USC football has fallen short of expectations and standards this season for a lot of reasons. It’s not just one thing, one person, one coach, or one player. Blame can and should be spread around. However, if we are going to ultimately choose the main reason for this failed season and the main source of USC’s problems, some answers are better than others.
Some USC fans and national college football observers have noted that USC has blown fourth-quarter leads, which leads them to blame the defense for being the main problem. Yes, the defense should not have allowed a 63-yard run against Michigan which allowed the Wolverines to complete a comeback victory in the fourth quarter. Yes, it’s true that USC allowed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to Minnesota and a go-ahead touchdown to Maryland. USC allowed a tying touchdown to Penn State late in the fourth quarter. The defense has not been able to close the door. That is true, and we’re not denying it.
However, the defense has been hit hard by injuries. The offense, by comparison, has not. If one side of the ball is relatively healthy and the otehr side is not, it’s up to the healthier side of the ball to pick up the less healthy side.
In all four USC losses, the Trojans had a chance to win the game on offense in the fourth quarter, either by scoring at the end of regulation (Penn State), scoring to get a two-score lead (up 17-10 versus Minnesota, driving inside the Gopher 40-yard line), or by running out the clock with one or two first downs (Michigan and Maryland). In each of those four high-leverage situations, the offense failed to put the game away. It couldn’t get the tiebreaking score versus Penn State. It couldn’t get a two-score lead versus Minnesota. It couldn’t run out the clock versus Michigan or Maryland.
If we have to choose between the offense or the defense as the main source of USC’s problems, the answer is clear. The defense hasn’t done as well as it could have, but it has been hamstrung by injuries. The offense, which has not been nearly as affected by injuries, has not been able to pick up the defense and do its fair share.
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