USC to face Washington State in Pullman, Wash.

On Saturday, USC (1-1) will face Washington State (1-1) in Pullman, Wash. — the schools’ 75th all-time matchup. The Trojans have only lost four times when visiting Pullman; the team has only lost 10 times in total since their first matchup against the Cougars in 1921.

 Last season, USC continued this run by defeating Washington State 38-13, scoring four touchdowns early. However, following head coach Clay Helton’s firing and a demoralizing 42-28 loss Saturday against Stanford, the Trojans are still recovering.

“It stings,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said after Wednesday’s practice about Helton’s firing. “That day was a lot of talk.” 

The Trojans will begin a new era of football Saturday with the debut of interim head coach Donte Williams. Williams is the first Black head coach in the football team’s history.

To defeat Washington State, the Trojans will look to clean up penalties in the secondary. Nine penalties were called against USC during the Stanford game, most of which came from the defensive end. 

Orlando seemed unfazed with USC’s struggles with the Stanford passing attack. 

“It happens … this is all correctable stuff,” he said. “This is not what we’re about and we just move forward.”

Jayden de Laura, WSU’s sophomore starting quarterback, ranks 18th in passing efficiency in the Power Five. If the Trojans continue to struggle to put pressure on the quarterback, Laura is well-equipped to put the Trojans behind early. 

On the other side of the ball, Harrell emphasized moving on from Saturday’s game and taking as much as possible from it.

“To me the greatest thing about sports is it teaches you about life,” Harrell said. “You get beat sometimes. You have to try to learn from it, see where you can be better and make the improvements you need to make.” 

The Trojan offense has often started slow with multiple three-and-out drives to begin games. 

After the San José State game, Harrell thought junior quarterback Kedon Slovis was not spreading the ball enough, citing junior wide receiver Drake London’s target share. However, Slovis was able to fix this against Stanford with 11 players recording a reception.

USC’s red-zone and third down struggles continued in the Stanford game too. This season, USC has scored on an abysmal four of nine trips to the red zone. The Trojans were also four of 12 on third down attempts against Stanford.  

“You have to finish. You have to execute and that is what I have preached since I’ve been here,” Harrell said. 

If the offensive efficiency struggles again, the Trojans could have trouble keeping up with a Cougar offense that scored 44 points against Portland State last week. 

On the defensive side for Washington State, senior cornerback Jaylen Watson will get the job of containing London. 

The Cougars are also comfortable rushing the passer, which can lead to Slovis being under pressure during the game. Washington State’s defense has forced an interception in each of its first two games, and forcing errors will definitely be a tenant of defensive coordinator Jake Dickert’s strategy Saturday. 

The Trojans remain optimistic about the prospects for this season. 

“I’m pretty damn excited about what this team can do,” redshirt junior punter Ben Griffiths said. 

USC will face Washington State with a new coach at the helm Saturday at 12:30 p.m.