In an unexpected twist, USC’s defense is no longer the problem

LOS ANGELES — If they were to walk into the land of the Great Lakes and beat Minnesota on Saturday night, PJ Fleck made clear, USC would have to do so on the ground.

Such was life in the Big Ten, and it became apparent shortly into the first half that these Golden Gophers would concede no inch over the top to USC and Lincoln Riley. They threw depth in the secondary, and brought pressure to quarterback Miller Moss in the rare chances a deep shot did materialize, and relegated a dynamic USC offense to a variety of dinks and dunks and a longest pass play of 18 yards.

This, still, was fine. This was the type of ballgame, really, why USC had made wholesale changes to its defensive staff. This was the type of ballgame, really, why USC’s starting offensive linemen had put on collective 40 pounds in the offseason. This was the type of ballgame, really, why USC had gone out and grabbed veteran back Woody Marks in the portal. And behind a stout defense and the holes opened up by that line for Marks, they were running Minnesota into the ground by the fourth quarter.

Then they stopped.

“You could just tell, they were running the ball,” Fleck said postgame, “but they still wanted to throw the ball.”

With 10 minutes to play, Marks sat at 20 carries for 134 yards, and USC faced a third-and-four at the Minnesota 35 up 17-10. A field goal would’ve tucked the game away. But Moss dropped back to pass, got hit off the edge, and the ball was intercepted.

On USC’s next drive, facing another third-and-four in USC territory, Moss dropped back to pass. Again. And an attempted deep slant to a well-covered Ja’Kobi Lane sailed long.

Marks didn’t touch the ball again for the rest of the game, and USC lost to Minnesota 24-17, and fell from No. 11 in the AP Poll to completely unranked on Sunday.

“Stuff was there offensively,” Moss said postgame. “I felt like we moved the ball up and down the field. Just, obviously, didn’t put the points up to reflect that.”

Amid a slew of at-times head-scratching game-management, a few slow starts, and an offensive line that’s struggled mightily in pass-protection, USC is facing a truly remarkable reality: for the first time in Riley’s tenure as a head coach, his defensive unit has been markedly better than his offense.

Through five games and two frustrating losses that have marred a once-optimistic campaign, USC’s defense ranks 28th in the nation in points-per-game allowed and 35th in yards-per-game, coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s unit showing a consistent ability to make late-down plays and second-half adjustments. USC’s offense, by contrast, ranks 58th in points-per-game and 36th in yardage. Even further: USC’s defense is surrendering just 9.6 points a game, on average, when USC’s offense or special-teams unit isn’t immediately coming off a three-and-out or a turnover.

It’s both a compliment and a challenge of Riley, his commitment to defense paying massive dividends but his game-calling at times putting USC in costly positions. Poor clock management cost USC scoring chances at the end of first halves in eventual wins over LSU and Wisconsin. A sudden late-game pivot away from running the ball has hurt in eventual losses to both Michigan and Minnesota. And a lengthy list of personnel questions now faces Riley’s offense, heading into a make-or-break home matchup against fourth-ranked Penn State.

For one: can Moss and Riley find a way to generate more explosive pass-plays? The redshirt-junior quarterback has affirmed he wants to be “an extension” of Riley on the field, offering both a certain floor and ceiling to USC’s offense. Moss is an expert at taking what defenses afford him, but hasn’t found the time or the structure behind struggling pass protection to create downfield looks and hasn’t shown the nothing-into-something magic of Caleb Williams, finishing just 1-of-8 for 17 yards and an interception when under pressure Saturday.

For two: can Riley get more out of Zachariah Branch? The sophomore burner has put up decent numbers so far, particularly finding some traction as a receiver with 8 catches for 98 yards against Michigan, but has looked lost at times the past couple weeks. After a muffed punt against Wisconsin, Branch dropped a key third-down pass on USC’s first drive and finished with just three catches for 10 yards against Minnesota.

For three: in the question that’s persisted for weeks, can anything at all be done about USC’s pass protection? Riley defended the offensive-line group as playing a “really good game up front” against Minnesota, and USC surrendered just five pressures in an encouraging sign, particularly as right guard Alani Noa played his best game of the season. But USC’s tackles Elijah Paige and Mason Murphy still got beat at costly times, and will face a tall task against Penn State.

There’s no easy answer, to any. And USC’s offense, for the moment, is treading water.