USC’s defense remains the biggest problem for the Trojans’ College Football Playoff resume

The Trojans’ defense… needs improvement.

Two things are clear about the No. 8 USC Trojans through Week 5 of the college football season: Caleb Williams is mounting an incredible campaign for back-to-back Heisman Trophy wins, and USC’s defense functions like a sieve, creating a major problem for their College Football Playoff resume.

Saturday in a 48-41 win on the road against Colorado, USC’s offense looked solid. Williams went 30-for-40 for 403 yards and six (6!!!) touchdowns with one interception. There’s a reason he’s still the Heisman Trophy favorite with an offensive line that provides time to launch the ball downfield.

The Trojans’ defense, however, is a different story. And if not for a slow start and some poor time management on Colorado’s part late in a fourth-quarter comeback attempt, the Buffs might have had a real chance to pull off the upset.

We had a feeling the Buffs could keep it close in a high-scoring shootout, and a large part of that was because Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders-led offense is no joke. But it was also because USC entered Saturday’s matchup tied for 69th nationally in total defense, giving up an average of 364.5 yards per game.

And that was obvious against Colorado, which out-gained USC, 564-498, in Saturday’s comeback attempt. Bright spots included three sacks and the Trojans’ defense picking off Sanders late in the first quarter, but that was its lone turnover. Sanders finished 30-for-45 for 371 yards and four touchdowns, and USC’s defense gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground.

Defense was a problem for head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch back at Oklahoma, and it seems to have transferred to USC as well with the Trojans not slowing down many opponents last year. While Williams and that offense stunned in 2022, two losses to Utah before bowl season and an inconsistent and struggling defense surely hindered the Trojans’ shot at the College Football Playoff.

In 2023, it’s clear not much has changed for that defense, and that could end up costing USC big in the College Football Playoff race. Again.

Although the Trojans are now 5-0 against a less-than-challenging schedule so far, Buffs aside, they’ve allowed no fewer than 349 yards in a game this season while opponents average 24.2 points on them. Their red-zone defense entered Week 5 ranked No. 100, their third-down defense is tied for 34th and they’ve allowed their opponents to convert fourth downs 50 percent of the time. Last week’s 42-28 win over Arizona State was probably a little too close for comfort.

Of the nine teams with a better chance than USC to make the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor, only two of them entered Saturday with defenses ranked lower. That doesn’t bode well for a playoff resume if things don’t tighten up, especially with so many huge tests to come.

The Pac-12, with six teams ranked in Week 5, currently has four Heisman-contending quarterbacks, and USC still has to face Michael Penix Jr. and No. 7 Washington before taking on Bo Nix and No. 9 Oregon in back-to-back weeks in early November. The Trojans also have No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 10 Utah — which will probably drop after a Week 5 loss to No. 19 Oregon State – coming up, and holes in their defense could create a real problem winning each of these games.

If USC wants to return to the top of the Pac-12 in the last year of its existence and earn a College Football Playoff berth, its defense needs to step up. If it can’t take the pressure off Williams and co. to rack up 500-plus yards and 50-plus points a game, the Trojans won’t have much of a chance at contending for a national championship.

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