The struggles of the USC Trojans' defense that have present for most of the year came to the spotlight during the team's Week 4 loss to the Oregon Ducks. But despite this, Lincoln Riley is not ready to give up on new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson just yet. Given Patterson's background as a head coach for 22 seasons at the Division 1 level with the TCU Horned Frogs, there were plenty of expectations that USC's defense could be much improved in his first year with the program.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case early on in the 2026 season. USC has allowed over 30 points each of their last three games, which finally came back to bite them in their first loss of the season in Week 4 against Oregon where the Trojans allowed over 500 yards of offense. More news: Oregon HC Dan Lanning Delivers Bold Comparison for UCLA With how dynamic the USC offense has been with star quarterback Jayden Maiava under center this year, it sure seems like USC can still truly become a CFP contender if they can sort things out on the defensive side of the ball.
This obvious begs the question. How long of a leash will Lincoln Riley give Gary Patterson to sort out their defensive issues before potentially making a change at defensive coordinator? Well, it seems that Lincoln Riley is content to lean on Patterson's experience and hope that he can figure things out.
Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of the team's Week 5 game against Washington, Riley explained that he believes that Patterson is well equipped to deal with the current adversity he is facing and sure up the USC defense. "I mean, he’s done this for a long time. He’s done it at a high level, and there’s nobody more committed to getting it fixed.
I would also say my confidence level in us being able to elevate and play defensively comes from our players, and it comes from the fact that we have a Hall of Fame coach. "You don’t get to the Hall of Fame without dealing with some adversity in your career – like, that don’t happen. So there’s very few that have been through as much as he has, and we’re gonna lean on that, lean on our players, our staff, and count on everybody to be better.” More news: Former Alabama QB Praises ‘Ridiculous’ Kamario Taylor Ahead of SEC Showdown With matchups against the No. 5 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 6 Indiana Hoosier looming later in the season, pressure will certainly be on Patterson to figure things out in a hurry.
Fortunately for USC fans, Saturday's matchup against the Washington Huskies should be a decent opportunity to get back on track defensively for the Trojans on paper, as the program is averaging the third-least points per game in the Big Ten this far this season.
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