Kirk Ferentz addresses 'drive-by scouting' comment on USC defense

Last bowl season Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz made comments that he felt the USC Trojans haven’t taken defense seriously in recent years and that it’s going to matter more now that they’re in the Big Ten Conference.

While at Big Ten Media Days, Ferentz was asked about those comments and if he’d spoken to Lincoln Riley about them.

“I have not,” Kirk Ferentz said. “It was just a takeaway from a bowl game they played in a couple of years ago, drive-by scouting, if you will, which is dangerous.”

The reality for USC is that the Trojans have had bad defenses in recent seasons, particularly under Lincoln Riley. Last year, the Trojans were ranked 121st out of 133 FBS teams in scoring defense, giving up 34.4 points per game. USC was also just 119th in total defense, allowing 432.8 yards per game. On top of that, they were only 86th in turnovers forced, with 16 on the season.

“It’s a curiosity to me because I know they’ve got good athletes. We’ve played them, and they’re a tough football team. At least they were when we played them five years ago,” Ferentz said.

“My guess is I know they’ve taken some steps, and my guess is they’re going to be really — we don’t play them this year, so that’s not our concern. They’re going to be a factor in our conference. I’ll go out on a limb and make that bowl prediction that they’ll be there when it’s all said and done.”

Kirk Ferentz isn’t the only person who has pointed out USC’s defensive issues over the years. It’s been a point of criticism for some time, similar to how Iowa’s offense has been criticized for its lack of success. In both cases, part of the frustration has been that the other side of the ball has been one of the best in the sport.

Heading into the Big Ten, Lincoln Riley and USC are making changes in the hopes of improving that defense. Former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has been replaced by D’Anton Lynn.

Lincoln Riley previews the challenge of revamping USC run defense in Big Ten

Lincoln Riley knows USC needs to be better on defense moving into the Big Ten. It’s a challenge he’s taking head-on.

“You coach better and you play better. It’s — there’s great examples of it happening. I mean, look at the guy that we hired as defensive coordinator. He authored a tremendous turnaround. I was a part of a similar turnaround at Oklahoma where we struggled a little bit the first year in a half that I was there. And then made a defensive change similar to this and then all of a sudden defense became a strength of that team,” Riley said.

“And so there’s a ton of examples of how it can happen and the answer is a little bit of everything.”