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USC Trojans Defensive Struggles Have One Common Denominator

Despite cycling through several different defensive coordinators including Alex Grinch, D'Anton Lynn, and most recently Gary Patterson, the Southern California Trojans continue to experience severe defensive shortcomings five games into the 2026 season. Under head coach Lincoln Riley, these persistent struggles stretch back to his tenure at Oklahoma and have consistently undermined the program, culminating in a recent defensive performance that surrendered significant yardage and exposed ongoing vulnerabilities against Rutgers.

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