59–24 was not the result we were hoping for, but being down just one score heading into the 4th quarter? I would’ve signed up for that every time.
The final score didn’t tell the whole story, but one thing is clear: our defense is starting to look like it could be historically bad. You have to go back pre-pandemic, to 2019, to find a game where we gave up more than the 59 points we’ve allowed in back-to-back weeks—the 67–63 track meet loss to UCLA, when Anthony Gordon threw for nine touchdowns. To find a two-week stretch this bad, you’d need a time machine to 2008—Paul Wulff’s first season—when we lost 66–13 at Oregon State and then 69–0 at home against USC.