4 stories in the last 60 days, from 4 outlets.
Christian Pierce
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Four seasons in the USC secondary to date. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Washington — Week 5, 2026.
49 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
49 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 0 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 4 outlets
USC Safety Christian Pierce Honored as Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week
247Sports +2 Sep 22 · 3 outlets
from 5 outlets
USC Safety Christian Pierce Honored as Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week
247Sports +2 Sep 22 · 3 outlets
Sports Illustrated247Sports +2
USC AthleticsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 5 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-26vs San José State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 39-0vs Fresno State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-30vs Louisiana | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 42-35@ Rutgers | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 27-41vs No. 20 Oregon | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 25-21vs Washington | 9 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 31-23@ Penn State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 7-24@ Wisconsin | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-18vs No. 2 Ohio State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 30-18 vs Ohio State, play by play
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
His game this year: taking the ball away — 1 interception, 1 forced fumble in the 9 games with play by play.
How USC’s defense played that day
Ohio State’s 11 drives: 6 stopped (1 takeaway) · 5 scored.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles. The fumble he forced ended Penn State’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 5, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Fourth quarter, up 31-23. Ended Penn State’s drive (fumble).
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
11 tackles, including 1 interception, 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most passes broken up in FBS that week. His interception ended Rutgers’s drive (int).
Intercepted. First quarter, up 3-0. Ended Rutgers’s drive (int).
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 3 · 2026
W 42-35
at Rutgers
1 interception · 11 tackles · 2 pass breakups
Edged out Rutgers on the road in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
49tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL49 tackles · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Lincoln Riley — 31-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 6.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
51.8%
310 pass / 289 run
Plays / game
66.6
9 games
Team sack rate
3.6%
338 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
49 tackles in 9 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #128 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #5 of 15 Big Ten Ss
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 31 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Lincoln Riley.
CBS Sports College Football
