We talked to Ducks Wire about the Pac-12 midseason defensive MVP. It’s true that the Utah game was not a good one for the Trojans, but a full six games preceding the Utah loss have still established two USC Trojans as the leaders in this particular race.
This is what we told Ducks Wire:
Defensive MVP is a tie between two USC Trojans: Eric Gentry and Tuli Tuipulotu. Gentry was better through the first four weeks, but Tuipulotu has been consistent throughout the season and then got three sacks against Washington State.
USC finally won a game in which its opponent did not commit a turnover. That was against Wazzu. Tuipulotu recording three sacks and creating all those negative plays enabled USC to win without forcing a turnover. Gentry was the guy who was causing those turnovers earlier in the season. Multiple deflections turned into picks.
He has been very disruptive. The second half of the season will tell us a lot about the comparison between the two.
The surprisingly good play of USC’s defense has to put the Trojans in front at the midway point, but if USC falters and the defense finally starts getting shredded — which is certainly possible — the DPOY race will take on entirely new dimensions. It’s a fluid situation.
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