In its first month of the 2025 season, Lincoln Riley has showcased an elite offense, but the defense is still searching for answers in the trenches. This contrast was evident during a 34-32 road loss at Illinois, which was decided by a walk-off 41-yarder. The Trojans looked to have a brief lead late in the game, but failed to keep it as the defense failed to stop the Illinois offense. Through five games, USC has averaged 48.5 points and 565 yards per game. These numbers show a dominant force on this front, but Illini’s Luke Atlymer’s 328 passing yards and 4 touchdowns show how bad the physicality gap is on defense.

Josh Pate has made his verdict fairly clear on USC on his podcast with Colin Cowherd. In his firsthand observation, he said, “When we went to that game (USC vs Illinois) the

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