USC’s troubled defense moving up under Gary Patterson: ‘Starting to pay off’

Call it the Press Box Defense or Gary Patterson 2.0.

By any name, what USC has unveiled on defense in the two games since its defensive savant moved into the press box is vastly superior to what preceded it.

The Trojans are getting more stops, giving up fewer points and making the plays they need to finally complement their elite offense.

“At some point and time,” Patterson said recently on “Trojans Live,” “you’ve got to win because of defense to become the program you want to become.”

Patterson’s comments on the YouTube show hosted by the USC athletic department were his first since the season started. He has not spoken with reporters since the low of getting ripped apart by Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola or the high of bouncing back with a flurry of late stops in back-to-back victories over Washington and Penn State.

Patterson credited coach Lincoln Riley with the idea of moving from the sideline to a higher vantage point as a way for coaches still learning one another to “meld it all together.”

“Moving up to the box has really, really helped,” Patterson said, “not just with me seeing things – because I’ve always been a guy that saw things from the sidelines – but putting us in a situation where I get more communication from the sidelines now because I’m not down there.”

Patterson said safeties coach Paul Gonzales, his former longtime assistant at TCU, is his point person on the sideline. The new arrangement has helped Patterson get calls in quicker – which had previously been an issue in the moments before the snap – because he can better see the way things are developing on the field.

“It’s starting to pay off,” Patterson said.

That’s been particularly true in the second half.

No. 16 USC (6-1 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) didn’t give up any points over the final 28:30 against Washington, allowing the Trojans’ offense to mount a comeback, and surrendered only two field goals in the second half against Penn State. The Trojans held those teams to a combined 3 for 24 on third-down conversions.

“I think our ability to adapt in-game to how people are attacking us, I think our awareness of how we’re being attacked and how we want to attack back is really starting to show up,” Riley said. “We’ve won those games on the back of our defense, I mean, there’s no question.”

Riley said increased familiarity among the defensive staff and players has had a snowball effect in improving the team’s play.

“Just kind of the connectivity on all levels is going up, the understanding is going up,” Riley said, “and then when you go and you have some success and you make some big plays in games to help the team win the game, there’s a confidence associated with that and so I think our guys are really starting to gain some confidence.”

It’s still fair to question whether Patterson’s defense is better than the version that preceded it under former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. The Trojans rank No. 63 nationally in total defense (350 yards allowed per game) and No. 81 in scoring defense (25.1 points allowed per game).

On Saturday evening at Camp Randall Stadium, they’ll face a physical Wisconsin team with a quarterback in Colton Joseph who is capable of beating them with his ability to run.

The good news for the Trojans is that the Badgers (4-2, 2-1) may not be able to exploit their primary weakness. Wisconsin is averaging just 199.7 passing yards per game – ranking No. 100 nationally. Meanwhile, USC is giving up 239 passing yards per game, ranking No. 110.

Even with its recent improvement, the Trojans’ defense has a long way to go.

“It’s like, when are we going to get over giving up four explosives before you guys figure out we don’t need to do this kind of stuff, right?” Patterson cracked. “And I need to do a better job of making sure that we put them in [the right] positions.”

At least now, scanning the field from high above, he’s in a better position to do so.