5 Takeaways from Washington State Cougars 30-14 loss at USC
Lamarr Fields
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The Washington State Cougars played an excellent first half but struggled after the break. As a result, they lost 30-14 on the road to USC. Here are our five biggest takeaways.
The Washington State Cougars played an excellent first half but struggled after the break. As a result, USC Trojans beat Washington State 30-14 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Washington State trailed only 17-14 (they should have had a 14-13 lead) at halftime. The Cougars had an excellent chance to pull off an upset with a solid second half, but instead of surging, they faded. Here are our five biggest takeaways.
O? No
Quarterback Cameron Ward did not throw an interception on Saturday night, but the Washington State Cougars had a tough time getting anything going in the second half. Ward finished the game 19 of 32 with 172 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Receiver Renard Bell was injured in the first quarter, which seemed to take some steam out of the Cougs offense. Ward shied away from the middle of the field after Bell went down. USC saw it and defended the sidelines more often as the game went on.
It wasn’t just playing without Bell. Washington State had other issues, such as dropped balls and poor execution, that plagued the offense all day.
USC held Washington State scoreless for the final 43 minutes, stopping the Cougars on seven straight drives to end the game. Wazzu has too much offensive talent to get shut down like that.
Opportunity Knocks – Jenkins Answers
Starting running back Nakia Watson went down in the second quarter, blocking on a punt return. His injury gave Jaylen Jenkins, an opportunity to be the lead back, and he excelled.
Jenkins rushed for a career-high 130 yards on 13 carries and added 54 yards on two catches. For those counting at home, that’s 12.27 yards every time he touched the ball.
At 5’8″ and 177-pounds, the freshman from Allen, Texas, is fast and can change direction on a dime. That makes Jenkins dangerous in the open field.
With Jenkins in the game, WSU’s opponents have to honor the run, which should open the field for their receivers. Look for Jenkins to get more touches in the second half of the season.
Dirty Laundry
Penalties killed Washington State on both sides of the ball. They finished the game with 11 penalties for 101 yards. A couple of false starts in the first half stalled the offense.
USC’s late second quarter, 65-yard touchdown drive was aided by three Wazzu penalties for 35 yards. That included a facemask, an offside, and a pass interference call against Chau Smith-Wade. The last two penalties were especially costly because the Trojans faced a 3rd and 24.
Washington State can’t expect to win games, let alone upset the sixth-ranked team in the country, by committing so many penalties.
Run Defense Struggled
Washington State held Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams to only 188 yards passing. He didn’t need to throw much because the Trojans picked up 181 yards with their ground game.
Southern Cal’s offensive line did a great job of opening holes for Oregon transfer Travis Dye who led the way with 149 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Dye’s longest was 20 yards, but he consistently put USC in advantageous down and distance situations.
Out of Uniform
As mentioned above, Watson and Bell left the game early with injuries. They both returned to the sidelines in the second half. Watson was in street clothes and walking with a noticeable limp. Meanwhile, Bell’s arm was in a sling. The duo’s status for next week is up in the air.
Saturday’s loss dropped the Washington State Cougars’ record to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12. Next week they are on the road at Oregon State.