USC Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin was unhappy with his defense against Washington, which is understandable considering the Trojans allowed 537 total yards to the Huskies, the second time this season an opponent has racked up over 500 yards of offense. The defense was the main focus of Kiffin's weekly question and answer session with the USC Ripsit Blog:
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In addition to the defense, Kiffin is unhappy with his kicking game, opening up the kicking battle this week between placekicker Joe Houston and Jacob Harfman, who is currently punting as well. "Unfortunately, Joe [Houston] had a great camp and was kicking the ball extremely well. Now we've been missing him," Kiffin said of his placekicker, "it's the same thing we talked about earlier in the year, that unfortunately came back to haunt us in a close game, that we were getting away with early on."
↵Houston is just 2 for 6 on field goal attempts this season, and has missed all three attempts of 40 or more yards, including a 40-yard attempt off the right upright with 2:39 left in the game that would have given USC a five-point lead. Although USC did not attempt a two-point conversion on Saturday, it has tried eight two-point conversions out of its 25 total touchdowns.
↵For more USC news and analysis, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.