69-0: WSU Cougars no match for USC
PULLMAN – On paper, it was a monumental mismatch. On the field, it was the same. There wasn’t really a question of whether sixth-ranked USC was going to beat Washington State on Saturday at Martin Stadium.
The question was by how much.
The answer came in the form of a 69-0 pummeling that wasn’t as demoralizing as it was expected and unavoidable. The shutout also snapped a streak of 280 games in which the Cougars scored points.
The Trojans could have made it worse, because their overall dominance over WSU came with frightening ease.
The Trojans rolled up a ridiculous 625 yards of total offense, including 28 first downs and 402 yards in the first half. Washington State mustered just 116 yards of total offense and four first downs – for the game.
“It was a little bit uncomfortable to see what was going to happen,” USC head coach Pete Carroll said.
Maybe the cliché of “men versus boys” might not apply, but it was clearly a case of All-Americans versus the overmatched.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Carroll said. “I wanted us to play football. I wanted to leave our guys out there to get their playing time and get well and get right and I wanted everyone to play. All of those things happened, but I was just concerned. I didn’t want the score to go up any higher than it had to.”
There was no talk of the Trojans running the score up from the Cougars players and staff. USC did its best to keep it within reason. But WSU (1-7, 0-5 Pacific-10 Conference) simply did not have the requisite talent to stay with the Trojans, and it was apparent from almost the opening kickoff.
USC (5-1, 3-1) needed all of 2 minutes and 2 seconds to take a lead it wouldn’t even think of relinquishing. The Cougars yielded 77 yards in just five plays as quarterback Mark Sanchez hit receiver Patrick Turner on a 23-yard touchdown pass.
From there it only got easier for the Trojans and worse for the Cougs. While the USC defense stymied the WSU offense, USC’s offense, particularly Sanchez, carved up a porous Cougars defense.
USC’s next drive took 2 minutes and 13 seconds with Sanchez finding Turner with a 14-yard touchdown pass.
“We wanted to find that level of focus we hadn’t had yet,” Carroll said.
Though it didn’t seem possible, the Trojans got even more efficient on their next possession, needing just 1 minute, 54 seconds to go 49 yards in six plays as Sanchez hit Ronald Johnson with a 3-yard scoring strike.
“They just execute so well, it was almost like they know what defense we are in,” Cougars safety Alfonso Jackson said.
Nothing the Cougs tried to slow the chain events worked, even a deliberate run-oriented offense that was meant to eat the clock, protect quarterback Kevin Lopina and keep USC’s offense off the field.
“We wanted to do everything we could to shorten the game and protect our quarterback,” coach Paul Wulff said.
Still, a WSU offense missing its two top tailbacks was going against the 10th best rushing defense in the country.
The results were about as expected. WSU simply couldn’t move the football against the USC defense, averaging just two yards per run and mustering only one first down – a 10-yard pass from Lopina to Jeshua Anderson – in the first half, while managing 17 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, Sanchez and the Trojans rolled up 402 yards of first-half offense. With nary a WSU defender coming within spitting distance of him in the pocket, Sanchez easily picked apart the Cougars’ secondary, throwing for two more touchdowns in the first half.
“If you look at this team over the past five years, pass rush has been a major issue,” Wulff said.
Sanchez’s five touchdown passes tied USC’s single-game record of five in just two quarters of play.
“It’s a testament to our offensive line blocking and giving me plenty of time back there,” Sanchez said.
USC’s only blemish in a dominating first half was a blocked point after attempt by WSU’s Matt Mullenix.
How bad was it?
USC had the ball on the Cougs’ 10-yard line with 17 seconds remaining and Carroll and his staff elected to not even call a timeout or try another play.
Instead, USC let the time tick off and headed to the locker room with a 41-0 lead.
After halftime, USC played its first-team offense just one series in the third quarter before turning it over to the second string. USC managed only seven points in the third quarter, but even the second-stringers rolled up another 21 points in the fourth quarter to become the fourth team this season to score more than 60 points against the Cougs.
“We need to grow up. We have to mature and learn how to fight a little bit more,” Wulff said. “We have to learn how to compete and not have the glazed look over their eyes.”
It’s not a glazed look from all players, but quite a few. It’s something players can see among themselves.
“If every individual would understand that we belong out there … we can make plays that will help us out a lot,” defensive end Andy Mattingly said. “We have too many guys waiting for somebody else to make plays.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483
Game in review
USC 69, WASHINGTON STATE 0
Turning point
There really wasn’t one, unless you count the opening kickoff. At no point, did the Cougars seem remotely close to challenging USC on offense or defense. The Trojans needed about six minutes in the first quarter to rip off three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead.
WSU player of the game
Reid Forrest. The WSU punter had a busy and productive day. Forrest punted nine times for a total of 410 yards and a 45.6-yard average. His longest was 58 yards; he also got off a 40-yards-plus punt from his own end zone with USC rushers coming at him.
USC player of the game
Mark Sanchez. Blessed with a seemingly unending amount of time in the pocket, the USC quarterback coolly picked apart WSU’s overmatched secondary, using a variety of receivers. He tied a record for most touchdowns passes in a game shared by Rodney Peete, Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer. Thing is, Sanchez’s five touchdown passes came in the first half. He finished with 253 yards passing, completing 15 of 20 throws – two of the incompletions were drops – leading to the five TDs.
Simmons honored
Former WSU football player Randall Simmons, who was killed in the line of duty as a member of a Los Angeles SWAT team last February, was remembered at halftime. His parents, wife and two children were on hand to accept the Alumni Service Award on his behalf and a framed No. 17 jersey.
Gibson gets his catch
While WSU’s streak of scoring in 280 consecutive games was snapped, Brandon Gibson’s reception for zero yardage in the fourth quarter extended his streak of games with a catch to 31. Coming into Saturday, Gibson was tied for the 12th longest streak in the nation and the longest by a Pac-10 receiver.
Extra points
Redshirt freshman running back Logwone Mitz set career highs in carries (19) and yards (52) on Saturday. … Matt Mullenix’s block of an extra point attempt was the first by a Cougars player since Oct. 6, 2007, when Xavier Hicks blocked a PAT against Arizona. … WSU used it’s sixth different offensive line in eight games with Joe Eppele making his second career start. Only center Kenny Alfred and right tackle Micah Hannam have started all eight games. … With five tackles on Saturday, middle linebacker Greg Trent moved into 10th place on WSU’s career tackles list with 286.
Injury report
The Cougars were able to avoid any major injuries. Cornerback Romeo Pellum dinged up his shoulder a little, but should be fine. Kendrick Dunn had his calf taped up and was limping a little, but it didn’t appear to be serious. WSU played the game without running backs Chris Ivory (hamstring) and Dwight Tardy (knee). Heading into a bye week, there is hope that at least one of them will be back for WSU’s next game.
Next
The Cougars have a bye this week and return to the field on Nov. 1 against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.
Ryan Divish, The News Tribune
