Lincoln Riley does not agree with the narrative his 2023 USC Trojans are marred by the same defensive issues the 2022 Trojans were, and he was not interested in questions about Alex Grinch following USC’s 48-41 win over Colorado on Saturday.

USC held a 34-7 first-half lead on what looked like a reeling Colorado team at Folsom Field. On Colorado’s final drive of the first half, USC started to lose contain of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and he made the defense pay. Colorado marched 83 yards in nine plays for a touchdown; Sanders escaped up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left to give CU life heading into the break.

Riley thought that gave the Buffs life.

And CU was a different team in the second half. It outscored USC 27-14 over the final 30 minutes — including 14-0 in the fourth quarter — to almost pull off what would have been a monumental 27-point comeback.

“They made plays and we kind of didn’t,” Riley said after the game. “We had opportunities on all three sides. We had opportunities to finish some plays offensively, we had opportunities to get the quarterback down, we had opportunities to tackle hitches for a 5-yard gain — the things we did in the first half.

“When you stop doing that, especially on the road against a team that has some talent like they do, they’re gonna make a run. And they did. It’s self-inflicted errors.”

Colorado scored six points against Oregon the week prior. It had 199 yards of offense in that game. Against USC, the Buffs had 564 yards of offense. Tackles were missed that turned modest gains into chunk plays.

Wideout Omarion Miller entered the game without a catch and finished with seven receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown, setting a CU freshman record in the process.

CU’s run game entered the day ranked dead last in the FBS — 133rd — in rushing efficiency. The ground game produced a total of 223 yards at 1.98 a carry through the first four games. Colorado ran for 219 at 5.2 a carry against USC (adjusted for sacks).

“It’s not really the same issues,” Riley said. “When something doesn’t go our way, it does not look like last year. Not to a trained eye. Not to a coach.”

Riley said the two main issues were that the Trojans didn’t keep containment of Shedeur Sanders well and they didn’t tackle well.

“But no, it doesn’t look like last year,” he said. “There’s a lot that’s improved. We’ve got to put it all together.”

Riley was asked straight up if he still has faith in Grinch as his defensive coordinator.

“Yes, I do,” he responded sharply before turning to look for the next question.