In an unexpected twist, USC’s defense is no longer the problem

LOS ANGELES — If they were to walk into the land of the Great Lakes and beat Minnesota on Saturday night, PJ Fleck made clear, USC would have to do so on the ground.

Such was life in the Big Ten, and it became apparent shortly into the first half that these Golden Gophers would concede no inch over the top to USC and Lincoln Riley. They threw depth in the secondary, and brought pressure to quarterback Miller Moss in the rare chances a deep shot did materialize, and relegated a dynamic USC...