Lincoln Riley evaluates USC's defense after win over Stanford

USC’s defense does the dirty work, and it does it well. After USC’s 56-10 win over Stanford in Week 2, head coach Lincoln Riley evaluated his team’s defense.

“We essentially gave up three points — that’s pretty good,” Riley said. “We played good defense, we got pressure on the quarterback. The power read got out a couple times on us and really other than that there wasn’t much else. We caused turnovers, we did pretty much everything that really, really good defenses do.”

Stanford scored its only touchdown of the game against USC’s second-string defenders with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter. Although the Trojans only gave up 10 points in the win, they still allowed 349 yards. The number isn’t unusual for USC.

In three games, USC has allowed 368.3 yards per game, ranking 81st in the country. Nonetheless, no team has come within 28 points of the Trojans. USC’s defense isn’t perfect, but they’re getting the job done. Riley expected nothing less.

“Everybody is going to write the narrative after the first game. It’s going to be a climb,” Riley said after USC’s season opener. “I like what I see out there in terms of our good plays, how our guys are flying around, and the depth that we have. We will continue to improve the baseline for that group.

“The ceiling for that group is much higher than it was 12 months ago. No matter what the score was,” Riley said. “If this was a three-point game, 28-point game or 50-point game — there’s going to be that climb to the next step. That’s where our focus is going to stay. I love what we have in there. We have a lot of work to do, and we’re the right people to get it done.”

Statistics back up USC’s improvement

There’s no denying the Trojans’ defense is in a better place than it was last year. In 2022, USC ranked in the 100s nationally in total defense, yards per play allowed, rushing yards per play and passing defense. USC’s advanced metrics were even worse, placing No. 127 (last among Power 5) in success rate and EPA.

Now, USC boasts a Top 50 defense in SP+. Moreover, The Trojans’ success rate ranks 62nd — more than a 60-team jump from a year ago. Against Nevada and Stanford, they had 10 TFLs apiece — something that never happened twice all of 2022.

After a BYE week to recover, USC’s defense will look to continue to improve. On Saturday, USC will square off against Arizona State at 7:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on FOX.