‘Downhill’ play from linebackers lifted USC’s defense to one of its best performances
LOS ANGELES — The USC linebacking corps was playing fast in the 21-17 win at Nebraska, and it resulted in one of the group’s best performances of the season.
Pro Football Focus gave No. 20 USC its best overall defensive grade – a 72.2 – since the Trojans’ Week 3 win at Purdue. Linebackers Eric Gentry and Desman Stephens were two of USC’s highest-graded defensive players against the Huskers at 78.4 and 69.7, respectively.
“They’re playing less indecisive, they’re playing downhill,” defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn told reporters after practice on Wednesday. “I thought they played well as a group. It wasn’t perfect. There was definitely plenty of stuff to correct, but we’re looking just to take that next step each week.”
Gentry had eight total tackles and forced a fumble against Nebraska. At this point in the season, he’s taken snaps at all three linebacker positions.
“He’s a very versatile guy,” Lynn said. “And he’s a very, very smart football player. He just understands all the spots. So when you have a guy like that that you can move around, it helps us a lot.”
True freshman Matai Tagoa’i got into the game and took four snaps at Will linebacker and logged one tackle. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder, who starred at San Clemente High, also played in the season opener against Missouri State and the following game against Georgia Southern.
Lynn has said in recent weeks that the defense is stressing fundamentals like tackling and gap integrity as well as communication. Cornerback Marcellus Williams told reporters on Wednesday that there was noticeably better communication against Nebraska, even though it was a loud, exciting game environment.
“When you turn on the tape, you can just tell everybody’s on the same page,” Williams said. “Everybody knows their assignment. People are talking before the snap, people are doing their signal before the snap. When you’re able to play fast, that’s how you know everybody’s communicating well and everybody’s able to play their best football.”
JAMAAL JARRETT OUT FOR THE SEASON
Head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed on Tuesday that defensive lineman Jamaal Jarrett will miss the rest of this season after a season-ending surgery for an undisclosed injury.
“Jah is one of the most energetic people that we have on this roster,” defensive lineman Devan Thompkins said. “We’ll definitely miss him from an energy standpoint. He’s a bigger guy – we obviously need that in the Big Ten Conference, the type of games that we’re going to be playing in and out, so it’s definitely a big loss for us.”
Jarrett, who is 6-5 and 360 pounds, went viral when he returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown against Purdue. The moment was dubbed the “thicc six” by websites and social media accounts.
The redshirt sophomore transfer from Georgia collected three tackles and half a tackle for loss in the first four games of the season.
USC in CFP rankings
The Trojans (6-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) came in at No. 19 when the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released on Tuesday.
“You’ve got a handful of teams that have put themselves in position to do some great things and, fortunately, we’re one of those teams right now.
“That’s great, but it’s going to be what you do with this opportunity. And, as we’ve seen all the different upsets and all the different things that have happened throughout this year – it’s going to be even crazier this month, and that’s what makes it great.”
The Trojans were one of seven Big Ten teams among the 25 ranked teams. Undefeated Ohio State (8-0) and Indiana (9-0) came in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Oregon (7-1) is No. 9, Michigan (7-2) is No. 21 and Washington (6-2) is No. 23.
The CFP will continue to release weekly rankings for the next six weeks. The five highest-ranked conference champions in the final rankings and the next seven highest-ranked teams will all be placed into a 12-team bracket.