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USC coach Lincoln Riley criticized his team’s poor tackling during their game against Washington on Saturday. Specifically, he pointed out two instances where USC defenders failed to stop Washington tight end Decker DeGraaf from scoring a touchdown late in the third quarter. Riley emphasized that such defensive lapses are uncharacteristic of his players and unacceptable for the Trojans’ standards. He also mentioned discussing the matter directly with the involved players, Urlacher and Hill, indicating that they understood the severity of their actions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Lincoln Riley, USC’s coach, criticized his team's defense after a game against Washington where poor tackling led to a touchdown. The incident occurred when Decker DeGraaf, a tight end from Washington, caught a pass and broke free past Brian Urlacher, a USC safety, who failed to bring him down or out of bounds with two-handed shoves that had no effect. Similarly, cornerback Elbert “Rock” Hill IV also missed the tackle inside the 20-yard line. Riley noted these were the worst tackling attempts he saw all game and emphasized there was "zero excuse" for such performance. He stressed that players cannot play for USC if they do not make proper tackles.
Written for “College Football Tackling Issues” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 61861 · logged 2026-10-07
USC fans who watched a pair of defenders play two-hand touch on Washington’s final touchdown Saturday weren’t the only incredulous observers.
asserted
pair → watch → touchdown
“It was just, I think, two really just poor attempts at a tackle,” Riley said Tuesday evening after having several days to digest the indignity.
asserted
Riley → think → indignity
It started when Huskies tight end Decker DeGraaf caught a short pass from Demond Williams Jr. early n in the third quarter and turned upfield.
asserted
DeGraaf → start → quarter
USC safety Brian Urlacher had a chance to stop DeGraaf around the 30-yard line, but his two-handed shove attempting to move the receiver out of bounds had zero impact as DeGraaf continued to run up the sideline.
asserted
DeGraaf → have → sideline
Cornerback Elbert “Rock” Hill IV had one last chance inside the 20, but his two-handed push had the same negligible effect as his teammate’s.
asserted
push → have → teammate
“He got face masked like crazy,” Riley said of Hill, “but it’s still zero excuse to not get the guy out of bounds.
asserted
it → mask → bounds
I mean just, it really wasn’t representative of the way we played the entire game.
asserted
we → mean → game
It was kind of weird that our two worst attempts at a tackle happened on the same exact play.
asserted
attempts → happen → play
“You can’t play for us and play like that.”
asserted
You → play → that
Did Riley speak with Urlacher and Hill afterward?
asserted
Riley → speak → Urlacher
“Oh, yeah,” Riley said.
asserted
Riley → say → ?
“Message received loud and clear and it was a bad play by our standards.
asserted
it → receive → standards
That hasn’t been representative of how KU and Rock have played this year, how they’ve tackled or hit or competed.
asserted
they → play → ?
So out of character for both of them and I bet we won’t see it again.”
asserted
we → bet → it
On the plus side, DeGraaf’s touchdown represented Washington’s final score before the Trojans rallied for a 25-21 victory while allowing their fewest points in a month.
asserted
Trojans → represent → month
Students who chanted “Fire Riley!” after USC fell behind 21-10 were silenced by what happened the rest of the game.
asserted
what → chant → game
USC’s defense was bolstered in part by the strong play of linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson, subbing for Desman Stephens II after Stephens was suspended for celebrating his big hit on Oregon’s Dante Moore the previous week.
asserted
Stephens → bolster → Moore
Might that impact the team’s linebacker rotation against Penn State (3-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) on Saturday given it received some of its best play of the season at the position?
uncertain
it → impact → position
“It’s gonna create more opportunities for some of those guys, there’s no question about it,” said Riley, whose No. 19 Trojans (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) will face a Nittany Lions offense averaging 32 points per game.
asserted
Trojans → go → game
“I think what we learned this week is we’ve got a handful of guys in there that can go out there and play really, really well.
asserted
that → think → guys
[So] whether it’s somebody else getting more reps or it’s just the ability to just simply rotate guys to keep them fresh, we’re using guys different from a package standpoint.
asserted
we → ’ → standpoint
We certainly look at it as a positive and feel like we know a little bit more, have developed some more depth in that room than maybe we felt 10 days ago.”
asserted
we → look → room
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