3 things to watch

1

The Trojans’ first play: Against both Idaho and Nebraska, USC ran on its first play from scrimmage. In both games, the Trojans’ ballcarrier broke into the clear. If WSU ends up with a standoff on the Trojans’ opening snap, then the Cougars have a moral victory.

2

Beat the press: The Cougars’ passing game is predicated on taking what the defense gives them, allowing quarterback Alex Brink to figure out the scheme and take advantage. But the Trojans have such exceptional athletes, including Seattle’s O’Dea High graduate Taylor Mays at safety, that they keep it simple, pit their players against yours and dare you to beat them. There may be holes in the secondary, but the openings are smaller than normal. Brink has to find them and get the ball in the right place at the right time.

3

Third-down stops: There aren’t many teams in the nation doing worse at this than the Cougars (only five in Division 1-A), who have yielded first downs on 29 of 44 third downs. “There were a lot of third-and-longs where we couldn’t get off the field,” defensive captain Husain Abdullah said last Saturday after Idaho converted seven of 16 chances. Against Idaho, that was unacceptable. Against USC, the Cougars might take it.