See how PFF College graded USC's defense vs. Colorado

Through three quarters Friday night, the USC defense had given up a whopping 475 yards to Colorado -- as many as the Buffaloes had in all but one full game to this point of the season.

The Trojans couldn't stop the run, couldn't contain QB Steven Montez' mobility, failed to finish sack opportunities and got gashed for a back-breaking 71-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. All hallmarks of what this defense has been this season.

And then came the final 21 minutes of the game ...

Colorado's last five series resulted in four punts and a game-sealing turnover on downs, 93 yards total in that quarter and a half and just 43 in the fourth quarter as USC mounted its rally for a 35-31 win.

"We made a little bit of alteration, if you noticed, going from a little bit of off coverage because of the deep ball threat that they had shown in the past and went to more press man-to-man and pressing at the line of scrimmage, [which] I thought helped," coach Clay Helton said. "But really what I thought was evident in the second half was just keeping Steven in the pocket, making him work from the pocket where he couldn't get outside and gain vision, forcing those throws to be on time I think helped us a lot, especially on third downs where they go 1 for 7. A little bit of alteration in technique by our DBs in the second half and a little bit of better contain."

Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast explained another adjustment he felt was key to the late turnaround.

"I just think the guys rose up, we made some plays," he said. "I was trying to change the coverages up and give the kids some different looks. I kind of felt like they were expecting us to pressure and come at them, so we were trying to disguise and show some looks where maybe we were going to come at them and then move out and play in different coverages."

Credit the adjustment, but the performance nonetheless leaves concerns about this banged-up unit's prospects in the tougher games ahead.

Meanwhile, here's our weekly deep dive into the PFF College grades and advanced data for the Trojans defense this week.

RELATED: See how PFF College graded the USC offense in the win at Colorado

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