USC-Washington State live blog

Today’s game kicks off at 5:00 on the West Coast.  All updates will be timestamped with game time. Be sure to check out our Twitter feed for instant info at www.twitter.com/dailytrojan

7:52 4th Quarter. 50-16 USC.

USC scored on a Mitch Mustain 22-yard pass to Havili at the start of the 4th quarter. Havili now has 187 yards of offense and 2 touchdowns on just 9 touches. With all the turnovers, we’ll have to see what Lane thinks about this game. He finally got his backups some extended playing time but the first-string offense wasn’t all that impressive. It’s tough to see how good this team is after playing four teams near the bottom of the FBS. Another one comes to town next weekend with Washington.

End of 3rd Quarter. 43-13 USC.

With one quarter left, this game is all but over. USC has the ball and backup QB Mitch Mustain is in. Kiffin is probably glad to be getting his backups some quality playing time, as he spoke this week about the lack of depth on the team and the need to develop it. Barkley finishes the game 16-of-25 passing for 290 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He had a very pedestrian day but the running game flourished and probably will get a chance to add onto its total this last quarter.

4:02 3rd Quarter. 43-13 USC.

TOUCHDOWN USC. Starting at it’s own 2 yard-line, USC drove 98 yards in 12 plays for the score. Barkley passed to Johnson for the 7 yard touchdown on 4th and 5. Bradford overtook Havili as USC’s leading rusher on that drive, as he now has 7 carries for 84 yards- seemingly all of them after contact. The Trojans now have 212 rushing yards and are averaging an obscene 9.9 yards per carry. Even though USC is up by 30, with all the first-half mistakes it feels a lot closer.

12:42 3rd Quarter. 36-13 USC.

TOUCHDOWN USC. The Trojans get the ball at the start of the half on their own 7 yard line, and go 93-yards in 4 plays for the score. The big play on the drive was a misdirection bootleg to Brandon Carswell who took the pas 44 yards down to the 2 yard line thanks to some great downfield blocking. After a false start, Barkley then threw a beautiful 7 yard pass to a wide open Brice Butler, who faked out the cornerback on the goal-line and got open after Barkley pump-faked him inside.

Perhaps the most surprising stat of the day though is that after the touchdown, USC went for 2 for the first time today and made it. Mustain took the ball and easily ran it in for the score after spreading everyone out wide and only have 2 blockers ahead of him.

Halftime 28-13 USC.

We’ve reached halftime here at Martin Stadium and it’s been a very turnover plauged first-half. Houston missed a 39-yard field goal as time expired for the Trojans, and again Barkley looked his best during the 2-minute drill. Both teams have combined for 6 turnovers and the 28-13 lead USC has feels a lot smaller.

The running game is working best for the Trojans, and they should stick with that until they get a bigger lead. Barkley is looking very average against a defense he should be destroying. USC’s defense has picked it up, but still need to tackle better.

1:50 2nd Quarter. 28-13 USC.

TOUCHDOWN USC. Marc Tyler runs it in from 6 yards for the score. Barkley looked off on that drive, throwing a 25-yard pass behind Ronald Johnson in the endzone and completing only short throws. The Trojans have 150 yards rushing on 16 attempts, averaging 9.4 yards per carry. They should just run it every play. But talk about running back by committee. Havili- the fullback, leads USC with 80 yards on 4 carries. Tyler has four carries as well, Baxter has 5 and Bradford had 3. That 6 minute scoring drive had to be USC’s longest scoring drive by far this season.

5:30 2nd Quarter. 21-13 USC.

This is a turnover filled game. Barkley tried to get back into the groove by throwing short passes, but then Allen Bradford fumbled on the WSU 25-yard line. However, a few plays later, Robey got his 2nd interception of the day but playing center field on a deep pass. USC has the ball again and his driving, back at the WSU 25-yard line. The running game is working brilliantly but the offense is beating and outsmarting itself.

10:38 2nd Quarter. 21-13 USC.

Touchdown Washington State. The Cougars drive down the field, methodically in 6 plays and 45 yards capped by a 6-yard fade pass to Karstetter for the score. Tyrone Smith blocked the PAT but after an explosive 1st couple of drives, USC’s offense has stalled.

Barkley was picked off a 2nd time to set up the Washington State scoring drive.. His pass to Brice Butler on a 10-yard slant went straight to the linebacker dropping back in coverage. That came directly after a pass in which Barkley should have had intercepted. That’s four interceptions were Barkley in the last 4 quarters after throwing none in the first two games. USC should just hand the ball off every play. WSU’s defensive line can’t match up with USC’s offensive line.

end of 1st Quarter. 21-7 USC.

We’ve reached the end of the 1st quarter and it’s been very entertaining. Washington State had an end around touchdown, then USC scored on a 59-yard run on it’s first play, then USC scored about 30 seconds later on a pick-6, then USC got the ball back and went 76 yards in 3 plays for the touchdown (Barkley 11-yard pass to Robert Woods). USC could be up 28-7 but Barkley was picked off on the goal-line following a Wes Horton blocked punt.

Havili has been the offensive star for USC. USC’s first two offensive plays were a 59-yard TD run by Havili and then a 58-yard pass to the fullback. Wes Horton has a blocked punt and a sack, but despite the pick-6, USC’s defense is looking very mediocre missing tackles and giving some big running lanes.

11:07 1st Quarter. 14-7.

TOUCHDOWN USC. Okay this is getting a little bit ridiculous. Robey redeems himself by jumping the route and picking off Tuel’s 2nd pass of the drive for an easy 25-yard touchdown. USC has had the ball a grand total of 20 seconds and owns a 14-7 lead. The crowd, which actually was loud on USC’s only play of the game (in which Barkley had to audible to the Havili handoff and his team could barely hear him), might not be here much longer.

11:18 1st Quarter. 7-7.

TOUCHDOWN USC. I’m having trouble keeping up here. First play from scrimmage, fullback Stanley Havili cuts back and outruns the defense for a 69-yard touchdown. The Cougar defense looked like a JV squad out there. USC could do this all day. In summary, it takes four people to touch the ball on one-play for Washington State to score, and it takes a simple handoff for USC to score. Now the defense has to prove the opening drive was a fluke.

11:33 1st Quarter. WSU 7-0.

TOUCHDOWN Washington State. The Cougars churned through USC’s defense on the opening drive capped with a bit of trickery for the touchdown. Wide receiver Jeffery Solomon took an end around and threw it to Jared Karstetter for the 29 yard touchdown. For comparison, Karstetter is 6’4″, 208 pounds and the man covering him, Nickell Robey, is 5’8″, 165 pounds. It was no contest- Karstetter just outmuscled Robey.

11 a.m. Yo guys! Kenny here ready to bring you the action. It’s about an hour to kickoff and both teams are slowly getting on the field to warm up. USC’s kicker Joe Houston nailed a 67 yard field goal which is pretty impressive. The game is going to be shown on Fox Sports PrimeTicket, which means if you don’t live in the west coast area, you might be out of luck. You could watch the game for a fee on USCTrojans.com, or you could just follow my live blogging and tweets which are much more exciting. So sit back, relax and grab some nachos. The game will underway in about an hour.