We can all see that the USC defense is not ready to perform at the standard the Trojans expect from themselves. Coaches, players and fans all know the defense is not currently in good position to perform well against Oregon State in Week 4, the team’s next Pac-12 opponent. That game is hugely important to the larger overall outcome of the season, and the USC defense has to be able to do a serviceable job against the Beavers — nothing great, but nothing horrible.
The defense has to be better in order to meet that very modest standard. This is not an average defense. It is below average. Stanford drove inside the USC 5-yard line on four of its first five possessions. USC’s best defensive plays in the first half came on plays inside its own 5. Crazy, but true.
“Make plays inside your own 5 after you have been shredded on a drive” is not, of course, a winning game plan. It certainly isn’t sustainable. Credit Mekhi Blackmon for making that interception in the end zone, and credit Max Williams for that huge stick which popped the ball loose, but let’s be real: The defense is just not up to par.
Simple misdirection concepts fooled the defense. Safeties took bad lanes all night. Guys didn’t stay home and maintain gap integrity. Sure, David Shaw kept his Wake Forest slow-mesh concepts under wraps. USC didn’t see that on film. However, let’s not claim that USC never had a chance to stop plays. It certainly did. Reads and reactions were poor. There’s a lot to fix with this defense. We can’t ignore it. We all see it.
And yet …
None of this is the top headline for USC football after the Trojans’ Week 2 game on The Farm against Stanford.
Not when Caleb Williams has total command of the offense.
Not when Jordan Addison is catching long balls left and right.
Not when Mario Williams is making great adjustments to the ball and juking defenders.
Not when Travis Dye and Austin Jones are hitting holes and getting past the first point of impact.
Not when the offensive line is as advertised, road-grading in the run game and giving Caleb a clean pocket.
USC’s God-mode first half — five touchdowns on its first five possessions without any third downs at all — sent a message not only to Stanford, but to the rest of the Pac-12: You better be close to perfect on offense, because if you’re not, our offense will smoke you.
It’s true that USC’s defense could pay a steep price if opponents avoid mistakes (such as the ones Stanford made inside the 5-yard line). USC’s margin for error will be small if the defense gives up 42 points or allows an opponent to control the ball for 40 minutes.
That said, if an opposing offense leaves points — and time of possession — on the table, USC’s offense is right there waiting to deliver a hammer.
USC’s defense is soft, and so the Trojans are vulnerable, but playing USC’s offense is a headache. USC has already announced itself as a very unsettling and difficult opponent to play.
A future opponent might demolish the USC defense, but if the offense plays like this, it might not matter.
Defense is a problem, but the offense clearly looks like a group which will join the 2004 and 2005 USC offenses as one of this school’s best offenses of all time. That’s not hyperbole, not when you see how this offense can sing.
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