Price Seeks His First Victory Over Trojans WSU’s L.A. Natives Need To Focus On The Game, Not Returning Home

In his six-and-one-half seasons as Washington State’s head football coach, Mike Price had learned a lot about southern California.

He’s learned how to recruit top prospects from the high schools and junior colleges in the area. He’s learned how to survive on the freeways down there. He’s even learned how to get to Disneyland.

But one thing he hasn’t learned is how to beat the university that borrows its name from that particular area of the country.

Price has engaged in some important games against the Universtiy of Southern California, but his record against the Trojans is 0-6.

So he wasn’t surprised Sunday when the first question thrown his way during his weekly teleconference centered around the “USC jinx” he and his Cougars face this week while preparing for Saturday’s critical matchup against the unbeaten and fifth-ranked Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The game, which could decide the outright lead in the Pacific-10 Conference, will be televised live by ABC on KXLY-TV (Channel 4) in the Spokane area.

USC is the only Pacific-10 Conference team Price hasn’t beaten since taking over the WSU program in 1989. And he patiently explained that the problem with playing the Trojans is two-fold - especially when you venture onto their turf.

With so many players on his roster from the Los Angeles area, Price explained, there is always the added distraction of meeting with family and friends.

“So that’s one of the hassles,” he added. “And the other hassle has been the games.

“If we were playing Redlands or Oxcidental or somebody like that down in southern California, our results would probably be different. But we seem to play the team called the Trojans, … so we haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be.”

Price certainly isn’t the first WSU coach to have trouble beating USC. The Trojans own a 46-5-4 lead in the series that dates back to 1921 and they have beaten the Cougars 23 times in the last 24 games the two schools have played.

WSU’s last win came in Pullman in 1986 by a score of 34-14 and snapped USC’s 16-game series winning streak.

Price, whose Cougars are 2-0 in the Pac10 and 3-2 overall after Saturday’s 40-14 homecoming romp past Oregon State, would like to think this is the year he finally beats the Trojans.

But there isn’t much in the numbers to suggest as much.

USC, 3-0 in the Pac-10 and 5-0 overall, was nearly everyone’s pre-season pick to win the Pac-10. And the Trojans have disappointed no one by breezing past their first five foes despite some off-season agent problems that have resulted in three starters recently being ruled ineligible.

Price said the Trojans are stronger, faster and better than they have been in some time. And he pointed out that they have one of the nation’s premier wide receivers in Keyshawn Johnson, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior, who caught three touchdown passes in last year’s 23-10 win over the Cougars in Pullman.

“I don’t know if there’s anybody I’ve ever seen or coached against who’s better,” Price said of Johnson, the Pac-10’s leading receiver. “He’s a great, great player and great players are going to make great plays and get their catches and yardage no matter what happens.

“We need to do everything right around him. It’d be great to block some punts, return some kicks, hang onto the ball like we’ve been doing and move the ball offensively and play their other 10 guys, too.”

Adding to the Cougars’ problems with trying to contain Johnson is the shoulder injury suffered Saturday by senior cornerback Greg Burns.

Burns dislocated his shoulder against OSU and will be out for at least a couple of weeks, according to Price.

Everyone else should be healthy, however, Price added.

, DataTimes