USC fans are understandably frustrated and upset. They have seen the USC defense regress in a big way over the past three games. Yes, a lot of this has to do with Eric Gentry being out. There’s no question that Gentry is a very important player — more precisely, a central player — on this 2022 Trojan defense. Without him, this defense was going to be worse.
But this much worse? This bad?
Allowing over 400 passing yards to Cal?
The Golden Bears scored 13 points against Colorado. Cal has a terrible offensive line. The general consensus among Pac-12 commentators is that Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will be fired by Justin Wilcox at the end of the season.
USC made Cal’s offense look good. Even without Gentry, that should not happen.
Does this mean Alex Grinch had a lucky first half of the season and that this is the “real” Alex Grinch? Let’s explore that, along with the notion that Lincoln Riley needs to fire him: