#3 USC 28, Washington State 22

Hmm, that was a close call... With injuries to their star receiver and top three fullbacks, the USC Trojans find a way to survive against the Washington State Cougars, 28-22. The USC defense had problems pressuring WSU QB Alex Brink, which gave him a lot of time to find his second and third receivers. Give credit to Cougars Coach Bill Doba, he came in with the right plan and a great attitude, not like two years ago when he gave up after an onside kickoff to start the game went awry. He also took very few risks in the game, which translated to Brink's play on the field. Wazzu committed no turnovers before Brink's final heave-ho was picked off by S Taylor Mays, and credit that to the offensive game plan, which used safe passes and misdirection plays that took advantage of the overpursuit of the quick Trojan linebackers. Doba also didn't chase points, he kicked field goals to help the Cougars keep momentum, as everytime USC scored, Wazzu responded with a score of their own, whether it be a field goal or a touchdown. They also didn't fold like most USC opponents have done in the past, as after the Trojans went up 13 points with 6 minutes left, Brink led the Cougars on a quick 2 minute touchdown drive to cut the score to the final margin. And with the game coming down to the final play, there were several key drives/plays that really helped USC escape with the win:

Midway through the third quarter, Wazzu punted the ball to USC and it was downed on the one yard line, though it appeared the Cougar's foot was on the goal line which should have resulted in a touchback. But the play was upheld, and QB John David Booty led a 9 play, 99 yard drive that took 5:14. The extra time spent on the drive took away from the time Brink had on Wazzu's final drive.

I was mostly disappointed in WR Patrick Turner's play throughout the game, coughing up the ball in the first quarter as we had the momentum after Chris McFoy's TD reception from Booty. Turner also ran short routes on third and long. But he did come up big, getting a first down on our final drive, allowing us to kill a couple of minutes while keeping the Cougar offense on the sidelines.

Putner Greg Woidneck saved a high snap and still managed to kick the ball 37 yards to the Cougars 23 yard line with 1:04 to go. Had he not saved the snap or not gotten the kick off, oh boy, I think the Pullman/TBS curse would have been in play.

I didn't mention WR Steve Smith, as he was clutch the entire game. Without him, those three plays wouldn't even have mattered. He was the lone highlight of the game for us. The running game struggled behind our offensive line, which failed to create many holes, though RB Emmanuel Moody busted out on a 48 yard run on our 99 yard drive, but that was probably due more to his elusiveness than the O-line. Fred Davis caught a few passes in the flat, but for some reason, decided to hurdle the Cougar DBs instead of running over them, resulting in short gains instead of first downs. Can't really complain about Booty's play, though, for the most part he threw the ball where it needed to go, right into the hands of Smith, who finished with 11 catches for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. The USC defense failed to get pressure on Brink the entire game, and everytime he threw it deep, it seemed like one of the players in the secondary seemed to get pass interference. Also, our special teams stinks. At least we could catch the ball last year, we had two fumbles in this game and were lucky to recover both. FB Mike Brittingham recovered a ball RB/S Allen Bradford fumbled and appeared to be recovered by Wazzu. And RB Desmond Reed muffed a punt that was called dead before anyone recovered it. We're USC, can't we find better people to handle these duties? That was Reed's second fumble on a punt return, and it's not like he's had any big returns yet. All he's done so far is call for a fair catch, and he's already screwed that up twice. And what is Bradford doing on kick returns? CB Cary Harris may have had trouble sniffing out the 2o yard line, but at least he cleanly caught the ball on every kickoff. Geez, can't Coach Pete Carroll recruit a player that can focus all of his attention on returning kicks? Oh well, now for the game balls:

Offense - WR Steve Smith. No question, though Booty gets some consideration for being smart enough to throw it to him on both fourth down conversions. Smith finished with 11 catches for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dwayne Jarrett who? Though it was disappointing to lose Chris McFoy to injury.

Defense - I'm really inclined to not hand a game ball out to the defense. No one really stepped up. Even Rey Maualuga seemed out of place in the game. Yeah, sorry defense, but when you give up 418 yards to Washington State, that's not cutting it.

Special Teams - Again the return game is struggling, and K Mario Danelo is relegated to PAT duty, and K Troy Van Blarcom's booming kickoffs were nullified by our pourous defense, so the game ball goes to P Greg Woidneck, who had four punts for an average of 44.7 yards, including the last one that pushed the Cougars back to their 23 yard line instead of letting a high snap float over his head.

Well, can't complain too much, a win is a win. Next game is against the rejuvenated Washington Huskies, who are 4-1 with wins against Fresno State and UCLA. If Isaiah Stanbeck figures out how to mimic Vince Young, we might be in trouble. The defense needs to be dominant again, and our offense needs to get on track and stay healthy. And with a 12:30 game, will the diehard USC student be out there after a late night of drinking?

Season pick'em: Yeah, I chose USC (-17) 24, Washington State 6...

W-L - 4-0
Against the spread: 1-2-1 (ouch...)