USC head football coach Lincoln Riley commented on the Trojan’s defense during the team’s spring practice on Tuesday, Los Angeles Times USC beat writer Ryan Kartje.

“We expect to be an extremely high-level defense here at USC,” Lincoln Riley said. “No reason in the world why we can’t and why we won’t be.

“And we expect that that will happen and happen soon.”

USC’s defense earned eighth place in the Pac-12 with 423.93 yards allowed per game. It let up 2,237 rushing yards and 3,698 passing yards in 14 games. Though they were able to score 45 points in their postseason appearance, the Trojans were not able to contain a comeback victory from the Tulane Green Wave as they scored 32 points in the second half to claim a 46-45 win in AT&T Stadium.