Booger McFarland on USC: If you gave them the whole alphabet, don't know if they could spell defense

Booger McFarland didn’t hold back in taking a shot at the USC defense during Tuesday night’s initial College Football Playoff rankings reveal. The Trojans, which have already lost two games to this point, entered at No. 20 in the eyes of the committee.

It was a disappointing ranking for a team that entered the year with hopes of making the CFP, but McFarland noted in his comments on ESPN that USC can still play a factor in the Pac-12’s Playoff chances. However, he added that in order to do that, the defense has to get much better.

“They’re hanging in there,” he said. “The fact that they have Washington, Oregon and UCLA left on their schedule, they’re gonna play a major factor in what happens in the Pac-12. Especially if they can figure out how to spell defense. If you gave them the whole alphabet I don’t know if they could do that.”

The Trojans defense so far ranks tied for 95th in the country in yards allowed per play (5.9) and 111th in points allowed per game (32.6). They’ve been even worse over the past five contests, losing twice as they surrendered an average of 42.6 points.

As Booger McFarland said, that could prove an issue this week when USC runs into a Washington team that ranks top 10 in the country with 40.4 points per game. The Huskies, led by Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, they lead the nation with 399.0 passing yards per game.

The Trojans have an opportunity to play spoiler and make things interesting in the Pac-12 title race if they can come up with an upset. Caleb Williams and the offense can keep up, but they’ll certainly need the defense to come up with a few stops as well.

After that, USC takes on Oregon, which came in at No. 6 in the first CFP rankings. The Trojans then finish out the year against No. 19 UCLA, giving them a chance to pick up some quality wins with a Pac-12 title appearance still within reach.

It won’t be easy, as Kirk Herbstreit followed up to McFarland’s comments by noting the strength of the Pac-12. The conference managed to get six teams in the initial Playoff rankings and figures to get either one of Oregon or Washington in the Playoff.

“That’s the thing that stood out to me right there,” Herbstreit said. “Four teams 16-20 from the Pac-12. We’ve talked all year how impressed we’ve been in this last year of the conference. The depth of that conference. Here you have four teams just in that slate alone in the top 20.”

USC will get a chance to spoil those Playoff aspirations when it kicks off against Washington at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Los Angeles.