which immediately had some USC fans sounding the alarm. But back-to-back efforts allowing 14 and 10 to Nevada and Stanford, respectively, had Trojan fans looking past a weak defense as this team seemed destined for greatness.

Then, suddenly, the defensive issues became too great to ignore.

The Trojans escaped with a win against the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils, a team that was shut out by the Fresno State Bulldogs just a week prior. Yes, shut out.

Then, the Trojans went to Colorado to face Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, where they allowed 41 points and barely eked out a 48-41 win.

But it would only get worse.

Back home against the Arizona Wildcats, Grinch's defense allowed 41 points in a 3OT game, with Williams' heroics allowing the Trojans to stay undefeated.

But that wouldn't last long, as a trip to Notre Dame would see the wheels fall off for the Trojans in the form of a 48-20 beatdown.

Then, when USC lost 33-31 to Utah the very next week, gone were their hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance, and the only place to point blame was the defense.

Surely that would spell the end of Grinch's tenure, right? Especially considering he made an excuse for Utah's wheel routes saying it wasn't on film when that exact play was, in fact, literally on film.

Well not only did it not spell the end of Grinch at USC, but somehow, some way, things got worse.

The very next week, the Trojans played against the lowly Cal Bears in the final matchup of the historic rivalry.

This felt like a perfect game for the Trojans to get back on track with a big win, as they looked ahead to a daunting stretch that included Washington, Oregon, and UCLA.

But instead, this almost became the game that made the Trojans the laughingstock of the elite College Football teams.

Williams and the Trojans needed 21 straight fourth-quarter points to hang on — and I mean hang on — to a 50-49 victory. A missed two-point conversion from Cal ended up sealing the win for the Trojans, but it was hard to feel even remotely good about that victory.

For a little context on that game, the Bears entered it having scored 29.9 points per game and averaging 407.3 yards per game.

The Trojans allowed 49 points and 527 total yards of offense. Unacceptable.

Former USC QB Matt Leinart called for change to be made to the program. So, too, did former USC No. 1 overall pick Keyshawn Johnson.

And yet, Grinch kept his job, and even worse, had to prepare for a date with the No. 5 ranked Washington Huskies — one of College Football's premier offenses. That game went the way just about every single College Football fan expected.

Williams and the Trojans offense fired on all cylinders, but Washington responded each and every time. Williams had to play nearly perfect football — and while trying to extend a play before the half in a 28-28 game, fumbled the ball. The Huskies picked it up, scored a touchdown a few plays later before the half, and took their first lead of the game — 35-28 — heading into halftime.

The Trojans' defense was better in the second half, but better isn't saying much when your opponent scores over 50 points.

Again, Williams and the offense had to be perfect — and when they weren't in the fourth quarter and had to punt on one drive, the game got away and USC lost their third game in four weeks.

Overall, the Trojans defense allowed Washington to score 52 points and accumulate 572 total yards of offense. A whopping 316 of them came on the ground.

I played defense a long time. My entire career. I’ve played in almost every defensive scheme or system you can come up with at 3 different positions D1 & Pro… There have been times tonight I’m absolutely lost on some of the coverages and gap responsibilities of these players 😵‍💫 https://t.co/FWCJyY8UHi

— Su’a (@iammsuzy) November 5, 2023

USC entered the last two seasons with high expectations and is about to come away with nothing to show for it. Last year they were 10-2, lost the Pac-12 Championship Game and lost the Cotton Bowl. This year, they're now 7-3 and still have to play Oregon in Eugene and their bitter rival UCLA. Their dreams of winning the Pac-12 are all but gone, and their future only brings more questions.

Williams is a lock to declare for the NFL Draft in a few months, and Riley will be forced to start over with a new quarterback — one who's unlikely to be as generational as Williams has been at USC.

Defensive recruits are sure to have doubts coming over to play for this program, especially as they move to a physical and more difficult conference in the Big Ten.

While USC has made strides in returning to be one of College Football's premier schools, they've been held back by one of the game's worst defensive coordinators.

Grinch will likely be fired well before the beginning of next season — his firing could come as soon as this week. But the stain he's left on this program will be felt for years to come. And Trojan fans will always be left to ask what could have been with Williams and Riley at USC.