After a near triple overtime loss to a decent but nowhere near Pac-12 championship contender Arizona, Paul Finebaum is waving giant warning flags for USC going forward.
"I don't see any way that the Trojans can survive this [remaining schedule]," Finebaum said, per On3. "We can say all we want about Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley and about the offense, but when you take a look at [the game], what are these guys doing? They looked like they were walking a dog on a Sunday morning in Central Park. Try getting near a receiver — act like you care! Maybe even bother tackling somebody every once in a while.
"This is not play football. This is the real thing and that's why Southern Cal will not be contending for a national championship."
The defense for the Trojans allowed 41 points to the Wildcats. While there were a lot of other reasons they almost lost the game including special teams and snap issues, the defense has been a continuing issue.
On their upcoming schedule, USC has Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA. It's hard to see a world where the team is able to go .500 in those games. The defense is so bad that it might lose half of those games despite the fact the best QB in the country leads the squad.
What can USC do to help their struggling defense?
To be quite honest, there isn't much that the team can do to improve the defense this late in the season. Firing Alex Grinch might not do a lot at this point with the lack of solid defensive coordinators around in the middle of the season. The best the team can do is run the clock to keep the other team's offense off the field.
This might be frustrating, but the options are very limited for USC. Williams will most likely be in New York for another Heisman Trophy ceremony. Still, his team might not be getting as much credit late in the season due to the fact this warning is likely to come true.
