USC season preview: Defense has not earned benefit of the doubt

What is our view of the 2026 USC defense? We talked to UCLA Wire about the topic. "The Trojans went 9-4 last season and added another strong recruiting class, which should only help USC’s depth while giving head coach Lincoln Riley fewer excuses for missing the playoffs. Riley has been able to churn out strong offenses, the big questions for the Trojans reside on the defensive side of the ball. While UCLA had the worst scoring defense in the Big Ten last year, USC wasn’t too far behind with the eighth-worst defense in the conference. With the USC defense being the question mark, Trojans Wire writer Matt Zemek discussed whether or not he believes that the Trojans’ defense can take a step in 2026 under first-year defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. “I am skeptical about the defense. It got bullied last year by the best opponents on the Trojans' schedule. Lincoln Riley coaches soft defenses. It is what it is. That's his track record. USC fans don't like it, but they really can't argue the point, either. Lincoln Riley has to prove he can field a team with a snot-knocking defense,” Zemek said. “Until that's proven, Riley and USC by extension have simply not earned the benefit of the doubt. The defensive line is easily the most important position group. Jahkeem Stewart is the headliner, but even if he plays well, he can't do it himself. USC's defense was bad even when Tuli Tuipulotu was playing elite ball in 2022. It can't be one guy. It takes a village, as the saying goes. The jury is out on whether USC has that village in 2026. Those guys have to prove the skeptics wrong, and I'm one of the doubters.” Needless to say, we hope we are wrong. We would rather be wrong and have USC in the College Football Playoff than be right and have USC miss the playoff. We want what's best for the Trojans; we simply are skeptical the coaching staff will deliver the best-case scenario in 2026. Thankfully, our opinion means nothing. What matters is the product on the field. The coaching staff will have a chance to show things are better at USC, and that the proram is ready to take the next big step. Contact/Follow @TrojansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of USC Trojans news, notes and opinion. This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC season preview: Defense has not earned benefit of the doubt