Defensive Grades Are in for USC Trojans After First 6 Games

Since the arrival of head coach Lincoln Riley  the story of the USC football team has been about the defense, or the lack thereof. At 5-1 with a bad loss to Oregon, and a win versus Washington that felt like a loss to many, the story is still about the defense. 

Since Lincoln's arrival, USC defenses have ranked: No.106 in 2022 (423.9 YPG), No. 118 in 2023 (432.8 YPG), No.77 in 2024 (377.1), No. 49 in 2025 (350.8 YPG), and they are currently No. 47 (348.8 YPG). 

Lincoln Riley brought in Hall of Fame coach Gary Patterson to fix the defense, and so far the jury is still out on that decision.

This year USC gave up 26 points to San Jose St, shut out Fresno State, gave up 30 to Louisiana, 35 to Rutgers, 41 to Oregon, and 21 to Washington. USC still has a problem on defense. 

USC's run defense was terrible in its first conference road game against Rutgers. Rutgers ran for less than 100 yards against UMass, but against USC the Scarlet Knights ran for 168 yards, and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.  

USC’s run defense is currently ranked No. 34, which isn't horrible until you look at who they played. With Ohio State, Indiana, Penn St (and others) left on the schedule, Patterson is going to need to go deep into his bag of tricks for the sake of this run defense.

A bright spot on the defensive front has been sophomore DT Jahkeem Stewart and freshman DE Luke Wafle. 

Stewart was a freshman All-American last year, and has missed most of the season due to a foot injury. Stewart had a key fumble recovery for a touchdown against Washington, which was the turning point in the game.

Wafle is quickly becoming one of the best freshmen in the country, regardless of position. He excels against the run, and is an up and coming pass rusher. Experts compare him to former Ohio State star Joey Bosa. 

USC has 13 sacks this season with a 7.18% sack rate. This puts them at No. 43 nationally, which isn't great.

Coupled with an average run defense, USC will need to create turnovers and be stout on third down for its defense to have a positive impact during the second half of the season.

Last Saturday USC’s defense held Washington to 1-of 12 on third down. That was a major improvement from the 40.7% of third down conversions made by USC opponents in the first five games.

USC jumped from No. 94 nationally, to No. 49 after the Washington game.

The secondary for USC ranks near the bottom in the country when it comes to explosive plays via the air.

The lack of pass rush has contributed to the secondary ranking in the bottom nationally in run after catch situations. The lack of a pass rush equated to more completions, which leads to more yards after catch scenarios for opposing offenses. 

Prior to the Washington game USC linebackers had PFF grades ranging from 62-81. Ta’Mere Robinson earned a 81.7 PFF grade for his performance against Washington. USC will need more performances like this moving ahead.

USC is weak at the LB position. 

Overall, USC's defensive grade at mid-season is a C-. With minimal pressure, only seven turnovers, and horrible tackling, it's impressive that USC has only lost one game.