Greg McElroy weighs in on where USC goes from here after loss to Minnesota

After a 2-0 start, USC has come out of their first bye to lose two of three in their first games in the Big Ten. That has put the Trojans in real trouble according to Greg McElroy.

McElroy had some takeaways on USC during ‘Always College Football’ on Monday. That started with some optimism as he does think they’re close with a snap or so being the difference in them being 3-2 and 5-0.

“I really like SC. I think they’re really good,” said McElroy. “Are they a play or two here or there away from being undefeated? Absolutely. Make a tackle against Kalel Mullings when you have him bodied up on a big run? You win the game. You look at this past weekend. Have better protection on the right side? It doesn’t lead to the interception. You might win the game.”

However, their play in the trenches has become a concern again from what he has noted over their last three.

“The question about USC and Lincoln Riley has always been about how will his teams play along both lines of scrimmage. That’s always been the question,” said McElroy. “I think it’s a fair critique given how his teams played at the end of his tenure at Oklahoma and at the beginning of his tenure at USC.”

McElroy forgave the struggles of their lines to some extent against Michigan considering that’s specifically a strength of theirs. Still, despite a win in between, the Trojans have not been as good inside lately from what he saw again last weekend when they took a loss at Minnesota.

“They made a necessary change and the results from the D’Anton Lynn hire have been significantly better until this past weekend. Even against the Michigan rushing attack?…They didn’t handle it well as the game went along but, for the most part, I came out of that thinking, man, SC is better along the defensive front than they were last year even though they just gave up a million yards on the ground and just gave up a two-minute drill in which Michigan didn’t even throw the ball to win the game,” said McElroy. “Then we fast forward to this weekend and I see Minnesota rushed for nearly 200. This is a group that has not faired very well in the beginning of the season.

“Pass protection, I think at times, has been a little dicey…You’re able to point to the Michigan game and say that’s Michigan. They’ve got dudes up front defensively, right. So allowing 21 pressures, six quarterback hits, and four sacks against Michigan? We came away from that saying Michigan is just that good on that side of the ball,” McElroy continued. “Then we fast forward to this past weekend. SC is sitting there with a seven-point lead, chance to kind of wear things down with 10 minutes to go. Third & five at Minnesota’s 30-yard line. You get beat on the right side, hits Miller Moss, ball floats up into the air, and it’s intercepted. Minnesota then goes on to score 14 unanswered points to swipe the victory. Pass protection is something that clearly needs to improve or needs to get more consistent.”

Again, it’s been much discussed as far as how their team would evolve, especially now in the Big Ten. An adjustment is still needed, though, and needed soon with what’s still to come this season, including this weekend in Los Angeles.

“They’re against the ropes. It’s probably not a situation where they can lose more than one more down the stretch and still make the playoffs. Guess who’s coming to town this weekend? That’d be Penn State, a team that I think is one of the best in the sport,” said McElroy. “They better get better and they better get better in a hurry if you are USC.”