It’s a battle of unbeaten teams when the (5) USC Trojans play the (15) Washington State Cougars for the first time since 2014 this Friday night in Pullman. The PAC-12 match-up is slated to start on Friday, September 29th at 10:30 p.m. EST. The conference game can be seen on the ESPN Network. Las Vegas has the Trojans as a slight -3.5 point favorite and the match-up’s total at 65.
The USC Trojans are coming off a solid 30-20 road win over the feisty California Bears. In that game, the Trojans scored 17 points in the final quarter to pull away for good. Once again, Heisman Trophy hopeful Sam Darnold could not get on track but the defense did their part and brought home the W.
The Washington State Cougars are entering this game on the heels of a 45-7 dismantling of the Nevada Wolfpack. The Cougars took to their air attack early and often, racking up over 500 yards through the air on their way to this decisive victory. Honestly, this game was over before the first quarter was even finished.
This Friday night affair is a matchup of two of the better PAC-12 quarterbacks in Sam Darnold and Luke Falk. USC also has won five straight against the Cougars, including a 44-17 victory in 2014.
(5) USC Trojans (4-0)
The USC Trojans’ quarterback Sam Darnold is not living up to the hype that was placed upon him to kick-off the 2017 season. In fact, he has already thrown seven interceptions but has still managed to lead his team to a 4-0 start. In all, Darnold has completed just under 100 passes for 1,225 yards with nine touchdowns and seven picks. These are certainly not the numbers that were expected from a quarterback that had such a tremendous freshman year.
In all, Darnold has completed just under 100 passes for 1,225 yards with nine touchdowns and seven picks. These are certainly not the numbers that were expected from a quarterback that had such a tremendous freshman year.
Realistically, it has been the power running game of the Trojans that have led their offense in 2017. Tailbacks Ronald Jones and Stephen Carr have led the way with 106 carries for over 600 yards and eight touchdowns. Last week, Carr carried the load because Jones was out with an ankle injury. As of now, he is listed as questionable for the Friday night game in Pullman.
Wide receiver Deontay Burnett is becoming the next best wideout for USC. The junior wideout from Compton, California has caught 33 passes for 462 yards and a team-high five touchdowns. Three other pass catchers have caught at least 12 passes for nearly 500 yards and three scores.
The USC defense looked pretty good in their last two outings against Texas and Cal. Apparently, they addressed the run stop issues that plagued them in their first contest against the Western Michigan Broncos.
Heading into this game, the Trojans rank 74th against the run, allowing almost 160 yards per game. More importantly, their secondary sits 54th in the country, giving up 208 yards per contest. This will be their stiffest test of the season as they face the PAC-12’s best quarterback Luke Falk.
(15) Washington State Cougars (4-0)
The Cougars are 4-0 but they’ve beaten the likes of a down Boise State team in overtime, Oregon State, and Nevada all at home. In their triumph over the Wolf Pack of Nevada, they jumped out to a great start and failed to allow a point until nearly two minutes left in the game.
A huge reason for Washington States great start is the play of the PAC-12’s best quarterback Luke Falk. The rifleman has been nothing short of spectacular in the first four games of the season.
Overall, he leads the nation’s third-best passing offense. He has accumulated almost 1,400 yards through the air with an amazing 14 touchdowns and only one interception. He also is completing an outstanding 77 percent of his throws coming into this game against the Trojans.
Obviously, with the talent at the quarterback position, the Cougars are a pass-first outfit. Even so, two tailbacks try to do their share to keep the offense as balanced as possible. Jamal Morrow and James Williams have combined for 51 carries for 241 yards and two scores.
Luke Falk is anything but shy when it comes to distributing the football to a plethora of talented wideouts. In fact, seven pass catchers have caught 12 passes or more for all 14 of Falk’s 14 touchdown tosses. Leading this stable of receivers is Tavares Martin Jr. So far, Martin has caught a team-high 390 yards worth of receiving for six touchdowns. Slot receiver has a team-leading 37 catches and three more scores.
The Washington State defense hasn’t really been tested against the likes of Oregon State and the FCS Montana State Bobcats. Still, their secondary has managed to become the 12th best unit in the nation, only giving up 142 yards per game. They will look to create some turnovers against Sam Darnold in this game. Either way, we will see what their front seven is made of because USC will look to pound the rock and keep Luke Falk and company on the sidelines.
Prediction
Well, it’s time for the Cougars to finally make a stand against the Trojans. The road team does well in this series, winning five straight. Also, USC has won five straight against Washington State overall. If the Cougars hope to win the PAC-12 title, they need to finish the negative streaks on Friday.
USC has definitely played the better competition of the two schools so far this year. I’m really impressed that offense still manages to put up plenty of points despite the average play of Sam Darnold at quarterback. Who’s kidding who, their 42-24 beatdown of the Stanford Cardinal is convincing enough to me that this team is still the one to beat in the conference.
Odds makers have the Cougars as a +3.5 point underdog at home for this showdown. I kind of like the fact that you don’t have to buy the hook here and Luke Falk might not even need it. To make matters worse for the Trojans, star running back Ronald Jones is still questionable with a bum ankle.
Whether Ronald Jones plays or not, I think that USC can move the ball on the ground and can certainly test the secondary with electrifying wide receiver Deontay Burnett. I also think that quarterback Luke Falk is just too accurate to not get his yardage and points too.
Line setters have this total at 65 and I believe that the over is the play if you’re a totals guy. In summary, take Washington State to cover the 3.5 points and both teams to score plenty of them. Sit back and enjoy a good battle between two of the top teams in the nation this Friday.
Trends
The Trojans are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
The Under is 4-1 in the Trojans last five road games.
The Cougars are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.
The Cougars are 0-4 ATS in their last four Friday night games.
The Over is 5-1-1 in the Cougars last seven conference games.
