USC-Arizona: post game thoughts.

USC's defense sucks.  The whole scheme sucks.   They line up the corners 6 yards off the line, then drop back into a matchup zone; the linebackers, if they read pass, they all drop back into pass coverage leaving the outlet receiver wide open.  You never see them man up and bump the receivers off the line of scrimmage, and it's almost as rare to see the defense blitz on passes.

The only way TJ McDonald gets two picks early on, is that Nick Foles is trying to probe deep and throws into coverage.  USC's first three series on defense ended with two interceptions and a punt.  Corrected in the second half, Foles throws between the layers of defense, including slants up the middle and short curls at the edges. USC made just one stop in the second half.

Arizona took what USC gave - the short game - which is noted in the stats.  39 first downs for Arizona compared to USC's 27; 86 plays for Arizona compared to USC's 64; 8.0 yards per attempt on 53 attempted passes for Arizona to USC's 11.9 yards per attempt on 39 attempts; Arizona's 33:50 time of possession compared to USC's 26:10.

What's the point of keeping the safeties 20 yards off the line, if the opposing quarterback is simply going to throw under your coverage, on his way towards a gazillion throws and another gazillion first downs?  Arizona scored anyway, which was supposed to be the point of keeping the safeties deep, right?

Now, I'm not saying that the zone match up defense is a lousy plan, but if you're going to run it, you have to use blitzes to bring pressure, but Monte Kiffin barely ever uses a pass blitz.   So what we get is a porous defense on a max-protect line, giving Foles the time he needs to spot the open receiver.

Why bother playing defense, if you're predictable?  Just find a bunch of drunk frat guys and tell them to go have some fun.