The story of the 2023 season for USC has been the defense, or rather the lack thereof. With the No. 23 Trojans coming away with a 27-20 victory over No. 14 LSU on Sunday night, the most inspiring aspect of the win was the defense.

During the post-game press conference, USC head coach Lincoln Riley was proud of the way his team held up through tough times.

“When adversity hit, we as a football team didn’t panic,” Riley said.

The Trojans opened the game by forcing a turnover on downs after LSU ran a 13-play, 74-yard drive to the USC 3-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, the Trojans pass rush found LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and forced an incomplete pass to lose the ball.

The score was 10-10 at halftime, but USC would kick off to begin the second half. After the Trojans needed to open the half with a point, it was the defense that quickly forced a three-pointer and out from the Tiger offense. USC responded with a field goal to give them back the lead: 13-10.

The Trojans managed to pull off another huge stop midway through the fourth quarter. USC’s defense forced a three-and-out and gave the Tigers a point with 6:57 left in the quarter. USC quarterback Miller Moss threw a 28-yard touchdown to Ja’Kobi Lane three plays later.

One of the biggest gripes with the defense last season was the explosive plays that were given up. Riley said he was pleased with the way his team limited them.

“We fought the whole game, we didn’t use a lot of explosives, but we made some big saves,” said Riley.

The Trojans gave up just two touchdowns in the game, one in each half. It was the defense that gave the offense time to find its rhythm before Moss got going late in the second half.

Among all the storylines for this matchup was the story of the sure tackles by USC’s second and third defenses. Several times throughout the game, it was players like Kamari Ramsey and Jaylin Smith who made open-field tackles to prevent those explosive plays from happening.

USC forced three punts in the second half, two of which resulted in Trojan scoring drives on the next possession. With USC able to get a talented offense like LSU off the field so often, in key moments of the game, it’s no wonder Lincoln Riley is licking his lips at what could be one of the best defenses he’s ever faced.

Riley said this is a testament to the dedication of the players on the field.

“You can bring in really good coaches…run any scheme you want to run, but at the end of the day these guys are going to trust it and believe in it,” Riley said. “We have some great players,” he added.

Considering the Trojans’ strong performance against a talented SEC opponent and the way they limited them to just 20 points, the future looks bright for USC’s defense.