USC vs. Washington State score, summary: Trojans upset by Cougars

The USC vs. Washington State score did not favor the Trojans, who suffered their first loss of the season, falling 30-27 in Pullman.

The lowdown: The first half played out in a familiar way for the Trojans. Though the Cougars moved the ball on their first series, the Trojan defense held on to force a field goal before the USC offense drove for a score on a Sam Darnold keeper at the goal line.

Though Washington State’s receivers committing several key drops while USC’s defense forced several stops, the Trojan offense struggled to capitalize. A disastrous fleaflicker attempt which resulted in an intentional grounding penalty stalled one drive in a particularly egregious way.

The Cougars found a foothold after Falk delivered a 61-yard pass to Renard Bell to set up a 28-yard screen touchdown to Tavares Martin Jr., making it 10-7.

Darnold’s interception on the ensuing drive was negated by a quick three-and-out, followed by a home run hit for Ronald Jones II, who scampered 86 yards for a touchdown.

The Trojans had another opportunity to take control when Uchenna Nwosu tipped an interception to himself at the two-yard line, but USC only managed a field goal from the prime field position.

Washington State capped the first half with a methodical 94-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 17.

USC’s first drive of the second half was marred by a questionable offensive pass interference penalty against Tyler Vaughns, opening the door for WSU to drive for a field goal to take the lead, 20-17.

A 17-yard Cougar punt from deep in their own territory set the Trojans up with good field position, but they settled for a Chase McGrath field goal to tie the game 20-20 as the third quarter concluded.

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter Falk hit Jamal Morrow on a shovel pass from 23 yards out to take a 27-20 lead.

Despite struggling for most of the game, Darnold generated a key touchdown drive, including hitting Tyler Vaughns on a fourth-and-13 conversion, before running for a short score. With five minutes left, USC tied the game at 27.

The Cougars put the game back in Darnold’s hands when they settled for a field goal, making it 30-27, with one minute and 40 seconds on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, Darnold’s magic ran out in Pullman. The quarterback was stripped and the Cougars recovered to win the game 30-27.

The quick takeaway: The Trojans were banged up coming into the game and the injury situation only got more dire as the game progressed as three starting offensive lineman were off the field by half time.

Despite the injuries, USC’s offense simply did not do enough to get the victory. The Trojans could not, or would not, establish the run game while Darnold put in the worst performance of his career.

The Trojans now drop to 4-1, with a loss in conference on their record. If there’s a positive, the Cougars are in the Pac-12 North and USC can recover from the setback. If the injury situation doesn’t set them back first.

Player of the game: Rasheem Green. The defensive lineman was USC’s most effective defender, hitting Falk for 1.5 sacks and hurrying him throughout the night.

Stat of the game: Darnold’s passer rating was 92.3, sub-100 for the first time in his career.

Next on tap: The Trojans return home next Saturday to open the month of October against the Oregon State Beavers.