Alex Grinch says USC coaches watched film immediately after loss

While the USC Trojans’ loss to the Utah Utes barely happened on Saturday night, it was still fairly predictable, as ESPN’s Paul Finebaum pointed out in a podcast with Matt Barrie on Sunday. The Trojans were dealt a heartbreaking 43-42 loss, their first of the season, by Cam Rising and Utah. It was a tough pill for USC to swallow and it was immediately easy to see by looking at their players’ reactions following the game. Trojans’ defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said it didn’t take long before the coaching staff started watching film on their iPads.

“Within 10 minutes of the end, you’re on your iPad watching that loss. Just because it stings, it burns. I mean, you work your tail off and these guys do. And then the coaching staff does. And we understand the expectation at USC. And then we understand when we don’t get the outcome that we want. It’s on us. We take ownership in it. We tell the guys, ‘If we own it, we’ve got a chance to do something about it.’ If we point fingers and make excuses–do the well maybe this clause or maybe this should have happened,” Grinch said.

“And suddenly you feel better. We don’t feel good right now. And then I guess, the double-edged sword of a bye week is we don’t have to feel good. We don’t have to flip the script. We’re not over it. We’re competitors. That’s just what it is….But guess what, on the bus, it’s too late. So, you lick your wounds and onto the next one,” Grinch said.

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Utah had a masterful performance from quarterback Cam Rising–he shredded the Trojan defense for 475 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns. The Trojans’ secondary could find no answer for tight end Dalton Kincaid, who hauled in 234 receiving yards and a touchdown on 16 catches.

While the Trojans’ try to flush the painful loss to Utah out of their minds, there is still plenty to play for in the rest of the 2022-2023 season and they’ve still got one of the nation’s most explosive offensive attacks. Sure, an undefeated season and College Football Playoff berth are both out of the question, but that doesn’t mean the Trojans can’t end up in an excellent bowl game at season’s end against a top-notch opponent. There is still plenty of football left to be played.