USC Football: 3 concerns from Trojans’ victory at California

3. Defense will make or break season as unit fuels another USC win

Had USC’s defense been even a bit less stingy, this could have been a much closer game. Tied at 13-13 going into the fourth quarter, it was still any team’s game to win. But the Trojans clamped down on their hosts, generating four turnovers in the final 15 minutes to secure the runaway victory on Saturday.

Ross Bowers threw for 303 yards, but he completed just 44 percent of his 50 passes to get to that mark. The young Cal quarterback also threw four interceptions on the day and took three sacks. For most of the game, the Trojans just rushed four. But they still managed to disrupt the Golden Bears’ passing attack, flustering Bowers when it mattered most.

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Clay Helton definitely has a championship-caliber team. But with Sam Darnold struggling to start the year and the running game looking rather ordinary without Ronald Jones II, USC needed its defense to step up again to secure their first road win of the year. Things won’t get any easier as the Pac-12 schedule ramps into full force, and if USC is going to be a College Football Playoff contender in 2017 they will need the defense to remain among the nation’s best.