Friday Night Lights: Scondi’s USC vs. Washington State 2017 preview

After their first road victory of the season, the Trojans will hope to avoid another slow start as they travel north for USC vs. Washington State.

Disclaimer: To all of my readers (especially my friends), a majority of whom are apparently English teachers, my articles aren’t the Writing and Language section of the SAT. You do not need to alert me of my typos immediately after my pieces are published. I know I miss typos. A lot. There were probably a handful in this disclaimer. All of you are going to point out more typos now, aren’t you?

The introduction for my preview usually gives a brief history on the opponent USC is playing this week. USC vs. Washington State isn’t much of a rivalry.

The Trojans have only lost nine times in 72 games against the Cougars with the only loss in recent memory being a blessing in disguise as it marked the beginning of the end for the Lane Kiffin era in Los Angeles.

Washington State beat USC 10-7 in 2013 in what was maybe the most unwatchable game ever. Ask any Trojan fan and they will remember that awful game vividly. It’s a memory that will never wash away. I still have bubble screen PTSD from watching Cody Kessler and Max Wittek combine for 54 yards passing.

Of those nine losses against the Cougars, two have been on the road. Will Friday mark the third?

USC Notes

Boy, that game against Cal was certainly…a game. To be honest, I didn’t write a recap for last week for two reasons.

One, USC is on a short week and I’m trying to provide my readers with more than eight hours before kickoff to read my previews.

Two, I don’t really remember anything memorable happening and I was literally in attendance. I left that stadium with no positive or negative feelings about the team. They came out slow as they have been known to do for what seems like two seasons now, and then pulled away in the fourth quarter…yet again.

Was there a highlight from last week that wasn’t a Chase McGrath field goal or Ross Bowers chucking a ball into the secondary with his eyes closed? Most of the issues that USC had before playing Cal they still have, so the game overall was one big meh.

One positive is that Trojans fans don’t need to worry about the defense anymore. It’s the main reason USC is undefeated this year.

Some of the best players from last week were sitting on the bench at the beginning of the season. Christian Rector is becoming the type of pass rusher fans hoped to see Porter Gustin become. Not to say he’s better, but he’s currently the only one of the two with four functioning limbs.

Depth doesn’t seem to be much of an issue on defense.

Not only did Jack Jones win Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award, Cal quarterback Ross Bowers had a 0.0 passer rating when targeting him in coverage. Not bad for the guy everyone wanted to bench after the Texas game.

I guess Iman Marshall is back to being Trojans fans’ scapegoat. Unless Jalen Greene wants to volunteer.

Coming into this season, fans would have had Uchenna Nwosu as the third best linebacker, not the most valuable player on this team. He’s been incredible this year on the pass rush and will wreak havoc on Washington State’s offense this Friday.

Offensively, the issues continue to grow. While the Texas Tesla is expected to return from the repair shop, the wide receiver corps is banged up. Steven Mitchell Jr. is expected to miss another week. Deontay Burnett will play but won’t be at a 100 percent, suffering a shoulder injury against Cal.

Add the existing injury to tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe and the departure of Cary Angeline, and USC’s weakest unit is even weaker.

Practice makes perfect. At this point, fans will take half decent.

Before the season, I wrote an extremely satirical article about why USC fans should worry about Sam Darnold this season.

Sadly, they are taking some of my ridiculous ideas to heart and creating even more absurd ones.

USC fans expect the players they root for to eat, drink and sleep football. Wait until they find out Darnold spends his time off the field going to classes and hanging out with his friends and family instead of watching film and reading the playbook from sunrise to sunset.

Are Trojans fans more upset last year at 1-3 or this year at 4-0? It seems like a ridiculous question, but I honestly think it’s the latter. Last year, fans were playing with house money. This season, USC is going all in every game.

This team hasn’t lost a game in a full year. In the grand scheme of things, they literally could not be playing any better. Fans need to get a grip, and realize they could have Jim Mora as their head coach.

Washington State Team Preview

Note: As always, Bill Connelly’s team preview of Washington State was invaluable to my research. He gets the credit.

Record

Whoever was in charge of Washington State’s non-conference schedule deserves a big raise.

The Cougars usually start their season with a loss to a FCS opponent, but luckily this year, they scheduled a less difficult Big Sky opponent. They defeated the Montana State Bobcats 31-0

Their only difficulty so far this season came against Boise State, when they came back from a 21-point deficit to win in triple overtime, 47-44. This isn’t the Broncos team that was running trick plays against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl though.

This is store brand Boise State. If they were a cereal, they’d be 50 percent off and come in a large plastic bag. You’d pick it up with a generic soda called “Dr. Pop”.

At least they have a very good boy on their sidelines.

After their slight hiccup in Week 2, the Cougars went on to beat two more Mountain West opponents, defeating Oregon State, 52-23, and Nevada, 45-7.

Yes, I’m counting Oregon State as a Mountain West team now. Have you’ve seen them play this year? Larry Scott should relegate them to that division for the rest of the season.

It’s the Pac-11 now.

This will be Washington State’s fifth straight home game this season. They only play in Pullman two more times this year.

It’s September.

Coach

Mike Leach is a national treasure.

Sure, he has somewhat of a troubled past. He got fired from Texas Tech for locking one of his concussed players in an equipment room. But what if that player wasn’t the son of an ESPN analyst?

He probably would not have been fired. But life is about second chances. It’s the only way to explain how Lane Kiffin keeps getting work.

I don’t have enough words to do him justice. Hopefully, a couple of videos will help.

Here he is pondering life while his assistant coach begs him to go for the two-point conversion at the end of regulation. Spoiler alert: they kicked the extra point and won in overtime.

https://twitter.com/PardonMyTake/status/906735203728621573

He’s great at giving halftime interviews. He talks to the reporters the same way Clay Helton gives injury updates.

People covering the team have finally caught on to his peculiar attitude towards life in general and have learned to ask him the most random questions and make sure they have enough memory in their cameras to record the response.

Why waste time asking the head coach about the team’s game plan for the week when you can ask him his thoughts on Big Foot and aliens.

Even when he’s asked about football, his answers are incredible. An essay long response to a 14-word question.

Usually bizarre behavior from a less-than-known coach is compensation for their lack of talent, but Leach is one of the most consistent coaches in the game, and perfect for Washington State.

Mike Leach isn’t going to take your team to the National Championship every year, but he will consistently get you eight to nine wins a season, and that’s more than enough for fans in Pullman. They’ve seen every successful coach in school history jump ship for a better opportunity.

All Cougars fans need is stability…and someone to hold their school flag at College Gameday.

Offense

Another week, another Air Raid offense. Except, Cal was the “Kitty Hawk” and Washington State is a 747.

Trojans fans didn’t get to see the Air Raid offense at its full potential, mainly because Ross Bowers and the Golden Bears flew into a flock of future Seahawks.

For those that need a brief refresher course, the Air Raid offense is built on getting the ball out quickly and creating efficient gains by forcing defenses to make open-field tackles.

Washington State passed more than any team last year, throwing 65 percent on standard downs and 81 percent on passing downs. This year is no different as they are the third-best passing attack in the nation.

If USC fans have problems with the lack of a deep threat in their offense, wait until they watch Washington State throw five-yard outs on every play.

The Cougars passing attack is minimal on big plays and is an extreme version of dink-and-dunk.

Man, Cody Kessler should have transferred to Pullman. He would have been able to rack up the stats quarterback Luke Falk has now. In his first three years at Washington State he’s thrown for 10,893 passing yards and 89 touchdowns. This season he’s thrown for 1,378 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception.

If he continues playing like this, he’s going to have his name in a lot of record books.

Broke a school record and was benched in the same game? Get you a man who can do both.

Despite Falk’s numbers, he is getting no Heisman consideration. He’s going to need find a way to get more national spotlight and recognition.

Maybe he can be a guest on Sam Darnold’s podcast next week?

A balanced attack for Washington State means an equal amount of passes to their running backs and wide receivers. They don’t have much of a running game. Not that they need to.

The Cougars are averaging 71.8 rushing yards per game. To compare, Ronald Jones II is averaging 80.5 yards this season and that’s counting the game against Cal where the only carry he would have had is a trainer lifting him up from the couch so he continue to rest his ankle.

Starter Jamal Morrow has 193 yards rushing for one touchdown and a 6.9 yard per carry average. Back up James Williams has added 148 yards rushing and one touchdown.

Morrow and Williams seem more like wide receivers lined up in the backfield that sometimes get handed the ball. They have combined for 50 receptions, 350 yards and six touchdowns.

Wide receiver Tavares Martin Jr. has 26 receptions for 390 yards and six touchdowns while Isaiah Johnson-Mack has 24 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Jack Jones and Iman Marshall are going to have a lot to handle this Friday.

I hope Trojans fans already have drafts of their angry tweets.

Washington State had one of the best offensive lines in the nation last year. While they lose two starters, they still return an All-American guard and honorable mention All-Conference tackle.

Luke Falk needs all the protection he can get. He’s taken his fair share of hits in his four-year career at Washington State. They may need to wrap him in bubble wrap so he’s healthy enough to get a couple of backup contracts in the NFL.

You can’t get hurt by holding a clipboard.

Defense

Usually when a team needs to score over 40 points a game, they are either compensating for their lack of a defense, or they’re Alabama. It may be have been the schedule, playing against cupcakes like Nevada and Oregon State, but Washington State’s defense is ranked 12th in the nation.

While their defensive stats as a whole may be a little distorted due to their non-conference schedule (and playing the Beavers), their pass rush is real, recording 15 sacks, tied for fourth-most in the country.

Their line is led by defensive tackle Hercules Mata’afa, who has 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses, both tops in the nation. Hopefully one of USC’s interior linemen can muster up some godlike strength and prevent Hercules from getting to Darnold. Too bad Toa Lobendahn moved from center to tackle in the offseason. That hair might be able to turn Hercules into stone.

The Cougars return their top four linebackers from last year. Unfortunately, they lost their senior middle linebacker, Peyton Pelluer. A foot injury in Week 3 ended his season after 34 consecutive starts.

It will be interesting to see how Washington State plays without the leader of their defense. After watching USC struggle for one half without Cameron Smith, it stands to reason the Cougars are going to have some growing pains.

The secondary was expected to see a regression this year due to the lack of depth, but the unit has been key in forcing a majority of the 10 turnovers for Washington State. The unit is led by safety Jalen Thompson who has three interceptions on the season.

Special Teams

Washington State’s special teams is good at the kicking part and bad at everything else. Their kickoff and punt teams are tops in the conference, while their return game is near the bottom.

Meanwhile, the best thing on USC’s special teams is a blind long snapper.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

No, fans shouldn’t go to Pullman, Washington on a Friday night. Or any night. Ever.

Not that you could go with Martin Stadium completely sold out for the game. Is that a real sell-out or a USC “sell-out”?

Either way, it’s going to be loud and USC is preparing for the noise. The Trojans have trouble running plays in their own stadium. What’s going to happen when they have to go to a silent count?

This is USC’s first time on the road this year. Cal doesn’t count. Half that stadium was dressed in cardinal. The other half was wearing some weird silver bench color.

Martin Stadium has a capacity of 32,952. The total population of Pullman is 33,282. The town is going to have to shut down for this game.

Does the stadium capacity include moths? Hopefully those fly swatters that seemed to be attached to Uchenna Nwosu’s hands will alleviate this bug problem before the game on Friday.

If not, I hope the Trojans’ jerseys are made of cashmere.

Prediction

USC cannot start out slow this week. Washington State has outscored teams 87-19 in the first half this season. If the Trojans don’t come out of the gate fast, they will not be able to catch up with the Cougars.

USC has outscored opponents 72-38 in the fourth quarter so if they can keep it close the whole game, they can pull away with the victory. Maybe they should play every quarter like it’s the last?

In the last four games, USC has played against three first-year coaches. That can create a lot of issues for the Trojans’ game plan since there isn’t enough film on their opponent. Luckily, Mike Leach has been coaching Washington State for six years. Clay Helton and his coaching staff will know what is coming.

Or they will spend a majority of their week watching a compilation of Mike Leach quotes. That’s what I did.

There is a narrative that USC doesn’t perform well when they play during the week. When fans think of USC playing on a Thursday or Friday, they think about the upset in Oregon State or the embarrassing loss to Washington that ended Steve Sarkisian’s career with the Trojans.

Even last year, USC lost on a last-second heartbreaker to Utah on a Friday

in a game that cost Clay Helton his job

.

This narrative isn’t accurate. In fact, USC performs as well as anyone on weekdays, if not better. Since losing to Oregon State in 2008, USC is 10-2 when they play on a Thursday or Friday.

On the opposing sideline, Mike Leach is 1-7 during the week with Washington State, including a 1-4 record on short rest. If the narrative belongs to anyone, it’s the Cougars. Too bad, no one cares about Pullman. The only bright lights they have there attract insects.

In the beginning of the season, this was the only game I predicted the Trojans to lose. That was when I thought it was going to be a trap game.

Trap games don’t involved two ranked teams.

I did not expect Washington State to be this good. This team opened their season losing to an FCS opponent the previous two years. No one thought they’d be undefeated and in the Top 25.

The benefit of this game not getting qualified as a trap is that players aren’t looking ahead until next week. They will not overlook the No. 16 team in the nation.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

On defense, USC should be able to contain the Washington State passing attack. Clancy Pendergast has made his career out of stopping Air Raid offenses and Friday will not be an exception. The Trojans defensive line should be able to rush Luke Falk in four-man sets like they did against Cal. Washington State doesn’t like to run so USC will not have to worry about the six to eight yard gains that the Golden Bears seemed to pick up on every carry last Saturday.

That doesn’t mean the Trojans defense is going to be able to hold Washington State to less than 20 points. Luke Falk and the Cougars offense will score on them. It’s inevitable.

USC will need to figure out its offense or this game will be over quickly. With Jones II returning to the backfield, the Trojans will need to reestablish the run game that has waned over the past two weeks. Washington State’s defense wants to create negative plays against the run and force opponents to pass. If the Cougars can make their opponent one-dimensional, it plays into their hands.

The running attack will not be enough. USC needs to reestablish its balanced attack against the Cougars defense.

It’s time for Darnold to step up, and it seems like the perfect opportunity. Ever notice how well he performs in prime time games? Maybe he needs more pressure to perform. His grandfather, Dick Hammer, was one of the original Marlboro men. Maybe seeking the national spotlight runs in the family?

Colin Cowherd also predicts Louisville will not win another game this season because Lamar Jackson couldn’t get over the Rick Pitino firing.

Imagine thinking USC was going to lose to Washington State this Friday because their basketball program got in trouble. Fans are really reaching for reasons why the Trojans will lose this week, which is great. I’d rather have fans satisfied with a victory than upset that USC didn’t win enough.

This game is going to be stressful. Fans aren’t going to be able to relax until it’s over, but it’s a small price to pay to watch your team continue its win streak and remain undefeated.