Oregon State's Offense Has USC's Full Attention

USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch doesn’t have fond memories of the last three times he faced off against Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith. Those battles came in the Apple Cup rivalry, when Grinch was the defensive coordinator at Washington State and Smith was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington.

“I remember not being able to stop them,” Grinch said of what he recalls about that Washington offense under Smith.

Washington won 45-10 in 2015, 45-17 in 216 and 41-14 in 2017. The huge, huge asterisk that goes with those scores as far as USC fans are concerned is the fact that Mike Leach’s Washington State offense turned the ball over 15 times in those three games. But Grinch knows first-hand how dynamic Smith’s offense can be. And so do any USC players who suited up last season when the Beavers put up 535 yards and 45 points in a blowout at the Coliseum.

“They play fast, they play hard, they play physical,” Grinch said of the Oregon State offense. “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him as a coach. And certainly respect for them as a program.”

Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan continues to improve in this offense. No longer just a game manager, Nolan seems to be taking more shots downfield this season. Pro Football Focus ranks him as their No. 1 Power 5 quarterback in throws of 10 or more yards downfield.

His task tonight is to put up yards and points against a USC defense that has allowed plenty of the former but not many of the latter this season. USC got a big surprise from Stanford when the Cardinal rolled out the slow mesh RPO offense against them in Week 2. Oregon State is unlikely to do anything as drastic as that. But the Beavers have plenty they’ll be able to throw at the Trojans.

“They do a good job in their different personnel groupings,” Riley said. “They’re very creative with the personnel that they use. They’ve certainly got a system that they believe in, a style of ball they believe in and they do it very well…They just present a lot of challenges in terms of all the things to do with their tight ends, their motions in the run game, marrying the play-action game off of it. So it’ll be a big challenge for us.”

USC Defenders Filling the Right Gaps

The consistent theme coming out of each of the first three games for the USC defense this season has been that players aren’t always filling right right gap on every play. A mistake like that in a one-gap defense can leave a huge running lane. USC’s 177 rushing yards allowed per game is tied for No. 103 nationally. Of Pac-12 programs, only Arizona and Colorado have allowed more.

Grinch said the mistakes haven’t been consistently one player or one area and that coaching is the first line of defense against it continuing to happen. But ultimately, the message is clear.

“The expectation is, we’re a single-gap defense,” Grinch said. “Take care of your gap.”

There have been far too many explosive run plays against the Trojans, according to Riley. But he said he’s seen improvement on that side of the ball each week this season.

Defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu said he thinks the group is right there in terms of getting things together up front.

“There’s some plays where we get out of it, but when we’re locked in, we’re locked in,” Tuipulotu said. “That’s when we’re able to do good things.”

A Red Zone Battle

Oregon State has scored all 14 times they’ve been in the red zone this season. Twelve of those trips resulted in touchdowns. The Beavers are the only Pac-12 team to be perfect when they get inside the 20-yard line. On the other side, USC’s defense has allowed opponents to score just seven times in 13 red zone trips this year. That mark is No. 9 nationally and the best defensive scoring percentage for a unit that has allowed double-digit trips into the red zone.

Grinch acknowledged Oregon State’s success near the end zone.

“A little different animal in the red zone this week,” he said of the Beavers.

“It’ll definitely be a strength versus strength,” Riley said. “They’ve done a nice job of designing and keeping people off balance down there. And then they’ve done a nice job in short-yardage.”

Linebacker/running back Jack Colletto is someone to watch anytime the Beavers are near the goal line or in need of a short-yardage conversion. Colletto has 19 touchdowns on 90 career carries. That includes three already this season and two against USC last year.

“They do some creative things with him and they’ve been efficient there,” Riley said. “We have too. We’ve been stingy against the run down there, we’ve defended well, we’ve gotten turnovers, we’ve gotten fourth-down stops. Both teams have done the things you need to do well, and it’s going to be strength versus strength. There will be some moments like that in this football game and they’ll be pivotal moments.”