Alex Grinch is no longer employed by USC. He will not coach another game at USC, including the upcoming Holiday Bowl against Louisville. He no longer has anything to do with USC football, and yet his overall Trojan track record took one last night on Saturday night.
Even though Grinch wasn’t coaching on Saturday night — he might have been Christmas shopping, for all we know — the former USC defensive coordinator endured one last taste of embarrassment.
In the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern, the pig farmer who embarrassed Grinch and USC got smacked around. Bryson Barnes and Utah rode the struggle bus in Vegas.
Against Northwestern, Barnes threw for just 55 yards. Against USC, he threw for 235 yards.
Against Northwestern, Barnes didn’t throw a touchdown pass. Against USC, he threw three.
Against Northwestern, the Utah offense managed just 211 yards. Against USC, 482 yards.
In both games — Northwestern and USC — Utah held the ball between 34 and 35 minutes, so it’s not as though time of possession or overall opportunities to score were dramatically different. In fact, Utah’s defense allowed just 14 points to Northwestern. This should have been an easier game for Utah to win compared to USC, and yet the Utes lost because their offense was stopped cold. It’s a final sign of just how bad Grinch was at USC.
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