The USC Trojans suffered a disappointing loss to Oregon over the weekend. And while Oregon coach Dan Lanning had some strong words about USC after the loss, Leo is now defending his program.
After the game, Lanning took some shots at the not-so-subtle crowd at USC and advanced to the state of the program after a third-straight win over the Oregon Trojans. However, Leo still seems proud of the way the team competed in the game.
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Lanning calls USC
Following Oregon’s win over USC, Lanning had a few shots at USC’s not-so-subtle program.
The average attendance for the first four games of the season at home in Los Angeles was 51,806. The overnight crowd on Saturday night was 75,500.
Lanning noticed this and quickly took credit for giving the Coliseum company a boost.
“I watched three games on TV,” he said today via Jordan Mendoza USA. “I haven’t seen a packed game yet, but here we were, it was packed tonight. So I guess when the Ducks show up, that’s how you fill the Coliseum.”
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Lanning then had an even sharper shot at USC as he sent a message to any recruits considering both schools.
“Three guys against these guys wins,” he said, via Max Towers Duck Scoop. “I guess if you want to attend winning football games, you’re from this area, you have to go to Oregon. If you want to go to a Chris Brown concert, you have to go here.”
There’s not much good in that tape
Despite the end of the game and Lanning’s harsher words for USC, Leo came to his team’s defense this week.
“We’re not out of the race. There’s a lot of good in that candle,” Riley said, per USA Today’s Matt Hayes. “You don’t have a chance to win the game if you do certain things well enough.”
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Leo is not necessarily wrong. USC had some strong moments, especially on the offensive side of the ball, which totaled 446 yards of offense. The problem is that the defense gave up 504 total yards in a game where the quarterback played the majority of the games. USC has given up 30 or more points in each of its past games.
It makes sense for Leo to defend his team, but it’s pretty clear the Trojans need to make some real changes going forward.
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