The USC defense looked better against Nevada than it did against San Jose State. That’s the big story for the Trojans coming out of their September 2 game versus the Wolf Pack.
However, Nevada is a worse team than San Jose State. The Trojans figured to have an easier time against the Wolf Pack than they did versus the Spartans.
A very intriguing question after this game: Was the improvement from the first game to the second game more a product of guys settling into their roles, or of the caliber of opponent decreasing? It’s probably a little of both, but we do need to keep that in mind when evaluating this roster, and more specifically the defense.
The grades we gave out against San Jose State were not good. The grades we will give out here for the Nevada game are better … but let’s not assume USC has figured it out yet on defense. It’s too early in the season to say that.
Our grades will be better, but not fawning. Realism — honesty — is always the best approach.
Here is the report card: