Alex Grinch says ‘you can’t ignore’ the positives from San Jose State win
Alex Grinch admitted he was disappointed by “individual plays” in USC’s Week 0 win over San Jose State, but said he’s largely encouraged by the Trojans’ defensive performance.
Grinch’s defense drew ire from USC fans after giving up 28 points to the Spartans at home last week. San Jose State gained 398 yards of offense and, at times, had no issues slicing its way through the Trojans defense.
But on the whole, USC got enough stops to earn a comfortable win. The Spartans scored just twice after halftime. Grinch said he was happy with the percentage of plays that USC played at a “high-level.”
“But the percentages are way tilted in the positive direction,” Grinch said. “I’m not really a rose-colored glasses type of guy, but you can’t ignore that. The percentage of plays that I thought we played at a high-level were obviously good. And it’s football. That ball makes like water, it’s going to find the crack. Where we’re deficient obviously showed up.”
Grinch said he is “extremely excited” by the performance, although he did acknowledge his disappointment in a few “individual” plays.
San Jose State had 16 plays of at least 10+ yards against the Trojans. That ranks tied for 2nd nationally amongst the 14 FBS teams who played a game in Week 0.
“At the risk of sounding like a coach that’s bluffing you, I’m extremely excited after Week 1,” Grinch said. “I’m very, very disappointed by individual plays.”
Grinch also acknowledged the relative inexperience of several players on the defensive side of the ball — at least within the Trojans’ scheme. He said 10 players earned their 1st USC snaps in Week 0 on defense.
“I think somebody told me that 10 guys played their first snaps at USC defensively,” Grinch said. “No one wants to hear that but it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Grinch’s defense will be tested again on Saturday against Nevada.