Full story on the defense:
USC.rivals.com
It's five weeks into the season for USC, and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's frustration is starting show after seeing some of the same mistakes -- ones he believes are very correctable -- recur game after game.
Ultimately, the Trojans held Arizona State to 331 yards (which is below the defense's season average of 358.6), made obvious halftime adjustments, forced the Sun Devils into three punts and an interception on its four second-half possessions and did its part in the 42-25 win Saturday night.
But that first half was still gnawing at Grinch after the game, as USC gave up 101 rushing yards on 16 carries (6.3 per carry), a couple busts in coverage and allowed Arizona State to score two touchdowns and a field goal on its only three drives of the first half (not counting a 1-play possession before time expired).
Grinch's refreshing candor all season in assessing the defense leaves no ambiguity to what he's feeling and why. He continues to assert that the Trojans' struggles against the run mostly come down to players not executing their gap responsibilities.
While still saying it's on the staff to coach better, he also intimated the message has been drilled home repeatedly already.
"Yeah, coach better," he said. "I think we're actually pretty good coaches around here. I think we've got a good linebackers coach; I think our safeties coach (which is Grinch), I know him; I think we've got a good coordinator (also Grinch), I like the guy, he's got to coach better. D-line coach is as good as there is in the country, and on and on and on. So it's one thing if it happens once, another thing five weeks into the season. ...
"Who's got a B gap? Well, we don't design the defense that doesn't have someone there. And so we've got to do a better job either teaching it or not recommending that certain things get executed that way. So we've got to coach them better."
The Sun Devils (1-4, 0-2 Pac-12) scored their first touchdown on a 29-yard wheel route from Emory Jones to running back Xazavian Valladay, who raced easily past linebacker Shane Lee who seemed to be expecting help over the top that wasn't there.
Valladay then started the visitors' next series with a 23-yard run around the right edge, attacking a clear vulnerability of this defense. Later in the same drive, he converted on third-and-5 with a 14-yard run through a gaping hole on the left side, setting up an ultimate field goal (one could presume a defender missed his gap on that play).
And on Arizona State's third series, it found the end zone again after picking up 41 yards on the ground sandwiched around a 34-yard pass from Jones to Bryan Thompsonas, safety Calen Bullock was a tick late in providing deep help to the right side. Jones capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the USC lead to 21-17.
The Sun Devils piled up 218 of their ultimate 331 yards in that first half.
"Among other things, the chief message [at halftime] was we don't have to make the same mistakes we made the first half. But if we do, we're going to have the same issues in the second half. I guess that's as elementary as it actually is," Grinch said. "If you have a gap and don't take a gap, you get punished -- you'll get punished today, tomorrow, next week. It doesn't matter what the jersey on the opposite side looks like.
"So yeah, that was the message, which our point to them is that's actually a pretty good place to be at halftime because then you have full control what takes place past that. But no, obviously was disappointed in how we played football tonight."
And yet, the defense was key after halftime to allowing USC to seize full control of the game.
The Trojans allowed just 14 yards on 11 ASU plays in the third quarter, yielding only one first down and forcing punts on the Sun Devils' first three possessions after halftime. The defense tightened up against the visitors' effective sweeps to the edge and also came up with 5 sacks in the second half alone to help close it out.
The tone-setter for the second-half shift was middle linebacker Eric Gentry, who admitted he felt a little off in the first half while adjusting to the emotions of playing his former school.
"I would say for me personally, it felt weird playing against my old team. I'd say we didn't really have the edge. Me being a Mike linebacker, I really set the energy, so me playing timid, like I said, feeling weird playing against my old team," Gentry said. "... In the second half, I felt way better, felt way more confident, it was another football game like I said at first in the interview [earlier this week]. So I just played regular how I usually play."
That meant stuffing Valladay for a 1-yard gain on the first play of the third quarter and then later sacking Jones to set up a third-and-16, leading to the first of the three straight punts.
"Yeah, that's a big drive in the game, up 21-17. Every drive's big, right, but in that moment, OK, how are we going to come out in the second half? Can we get a stop? And then once you get one stop, can you stack and get another one? That was certainly a critical thing for all of us -- the entirety of the quarter but it started with one," Grinch said. "So it was good to see some energy and some life and those guys make some plays."
Bullock echoed the assessment that the defense had come out flat to start the game.
"The first half I feel like we was just going through the motions," he said. "And then the second half I feel like we picked it up and just started playing our game, started going out there and having fun."
The defense was coming off its best performance of the season the week prior at Oregon State, holding the Beavers to 14 points and 320 yards while forcing 4 turnovers.
Overall, since its struggles in Weeks 2-3, the unit has taken steps forward.
USC ranks 57th nationally in total defense at 358.6 yards per game allowed and 31st in scoring defense, giving up 19.6 points per game. The Trojans are tied with Coastal Carolina for the national lead in turnovers forced (15) and tied for fifth with 19 sacks in five games.
But even with the 5 sacks Saturday night, Grinch lamented missed opportunities to make plays behind the line of scrimmage or stop the Sun Devils for short gains -- "layups," as he called them. He also noted his disappointment in the Trojans' zone coverage.
The defense has done enough to get USC off to a 5-0 start, but Grinch clearly sees potential for a steadier unit and he's not going to be satisfied until that comes to fruition.
"We've got to instill in these guys it's an extension of the work week. We're not going to ask you to do something on Saturday we don't ask you to do on Tuesday," he said. "We're not there yet. We can say it and it sounds good, but we're certainly not there yet."
https://usc.rivals.com/news/alex-grinch-not-yet-satisfied-with-usc-s-defensive-play-through-5-weeks
Alex Grinch not yet satisfied with USC's defensive play through 5 weeks
See what defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said about the Trojans' performance Saturday vs. Arizona State.
It's five weeks into the season for USC, and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's frustration is starting show after seeing some of the same mistakes -- ones he believes are very correctable -- recur game after game.
Ultimately, the Trojans held Arizona State to 331 yards (which is below the defense's season average of 358.6), made obvious halftime adjustments, forced the Sun Devils into three punts and an interception on its four second-half possessions and did its part in the 42-25 win Saturday night.
But that first half was still gnawing at Grinch after the game, as USC gave up 101 rushing yards on 16 carries (6.3 per carry), a couple busts in coverage and allowed Arizona State to score two touchdowns and a field goal on its only three drives of the first half (not counting a 1-play possession before time expired).
Grinch's refreshing candor all season in assessing the defense leaves no ambiguity to what he's feeling and why. He continues to assert that the Trojans' struggles against the run mostly come down to players not executing their gap responsibilities.
While still saying it's on the staff to coach better, he also intimated the message has been drilled home repeatedly already.
"Yeah, coach better," he said. "I think we're actually pretty good coaches around here. I think we've got a good linebackers coach; I think our safeties coach (which is Grinch), I know him; I think we've got a good coordinator (also Grinch), I like the guy, he's got to coach better. D-line coach is as good as there is in the country, and on and on and on. So it's one thing if it happens once, another thing five weeks into the season. ...
"Who's got a B gap? Well, we don't design the defense that doesn't have someone there. And so we've got to do a better job either teaching it or not recommending that certain things get executed that way. So we've got to coach them better."
The Sun Devils (1-4, 0-2 Pac-12) scored their first touchdown on a 29-yard wheel route from Emory Jones to running back Xazavian Valladay, who raced easily past linebacker Shane Lee who seemed to be expecting help over the top that wasn't there.
Valladay then started the visitors' next series with a 23-yard run around the right edge, attacking a clear vulnerability of this defense. Later in the same drive, he converted on third-and-5 with a 14-yard run through a gaping hole on the left side, setting up an ultimate field goal (one could presume a defender missed his gap on that play).
And on Arizona State's third series, it found the end zone again after picking up 41 yards on the ground sandwiched around a 34-yard pass from Jones to Bryan Thompsonas, safety Calen Bullock was a tick late in providing deep help to the right side. Jones capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the USC lead to 21-17.
The Sun Devils piled up 218 of their ultimate 331 yards in that first half.
"Among other things, the chief message [at halftime] was we don't have to make the same mistakes we made the first half. But if we do, we're going to have the same issues in the second half. I guess that's as elementary as it actually is," Grinch said. "If you have a gap and don't take a gap, you get punished -- you'll get punished today, tomorrow, next week. It doesn't matter what the jersey on the opposite side looks like.
"So yeah, that was the message, which our point to them is that's actually a pretty good place to be at halftime because then you have full control what takes place past that. But no, obviously was disappointed in how we played football tonight."
And yet, the defense was key after halftime to allowing USC to seize full control of the game.
The Trojans allowed just 14 yards on 11 ASU plays in the third quarter, yielding only one first down and forcing punts on the Sun Devils' first three possessions after halftime. The defense tightened up against the visitors' effective sweeps to the edge and also came up with 5 sacks in the second half alone to help close it out.
The tone-setter for the second-half shift was middle linebacker Eric Gentry, who admitted he felt a little off in the first half while adjusting to the emotions of playing his former school.
"I would say for me personally, it felt weird playing against my old team. I'd say we didn't really have the edge. Me being a Mike linebacker, I really set the energy, so me playing timid, like I said, feeling weird playing against my old team," Gentry said. "... In the second half, I felt way better, felt way more confident, it was another football game like I said at first in the interview [earlier this week]. So I just played regular how I usually play."
That meant stuffing Valladay for a 1-yard gain on the first play of the third quarter and then later sacking Jones to set up a third-and-16, leading to the first of the three straight punts.
"Yeah, that's a big drive in the game, up 21-17. Every drive's big, right, but in that moment, OK, how are we going to come out in the second half? Can we get a stop? And then once you get one stop, can you stack and get another one? That was certainly a critical thing for all of us -- the entirety of the quarter but it started with one," Grinch said. "So it was good to see some energy and some life and those guys make some plays."
Bullock echoed the assessment that the defense had come out flat to start the game.
"The first half I feel like we was just going through the motions," he said. "And then the second half I feel like we picked it up and just started playing our game, started going out there and having fun."
The defense was coming off its best performance of the season the week prior at Oregon State, holding the Beavers to 14 points and 320 yards while forcing 4 turnovers.
Overall, since its struggles in Weeks 2-3, the unit has taken steps forward.
USC ranks 57th nationally in total defense at 358.6 yards per game allowed and 31st in scoring defense, giving up 19.6 points per game. The Trojans are tied with Coastal Carolina for the national lead in turnovers forced (15) and tied for fifth with 19 sacks in five games.
But even with the 5 sacks Saturday night, Grinch lamented missed opportunities to make plays behind the line of scrimmage or stop the Sun Devils for short gains -- "layups," as he called them. He also noted his disappointment in the Trojans' zone coverage.
The defense has done enough to get USC off to a 5-0 start, but Grinch clearly sees potential for a steadier unit and he's not going to be satisfied until that comes to fruition.
"We've got to instill in these guys it's an extension of the work week. We're not going to ask you to do something on Saturday we don't ask you to do on Tuesday," he said. "We're not there yet. We can say it and it sounds good, but we're certainly not there yet."
https://usc.rivals.com/news/alex-grinch-not-yet-satisfied-with-usc-s-defensive-play-through-5-weeks
