LOS ANGELES – It’s the “small-market” team from Pullman versus one of the top brand names in college football – for the last time, perhaps – when Washington State and No. 6 Southern Cal meet at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
The teams aren’t slated to play next season, according to fbschedules.com. In 2024, USC and UCLA will ditch the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten Conference. The Los Angeles schools’ landscape-altering defections, announced June 30, put the future of the Pac-12 into question and could also put an end to a few longstanding series.
Saturday’s contest will be the 76th game between WSU and USC since the teams first met in 1921. It could be the last Trojans/Cougars game – for a while, at least.
What’s for certain: It will be the final Pac-12 competition between USC and WSU.
The Cougars have already won once in “Big Ten country” this season, toppling Wisconsin 17-14 in Madison on Sept. 10. WSU played another high-profile game on Sept. 24, falling just short of 15th-ranked Oregon, 44-41.
A Cougar win on the road over a top-10 USC team would go down as one of WSU’s most meaningful triumphs in program history. It would mark the Cougars’ 11th win over a top-10 opponent since the creation of the Associated Press poll in 1936. It would provide more proof to a national audience that prestigious names and prominent institutions aren’t everything in college football – the Trojans have 38 four- and five-star recruits on their roster; WSU has one four-star player and no five-star athletes, yet is still one of the Pac-12’s top-performing teams.
It’d also be celebrated around the country as a major symbolic victory for the “little guy” in this era of conference realignment – in which media money and brand value are worth much more than tradition to the suits in charge.
When Washington State has the ball …
USC’s high-powered offense is dominating the headlines, but Dickert thinks the Trojans’ defense should be capturing attention on a similar scale.
“I think everyone knew what they’d be on offense, with all the big names coming in,” he said. “But the consistency they’ve had defensively I think has been really impressive. It changes the course of their team.”
Like their offense, the Trojan defense made good use of the NCAA transfer portal this offseason and signed some of the top available defenders on the market, including four-star transfer linebacker Eric Gentry (Arizona State), who now leads USC with 38 tackles.
“They just got some real good players. They have some athletes on their team,” Cougar receiver De’Zhaun Stribling said.
WSU quarterback Cameron Ward has been mostly sharp in recent weeks, spearheading a Cougar offense that piled up 107 points and 1,017 passing yards over the past three games, but the sophomore has shown signs of his youth at times and made some head-scratching decisions. He has thrown seven interceptions.
While the passing offense is developing at an encouraging pace, WSU’s ground game could use some work. The Cougars are last among Pac-12 teams in rushing attempts (125) and yards per game (91.8).
When USC has the ball …
Trojans coach Lincoln Riley is widely considered one of the brightest offensive minds in college football. He joined USC this offseason after leading Oklahoma and its potent offense to three College Football Playoff appearances and more than 50 wins over the past five seasons.
A host of elite skill players followed him to L.A. via the transfer portal. Williams, the former star Oklahoma QB, headlined the haul. Other notable additions include Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison (Pitt), four-star transfer receiver Mario Williams (Oklahoma) and All-Pac-12 running back Travis Dye (Oregon).
The Trojans operate with a 50/50 balance between passing and running plays. Dye is a workhorse. Caleb Williams has four standout receivers at his disposal. The Trojan QB has been particularly effective when he scrambles out of the pocket.
“That’s the kind of player he is,” Riley said. “It’s great if the pocket is clean all day … but in modern-day college football, that doesn’t happen very often.
“That’s why you’re seeing an influx of guys that give you the ability, that can make those things happen.”
Williams is one of the nation’s more efficient quarterbacks, with 12 touchdowns against only one interception – USC’s lone turnover of the season.
“We gotta take the ball away,” Dickert said. WSU has forced seven turnovers after finishing the 2021 season with 29. “We gotta find ways. (The Trojans) have been unbelievable. Just one turnover all year … shows the type of level they’ve been operating at offensively.”
USC’s supercharged offense produces 42 points per game, good for 10th in the nation. But the Cougars have proven themselves to be a more-than-capable defensive team under Dickert. They sit 25th nationally in scoring defense (18.2 ppg).
The Trojans stumbled offensively in one game. They were held to 17 points on Sept. 24 at Oregon State. Williams dealt with pressure all night and USC needed a go-ahead touchdown late to slip past the Beavers.
Dickert and WSU’s players indicated this week that they’ll have something special schemed up in hopes of containing Williams in the pocket.
The Cougars boast one of the top defensive fronts in the Pac-12 – maybe the nation. They rank second in the FBS in tackles for loss (45) and seventh in sacks (18). USC’s offensive line has surrendered 10 sacks. WSU will need its defensive line and blitzers to rattle Williams, so he doesn’t pick apart a Cougar secondary that has experienced mixed results this season.
Prediction:
According to USC’s leader, the Trojans haven’t faced a challenge like Washington State this season.
“Any way you slice it, it’s a really good football team,” first-year USC coach Lincoln Riley said of the Cougars earlier this week on a local radio show. “I think it’s the best football team we’ve played up until this point.”
The sixth-ranked Trojans (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) are two-touchdown favorites against the Cougars (4-1, 1-1). But Riley seems to share the opinion that’d been expressed throughout the week by fans – from both sides – and media personalities: The visitors from WSU shouldn’t be overlooked.
“This is a game (WSU) could absolutely win, even on the road,” FOX analyst Joel Klatt said Wednesday on a Pac-12 preview show.
“USC is favored by 13. That’s too many. … USC wins it late, but closer than 13.”
We expect the Cougars to give heavily favored USC trouble throughout Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. A steadily progressing WSU passing game will continue its upward trajectory and produce impressive stat totals against a USC defense that has been solid overall, but has allowed a few too many explosive plays for comfort.
But we’re predicting USC to eventually wear the Cougars down and score a go-ahead touchdown in the late stages. WSU’s pass coverage, still a questionable aspect of the team, might not be able to hold for a full game against an elite corps of Trojan skill players. USC’s turnover-minded defense has an edge against a Cougar offense that’s been prone to giveaways.
In the end, USC will add another win in a lopsided series. The Trojans are 62-10-4 all time against WSU. The Cougars have beaten USC in L.A. just six times in 48 tries.
The pick: USC 34, WSU 29
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