The results and stats are overwhelming -- and not in a good way, of course.

USC's defense ranks 103rd nationally in giving up an average of 32.2 points per game, a a figure which was certainly hurt by the 62-33 loss to UCLA over the weekend. The Trojans rank 94th in total defense, giving up 417.7 yards per game.

If it finishes that way, those would be the worst season totals in program history, surpassing the 30.6 points per game allowed in 2000 and the 408.7 yards per game given up in 2019.

The Trojans are neither good against the run (172.8 YPG allowed, ranking 96th nationally), nor the pass (244.9 YPG, 93rd), and they also aren't especially productive in creating sacks (1.7 per game, 108th).

Nobody is more frustrated by all of that, or has spent more time dwelling on the why and how, than defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who spoke to reporters after practice Wednesday and offered in-depth responses to those very questions

"I'm the type of person -- what can I do? That's a coach. A coach is a person who doesn't sit there and say anything outside of saying like, can I get it better, can we get it better, where do we lose a step?" he said. "Because sometimes it's just one step from one read to one processing moment that you don't expect a guy to have, and that's the stuff that we're digging into. Just at this point right now if this guy does this what was the hesitation why?"

So what's the answer he's come up with?

Well, it was a lone one ...

"It's just a handful of critical mistakes sometimes -- sometimes it's eye discipline -- and it's hard to kind of gather it all up at times because it's just like the why is sometimes just so small. And when you go against somebody that's good or you get into these teams that have unique guys, draftable guys, your one bad [play] -- if you're bad with your eyes, bad with your feet -- just these little small critical moments are the seconds before you miss a play. That's the part that's digging into me more than anything else," Orlando said. "If we're out of position or we don't get a call, sometimes that happens, somebody goes fast or they trick you for that game. You say to yourself, we've got to do a better job of either simplifying or doing stuff in a different manner. But when guys are so close -- even the play we busted the coverage on [vs. UCLA], Kana'i [Mauga] puts his hand up in the air and it's probably this far away from knocking the ball down and just saving us, but we're just not getting those at this point.

"So that's the tough part for me. But it just goes into digging into the kids in the meeting room and just finding out, we repped this, you knew this route was coming, what's the hesitation? And that's what we've just got to eliminate -- the confidence of just saying cut it loose, you're going to make those plays. And when you're not making them, there is that back-of-your mind thinking -- the thinking just kills you."

Not only have the Trojans not found the answers this season -- they've given up at least 31 points to every opponent except San Jose State (111th in scoring this season), a Washington State team playing with a walk-on backup QB and a hapless Colorado squad (119th in scoring) -- but the results are trending in the wrong direction.

UCLA piled up 609 yards Saturday, the 62 points tied for the most the program has ever allowed in a game, and the Trojans have now given up 551 combined rushing yards in just the last two games.

So why do the players think the defense just hasn't clicked this season?

"The biggest [reason]? I honestly can't put my finger on it, to be honest. That's a good question, though," nickel Greg Johnson said. "I feel like we've got to make our plays when they're there, honestly. I feel that's one of the things, we've been shooting ourselves in the foot whether it's a deep ball and getting a PI call or just giving up a big run, not being in our right gap. Just things like that. Just small things."

Mauga, USC's linebacker and steadiest leader on the defensive side, echoed the same response -- that it's little things leading to big frustrations.

"I feel we're doing all we can and the very little mistakes that either one person or two people make and they just kind of take advantage of the mistakes that we make," he said.

There's two games left in the season, so it would seem unlikely any dramatic improvements are still possible.

Orlando doesn't see it that way, of course. He does acknowledge that at this point players are what they are but says his job is to work with that and "try to give them the answers to the test before they get out there" while hoping for consistency in the execution.

The task doesn't get any easier this week as No. 13 BYU (9-2) comes into the Coliseum. The Cougars have already had four games with at least 220 rushing yards, including 385 a few weeks ago against Virginia. If the Trojans can't be consistent, can't avoid the little mistakes that lead to big setbacks, then this game could quickly follow the theme of all of the Trojans' losses -- all six have been by at least two touchdowns.

The biggest question might be whether the team has been able to truly move past the drubbing from UCLA and lock back in for the final weeks of a season that has little remaining upside potential.

Interim head coach Donte Williams called out the players' effort at the start of practice Tuesday and challenged leaders to emerge and fire up the Trojans from within rather than it all having to come from the coaches.

"I feel like everybody reacted the right way. Me personally, I agreed with him, so I felt like everybody kind of felt the same way," veteran cornerback Chris Steele said.

As for Orlando, he was asked how he gauges whether there is that buy in, whether his unit has truly left last Saturday in the past.

Whether any bounce-back is left for this USC defense in particular.

"I think anytime you go into it it's kind of a look around ... Sometimes it's like go in there and 'Come on man, we're going to do this.' I just look at a guy like Kana'i. I can really judge the defensive unit by him, just the way he approaches it, he looks at it," Orlando said. "It's on me, but he sits there and looks at me and says, 'We're going to get this right for you.' That stuff to me was shown on Monday when they came in."