They really couldn’t have waited one more week?
That’s likely what a lot of Oregon Duck fans are thinking right about now after the news broke that the USC Trojans officially fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, one of the most scrutinized coordinators in all of college football.
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USC’s 52-42 loss to the Washington Huskies on Saturday night — the Trojans’ third loss in the last four games — was the straw that broke the camel’s back, with Michael Penix leading Washington to a big-time victory on the road. It was actually Washington RB Dillon Johnson who did the most damage, rushing for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win.
After being pegged as a College Football Playoff contender before the season started, USC’s porous defense quickly identified itself as a major hindrance. This season alone, the Trojans gave up more than 40 points in four games and had the No. 121 ranked scoring defense in the nation. This came after a year where nobody could understand why Lincoln Riley decided to keep Grinch on his staff, with the Trojans’ defense being one of the main reasons for their ultimate downfall.
As you can expect, the college football world, and particularly the Oregon Ducks’ fanbase, had a lot to say about the firing on Sunday afternoon.
Here are some of the best reactions from the day:
USC has fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 5, 2023
“What makes you think the defensive issues starts and stops with the defensive coordinator.”
Let’s start with job title and salary?
If the problem is Lincoln, then we’ll find out and he’ll eventually pay for that, too.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) November 5, 2023