With many so flustered by the USC offense's struggles Saturday in the season opener, it overshadowed the story of the game, which was the Trojans defense delivering a sterling performance despite missing four starters down the stretch.
Safety and team captain Isaiah Pola-Mao missed the game for COVID protocols, and defensive end Nick Figueroa (AC sprain in shoulder), outside linebacker Drake Jackson (thigh) and cornerback Chris Steele (hamstring/shin) all got injured during the course of the game.
Still, the Trojans held San Jose State to a mere touchdown in that 30-7 win, marking the fewest points USC has allowed since holding Utah State to 7 back in 2016.
"Hell yeah, man, it felt great just to be able to know that we could rely on everybody," Steele said afterward. "Calen [Bullock] stepped up, had to play a big role with Zay being out, so we're proud of him. He made some big plays. Josh Jackson came in towards the end of the game when me and [Isaac Taylor-Stuart] stepped out. They played their roles. I was very proud of everybody.
"I'm very proud of the growth we're making as a defense and as a unit as a whole, so it will be really exciting. We're going to keep getting better week by week."
RELATED: Analyzing the PFF grades, advanced stats and snap counts for USC's offense vs. San Jose State
San Jose State may be a Mountain West team, but it's a capable offense that averaged 26 points per game last season, so the Trojans' defensive performance is notable.
It also backed up the optimism that has been building that defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and his staff would truly be able to make their impact this season now with a full spring and traditional preseason, rather then the disrupted and shortened pandemic season last year.
"Part of the defense that you saw in this last game has TO's edginess, his toughness, his discipline and his belief in the game. We didn't get that last year," coach Clay Helton said. "We left the building March 15, we didn't get a spring underneath him, didn't get really a fall training camp -- it was just how fast can we get a scheme in -- and you lose the personality sometimes when you don't have those two training camps. Now being able to go through an entire winter program, spring training, a fall camp, that's what I feel -- I see guys who really believe in what he's doing and it's got his personality all over it. Man, they played with a fierceness and ferociousness on Saturday."
As Steele noted, safety Calen Bullock stepped into Pola-Mao's starting role seamlessly as a true freshman, racking up a team-high 8 tackles in his college debut, including a couple key third-down stops.
And the Trojans held San Jose State to a paltry 68 rushing yards -- which is a key area of evaluation for this defense as stopping the run has usually been a hallmark of Orlando's units but not a great strength of USC's in recent years.
One way the Trojans excelled in that department was by trusting their defensive backs in a lot of man coverage.
"They followed the game plan and I don't know if I've seen that many calls of man-to-man coverage in my life. TO played a lot of man in that game, which I thought showed confidence in our secondary, and credit to them, they held up and the rush, even though we weren't getting sacks, the ball was having to come out. And because of that you have a little bit of inaccuracy because of it," Helton said.
Steele noted that the defense has a goal of forcing three turnovers a game and it almost got there, as Drake Jackson and nickel Greg Johnson (with his game-swinging pick-6) had interceptions, linebacker Kana'i Mauga forced a fumble but the Spartans were able to recover it and cornerback Josh Jackson looked to have a possible interception that was ruled incomplete and not challenged.
"The defense, we definitely put on a show, had a few turnovers," Steele said. "Our goal is three every week so as long as we keep touching that, we get to that, it will be a great season for sure."
Let's take a closer look at the PFF grades, advanced stats and snap counts from Saturday.
(Reminder, PFF grades are on a 1-100 scale, but grades in the 90s are rare, grades in the 80s are very good and so on. PFF evaluates every player on every snap. Without knowing the exact play call and nuanced responsibilities, there is certainly a margin for error in those grades.)
