USC report card: handing out grades after Trojans get smoked by Utah in Pac-12 Championship Game

When USC lost to Utah the first time back on October 15, the Trojans played well enough to win but were brutally unlucky and were the recipients of the very best game Cam Rising and Dalton Kincaid could possibly play. Not getting a fair shake on two separate huge roughing-the-passer calls made that game feel like a contest which was taken away or, at the very least, altered by forces USC couldn’t entirely control.

This game on Friday night in Las Vegas was different.

Utah smoked USC. The Utes were better. They were tougher. They were deeper. They were stronger. They exposed the Trojans at their weakest points and elicited the conversations we expected to have about this flawed USC team in 2022. It came at the worst possible time, but it happened.

Our grades for the Trojans will reflect that, and they will lead into some necessary — and inconvenient — conversations about this program heading into 2023:

ALEX GRINCH

GRADE: C

Our grade reflects two competing realities: One, Grinch did not flunk. Two, Grinch did not excel. He was, ultimately, average — not great, not terrible.

He had guys in position to make plays, and guys didn’t make plays … but it’s the job of a defensive coach not only to have guys in position to make plays, but to teach them how to make plays. Translated: Teach guys how to tackle.

Grinch openly talked about how embarrassing it was to give up all those passing yards to Utah and all those receiving yards to Dalton Kincaid on Oct. 15. The Trojans needed to at least tackle better against Kincaid and Utah in this rematch. They could have done other things poorly, but this one thing needed to be better.

It wasn’t.

Saying that players were in position to make plays — but didn’t — can’t be used as reason to give Grinch an especially high grade. It’s a reason to avoid giving him an especially low grade. Ultimately, no one can grade his performance anything better than average, which is the overarching reality about his career as a defensive coordinator, particularly under Lincoln Riley.

We’re obviously going to have a much more extended conversation about Alex Grinch throughout December.

LINCOLN RILEY

GRADE: C

The Trojans started really well, before Caleb Williams got hurt. Riley had his team ready to play.

The problem was when the Trojans needed to protect their lead against Utah in the second quarter, much like the first game on Oct. 15. Riley couldn’t continue to find holes in the Utah defense. Morgan Scalley outmaneuvered him as the game went on. Williams being hurt was huge.

Some people will say Riley should have turned to Miller Moss. That’s understandable. Maybe Moss could have had one series just to give him a test drive and see what he could do, but Caleb Williams’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive should serve as evidence that having a gimpy Heisman Trophy winner was probably still USC’s best play in that situation.

Riley gets an “A” for the season as a whole, but much like Grinch, one cannot — under any circumstances — give him an above-average grade for this game. Not possible, not defensible, not allowable.

CALEB WILLIAMS

GRADE: A-minus

He threw an interception. He was obviously thrown off by the injury. Giving him a straight-A or A-plus would be excessive, especially since USC lost.

However, his electric first quarter and gutsy fourth-quarter touchdown drive showed everything which makes Caleb great. On a night when his team struggled, Caleb still inspired and earned respect. He gets the only A-range grade on the team.

RUNNING BACKS

GRADE: C-minus

Austin Jones ran out of magic. Yes, Lincoln Riley didn’t trust the run game, so it’s not as though Jones and Raleek Brown and Darwin Barlow got every chance possible to make an impact, but it remains that there were few impactful plays from this group.

OFFENSIVE LINE

GRADE: D

This is where the game was most fundamentally lost for USC.

No Andrew Vorhees was a crusher against Utah’s defensive line, which was missing key pieces but had new guys step up. USC had to turn to backup Mason Murphy with Vorhees out. Murphy got roasted at right tackle, and it was a central tipping-point dimension of this game.

Caleb Williams is the MVP of the 2022 Trojans, but Vorhees was not very far behind, and this game proved it. We said all year: If the prime starters get hurt and the Trojans have to go down the depth chart, quality defensive fronts will expose this line.

The truth caught up with USC, and the injury bug hit at exactly the wrong time. So it goes. Now comes the time to develop real offensive line depth in the portal and on the recruiting trail.

WIDE RECEIVERS

GRADE: C

Jordan Addison did not win most battles against Clark Phillips. Tahj Washington dropped a key pass. Some big plays were part of the early 17-3 lead, but for most of the game, Utah’s secondary contained this group. With Caleb Williams’ mobility limited, the receivers needed to raise their game, and they couldn’t. It’s not an indictment of this group, merely a reflection of the changing dynamics of the game and the receivers’ inability to make things easier for their hobbled QB.

DEFENSIVE LINE

GRADE: D-minus

The pass rush did not get home, particularly on third downs once Utah’s offense got rolling late in the second quarter. The Utah ground game eventually overpowered USC. Tuli Tuipulotu needed help along the defensive front, and he didn’t get it. Korey Foreman made that one big play against UCLA, but it didn’t lead to a late-season surge against Notre Dame or Utah. USC needs so much help here. This unit badly needs quality depth in 2023.

LINEBACKERS

GRADE: D

Eric Gentry was not a good fit for this game when going up against Utah’s physical rushing attack. Gentry is a better pass defender than a run defender because he is great at stepping into passing lanes and deflecting throws with his long reach. Gentry being inadequate in the run game was not surprising, but not being able to make more of an impact in the passing game was a crucial deficit. Gentry didn’t look 100 percent, either, which has to be noted, but nevertheless, his lack of full impact made this defense so much less than what it could have been. When Gentry was at full strength and full impact, this defense was decent and — against Oregon State on Sept. 24 — genuinely good.

As it was, the linebackers had another very rough night against Utah.

SECONDARY

GRADE: D

Bryson Shaw made some impactful plays, as did Calen Bullock, but Utah’s offense had its way with USC once the first quarter ended. One simply can’t give an average-or-better grade to any part of the USC defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS

GRADE: C-minus

Catching punts inside the 10. Can we please stop? Frankly, though, special teams had a minimal to nonexistent role in this contest.

USC'S 2022 REGULAR SEASON, WHICH IS NOW OVER

GRADE: A

This game was bad. This result was painful. The full 13-game season, however? Straight As for a team which very clearly overachieved. Few people thought this team would get within one win of the College Football Playoff. It exceeded its limitations and worked through them so well all season. One bad performance does not and should not change that.

POSTSCRIPT

This season was an example of a team overachieving. However, let’s be very, very clear about 2023: If this same season unfolds next year, it will not be overachievement. It would certainly be a disappointment. In Year 1 of Lincoln Riley, it’s a great result. Not in Year 2.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire