USC goes to Corvallis knowing it has an offense which can light up the scoreboard and make lots of big plays. The Trojans go to the Pacific Northwest knowing they have a defense which has come up with a lot of red-zone stops and will probably need to replicate that formula if it is doing to escape Reser Stadium with a victory.
The obvious concern with a defense whose best plays occur in the red zone: What if an opponent doesn’t make mistakes in the red zone this time? Then what?
USC’s offense will need to be on top of its game, but that’s a separate conversation. The big question for USC’s defense is if it can somehow prevent Oregon State from getting into the red zone on a regular basis. That would mark a step forward for this group.
Let’s look at the foremost keys for the USC defense versus the Beavers: