A week after dismantling No. 24 Nebraska on the road, the top-ranked USC Trojans open Pacific-10 Conference play Saturday against Washington State in Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles – a place where the Cougars (2-1) haven’t won since 2000 and where the Trojans haven’t lost since 2001.
Last year in Pullman, Wash., the Cougars were able to keep pace with the Trojans but lost contact down the stretch, ultimately losing 28-22. While this year’s game might not be as close as in 2006, expect points to be scored by both teams’ potent offenses.
The Cougars own the conference’s worst scoring defense, while USC, despite having the league’s worst statistical passing offense, have averaged 43.5 points per game. Likewise, Washington State’s pass-heavy offense has averaged 37 points per game, and will be matched up against the Trojans’ shoddy pass defense, which ranks 99th nationally.
Despite the inconsistent defensive effort so far, the Trojans’ unparalleled athleticism on both sides of the ball is one of the reasons why the team enters the game ranked first in the nation. The Cougars, whose only defeat came in the season opener at No. 9 Wisconsin, must hope its bend-but-don’t-break defense can hold long enough to let its offense keep the game within reach.
Trojan quarterback John David Booty hasn’t wowed Heisman voters with his passing this year, but that’s partly because he has arguably the nation’s best and deepest running back corps behind him. Sophomore running back Stafon Johnson, who rushed for 144 yards on only 11 carries against the Cornhuskers, was sixth on the depth chart entering the season, proving the Trojans’ vaunted depth at the position is no over-exaggeration. Johnson was recently named this week’s Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week.
As a team, the Trojans ran for 313 yards last week, which is bad news for the Cougars’ poor rush defense which has given up more than 138 yards per game this year on the ground, including 110-yard-plus days against San Diego State and Idaho.
On offense, what the Cougars may lack in an explosive running game like the Trojans, they make up for with a potent aerial attack led by senior quarterback Alex Brink, who starred as a prep quarterback while at Eugene’s Sheldon High. After two unremarkable years as the starter, Brink currently leads the conference in passing yards per game, total offense, and is second in passing efficiency. Nationally, Brink’s 947 passing yards rank 10th.
“This guy (Brink) is a very, very good player,” said Carroll during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “And he’s hot as a pistol right now.”
As Brink goes, so go his receivers. His favorite targets, wideouts Michael Bumpus and Brandon Gibson, are tops in the league for receptions per game and receiving yards per game, respectively.
Because the Cougars’ offensive strengths fit perfectly with the Trojans’ defensive weaknesses, Brink should go to the air early and often, looking to attack the nation’s 99th-best pass defense.
After last week’s win versus Idaho, senior co-captain Husain Abdullah told the Seattle Times, “If we execute, we’ll have a good shot at winning the game.” In the same interview with the Times, Doba agreed with his co-captain.
“We have to play a real good ballgame against SC, but we can do it. We can get better. The things we did wrong we can correct, and we’re good enough to go down there and play with those guys.”