The USC defense brings its Penn State composure to Camp Randall

LOS ANGELES — The sentiment from USC's defense is that the bye week was less about resting anything and more about sharpening what already worked. After weathering a wild, emotional environment at Penn State's White Out, the group heads into another hostile building at Camp Randall with the same even-keeled approach that got it through Beaver Stadium with a signature win.

Defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren, one of the unit's veteran voices, pointed to red zone execution as the standard this unit has chased since he arrived at USC. 

"Every great defense has really good red zone defense," VanSumeren said. "Not giving up touchdowns, that's something we emphasized ever since I got here with coach Riley and coach [Patterson]."

VanSumeren also brushed off any novelty to playing in front of large road crowds, framing it as background noise rather than a real variable to consider.

"I could be playing in front of 150,000 or zero," he said. "To me, that's indifferent. Who I'm playing in front of, I'm going to still do what I do, and that's the mindset of this team."

That same mentality shines through for cornerback Alex Graham, who's leaned into Camp Randall's "Jump Around" tradition rather than treating it as any sort of distraction. The Trojans have been blasting the tune through their sound system throughout practice this week.

"I actually like the song, so it turns me up," Graham said. "I really be jumping on the sideline when I'm in the game. I can jump around, literally. I enjoy it. It's going to be a fun one this week."

Graham kept the group's game plan against the Wisconsin run game just as simple as his read on the overall environment. 

"They're a super physical team, so just us coming down, making tackles, taking on blocks, keeping our leverages…just playing ball at the end of the day."

Defensive end Luke Wafle, one of the team's East Coast natives, was upfront about what will set the trip apart physically, pointing to the cold as a potential factor that could cut in the Trojans' favor. Wafle was named Wednesday as a Midseason True Freshman All-American.

"I think it's more catered towards the defense because a lot of the offensive skill guys don't like getting hit in the cold, which I've been on the other side of," he said.

Wafle also echoed the larger point about facing a mobile quarterback like Colton Joseph, who's rushed for 333 yards this season. He says that the Trojans' discipline will matter more than any individual matchup.

"We've got to trust one another as a D-line unit and have true pass rush lanes."

Safety Prophet Brown tied the group's composure directly back to what carried them through Penn State, framing it as the template for Saturday.

"We stayed in it," Brown said. "We stayed in the moment. Penn State, there were a lot of ups and downs…it was a very emotional game. But as a unit, as a team, we stayed focused on that moment. That type of composure is what we're going to need carrying into Camp Randall as well."

For a defense that's turned composure down the stretch into its calling card over the past two games, visiting Wisconsin is shaping up as an intriguing test to see if the unit can continue to execute at the same cohesive level.