Survival.
That’s what this game against Arizona was for USC’s defense.
It’s weird: The Trojans had a week off. Presumably, this gave them a chance to get healthy. Yet, while it was already known that Eric Gentry — injured against Utah — might not play against Arizona, fellow linebacker Ralen Goforth was also ruled out for this game in Tucson.
Shane Lee is still not 100-percent healthy.
Korey Foreman was out and therefore not able to give USC an extra body on its front seven. This is in addition to Romello Height being out for the season.
USC wasn’t going to play a great defensive game. It just had to be good enough.
It was.
Let’s look at how the evening unfolded in Tucson: