USC vs Utah State Report Card: Grading the Trojan Defense

The Trojans didn’t quite manage a shut out, but USC vs Utah State was a showcase day for the defense in the 45-7 victory.

Facing the nation’s top rushing offense after Week 1, the USC defense ground the Utah State attack to a halt.

The Aggies were able to get on the board with seven points just as the third quarter ended, but the Trojans held when it mattered.

Here’s how each defensive unit graded out against the Aggies:

Defensive Line

Standout, Rasheem Green

You know it is a good day on the defensive line when nearly every member of the rotation could garner a standout mention.

It starts with Rasheem Green who batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage, both on third down attempts by the Aggies.

Once again, Stevie Tu’ikolovatu was a key figure towards keeping the Utah State rushing attack quiet — they averaged just 1.9 yards per carry.

Junior college transfer Josh Fatu also made himself a nuisance with four tackles and a sack.

Linebacker

Standout, Cameron Smith

What more can be said about Cameron Smith, whose instinctive play at middle linebacker continually places him around the ball? He displayed that quality against Utah State, logging 13 tackles to lead all Trojans. He also added a tackle for loss.

Closer to the line of scrimmage, Porter Gustin was a disruptive force, sealing the edge and wrecking havoc in the Aggie backfield with two tackles for loss, including a sack.

Michael Hutchings and Uchenna Nwosu had solidly productive outings as well, combining for three pass break ups between them

The only knock against the linebackers at the Coliseum was the ease with which Aggie quarterback Keny Myers found receivers in the middle of the field.

Secondary

Standout, Leon McQuay III

Adoree’ Jackson and Iman Marshall had a relatively quiet day against the Aggies, combining for five tackles. When it comes to your starting cornerbacks though, quiet is usually good. The most notable play of the day from a cornerback belonged to Ajene Harris, who broke up a pass in the endzone.

At safety, Chris Hawkins had a nice day, cleaning up with eight tackles, which was second on the team. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass break up.

Before being shaken up, Marvell Tell III was also having a reasonably bright outing with a tackle for loss and three tackles.

However, the biggest standout of the safety group was once again Leon McQuay III, who added an interception to his list of accomplishments this season. Through two games he has taken to the nickel position like he was born for it, grabbing an interception at the Coliseum and adding four tackles, three of which limited the Aggies to short gains.

Coaching

Standout, Clancy Pendergast

Going into the season, Utah State head coach Matt Wells indicated that he wanted his team to be a run-first outfit. On top of that, the Aggies fielded a quarterback in Myers capable of burning an opposing defense with his legs.

Trojan fans know all too well what kind of damage that kind of quarterback can do.

The USC defense came prepared to defend that attack, holding that rushing offense which was so potent in Week 1 to under 50 yards. While Myers threw for more than 200 yards, his ability to gash the defense was limited with smart containment on the outside.

Importantly, the Trojans also didn’t leak big plays the way they did against Alabama. Though Myers had a long of 43 yards, Jack Jones, who was on the coverage, could rightly argue that Jaren Colston-Green pushed off and should have been flagged.