Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — It was two years ago this month, with USC’s defense at an unthinkable nadir, that Lincoln Riley finally decided to fire Alex Grinch, his first defensive coordinator.
“I am that committed, and we are all that committed to playing great defense here,” Riley said in 2023. “Whatever it takes to get that done, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Not everyone took Riley’s comments seriously at the time.
“There’s a school on the West Coast right now that’s going to re-commit to defense,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said a month later. “You give up [46] to Tulane last year in a bowl game — at a place where Ronnie Lott played. Now they’re going to think about defense. That was the first thing we thought about 25 years ago.”
Rest assured, USC has thought about it plenty since. And now two years into the rethinking process, with the College Football Playoff very much within reach in mid-November, USC’s defense is still the biggest question mark facing Riley and his staff over the final stretch of this season which continues, fittingly, against Ferentz and his 21st-ranked Hawkeyes on Saturday.
On paper, the defensive improvement has been palpable, year over year, even if it’s a bit less drastic from this season to last. USC is giving up more than two fewer points per game in 2025 and fewer yards per game through the air and on the ground than in 2024. The defense has created more pressure, already with three more sacks than last season (24 to 21), and clamped down in the red zone, with opponents scoring only 67% of the time, third-best in the nation.
But that progress hasn’t always been linear, admits D’Anton Lynn, the Trojans defensive coordinator. Where in his first season, Lynn had a litany of experienced defenders from the transfer portal to lean on, his second season has made for a much different experience.
“This team is more talented, but they’re just young,” Lynn said. “It’s just guys who haven’t played before. There are certain mistakes you have to live through.”
Those mistakes have surfaced at some of the worst possible times this season. In the loss to Illinois, a late pass interference call and a missed tackle on a swing pass proved to be the difference. At Notre Dame, a blatant missed run fit saw Irish back Jeremiyah Love break off an explosive touchdown run that turned the tides. The run defense ended up coming unglued, giving up over 300 yards in a rainy defeat.
The last two games have been much more encouraging, with USC holding Northwestern and Nebraska to three points apiece after halftime. The difference between the two halves was significant as the Trojans held the two opponents to a combined total of 209 second-half yards.
In both cases, the defense didn’t find its stride until it was first punched in the mouth. But Riley credited Lynn for his adjustments from there.
“When leaks have sprung, we’ve been able to get them closed pretty quickly,” Riley said.
The next step is stopping those leaks before they burst. And that starts, Lynn says, with letting the mistakes they make roll off their shoulders.
That mental hurdle is one that USC’s young defense has struggled with this season.
“Just kind of all year with us, we’ve had those moments where we shoot ourselves in the foot, or we get good calls, and we just mess it up ourselves,” cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson said. “We’re just zoning in on that, and just the battle within ourselves. Like man we’ve gotta buckle down right, and we’ve gotta get this stuff done.”
That battle is quickly reaching its crescendo with just three weeks left in the season. But as that final stretch approaches, the blueprint for USC’s defense is clear to Lynn.
“We need to be consistent up front,” Lynn said. “We need to stop the run. We need to limit big plays. When we do those things, we can be a really good defense. That’s easier said than done, but again, it just comes back to being consistent.”
CELEBRATING PAT CASHMAN
Haley Sawyer (OC Register) — Former USC and Long Beach City College football star Pat Cashman died on Nov. 5 at age 79 after battling dementia for several years.
Cashman, a defensive back, made a pivotal, electrifying play in the 1967 game against UCLA when he intercepted Maxwell and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Gary Beban and returned the ball 55 yards for a touchdown, tying the game 7-7.
O.J. Simpson broke off a 67-yard touchdown run to win the game, 21-20, and the Trojans moved on to beat Indiana, 14-3, in the Rose Bowl game for the national championship.
“Pat knew everybody,” Tommy Gorrell, a former USC golfer and friend of Cashman, said. “He was like Mr. Long Beach. Everybody loved him.”
Cashman’s son, Tyler, was a standout receiver at Los Alamitos High School and played tight end at USC. He had three receptions for 19 yards in a 41-32 victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl game.
Pat Cashman is survived by Tyler and his daughter, Summer.
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The day of that ‘67 game was one of the great days of my young life.
Pat Casman was a big part of that. So were O.J., Jimmy Gunn, Mike Scarpace, and, of course, Zenon Andrusyshyn.
Jimmy Gunn was brutal that day. I think he was playing hurt too, while making Gary Beban his personal punching bag. Beban was a physical wreck, but played with a lot of heart and still threw for over 300 yds. Jim Murray famously said,”If Beban wins the Heisman trophy, fill it with aspirin.” Scarpace’s recovery of Earl McCullough’s 55-yd flanker reverse fumble was an awesome hustle play too. And poor Zenon, USC’s secret weapon all day long. I don’t think UCLA fans ever forgave him. They didn’t forgive USC 6-8 DL Bill Hayhoe either, who was blocking whatever Zenon kicked.… Read more »
Gunn played most of the game on a torn ACL and he was a terror in the fourth quarter.
Beban showed a lot of moxie that day. What a beating he took.
Shout out to Bill Hayhoe, too.
After the game, my girlfriend and I went to Westwood for dinner and a movie. When the movie let out, the Sunday Herald Examiner was on the newsstands so I bought a copy I still have. Classic headline in the Sports section: “Bruins Dial Z for Zero”
Man, Cashman was the legend at Long Beach City College. They are right, he was liked by everyone in town.