Opponent preview: Washington State Cougars

The USC Trojans (1-1) travel to take on the Washington State Cougars (1-1) this weekend. It’s the first road test of the season for the Trojans, who are coming off a 42-28 loss to Stanford and playing their first game under interim head coach Donte Williams.

Washington State Offense

This is no longer the pass-happy Washington State offense of old. The Cougars threw it just 32 times in their big win against Portland State and head coach Nick Rolovich specifically told his quarterback to stop checking out of run plays.

In games against Utah State and Portland State, the Cougars are averaging 33.5 points per game (No. 51 nationally), 154 yards rushing per game (No. 75) and 257 yards passing per game (No. 46).

It’s likely that Washington State will try to play with a very fast tempo against USC. The Cougars went to it last week and got great results.

Quarterback

#4 Jayden De Laura – 6-0, 190, SO

Last year’s starter as a true freshman wasn’t the starter heading into the season. But an injury to Jarrett Guarantano in the opener has De Laura here now. He’s 33-of-51 for 458 yards and four touchdowns against one interception this year. He’s a threat as a runner as well, with 65 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries this season.

USC coach Donte Williams called De Laura a “gunslinger” and said he can make NFL throws. USC got after him a bit last year and picked off a couple passes early to help swing that game before halftime. The Trojans need a bounce back game from their defense and will be looking for their first sack of the season.

Running back

#21 Max Borghi – 5-10, 205, SR
#3 Deon McIntoch – 6-0, 200, GR

Max Borghi is one of the more talented running backs in the conference. He leads the Cougars with 145 yards and two scores on the ground. Deon McIntosh has 66 yards and a score and both are averaging at least 5.5 yards per carry. It’s a potent one-two punch and both are very good in the passing game as well. Stanford’s Austin Jones got loose on a big reception toward the end of the first half against USC. Both Washington State backs are capable of doing the same thing.

Washington State did not have Borghi available for the game against USC last season. He’ll be the player to watch for the Cougars. How he performs could mean a lot in terms of how this game will go.

Wide receiver

#1 Travell Harris – 5-9, 185, RS SR
#8 Calvin Jackson Jr. – 5-10, 196, RS SR
#88 De’Zhaun Stribling – 6-2, 202, FR
#6 Donovan Ollie – 6-3, 210, RS SO

The Cougars will spread it around. Harris leads the team with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. Jackson has been the bigger play threat, averaging 16.8 yards on his 10 receptions. Stribling has seven receptions for 75 yards. Washington State suffered a huge loss when talented wide receiver Renard Bell was lost for the season due to injury. Harris will need to help carry the load as a veteran. He caught seven passes for 74 yards against USC last season.

Offensive line

LT #63 Liam Ryan – 6-5, 293, GR
LG #52 Jarrett Kingston – 6-5, 300, RS JR
C #50 Brian Greene – 6-3, 300, RS SR
RG #75 Cade Beresford – 6-7, 300, RS JR
RT #72 Abraham Lucas – 6-7, 319, RS JR

Liam Ryan and Abraham Lucas have each started 32 games for Washington State, so the USC edge rushers looking for their first sack this year will be tested. Cade Beresford is the only first-year starter up front for the Cougars. This group has allowed four sacks through two games, and the opposition talent level is about to take a significant step up.

Washington State Defense

Through two games, the Cougars have allowed 25 points per game (85th nationally) 162 yards rushing per game (87th) and 268.5 yards passing (104th).

Last season, Washington State was the one team that came out in man coverage for a bulk of the snaps against USC. The Cougars got torched for four first-quarter touchdown passes. It would be borderline unbelievable if Washington State again comes out in that same look against the Trojans.

Defensive line

EDGE #10 Ron Stone Jr. – 6-3, 240, RS JR
DT #96 Antonio Pule – 6-4, 276, SR
DT #93 Christian Mejia – 6-3, 285, RS SR
EDGE #80 Brennan Jackson – 6-4, 255, RS JR

Brennan Jackson is the player to watch up front for the Cougars. He leads the line with nine tackles and half a sack. The Cougars have just two sacks through two games, but they’ve been able to get pressure from a lot of different places.

Washington State will get creative with stunts and slants up front.

This should be an opportunity for USC to keep proving its running game is something it can rely on to move the ball.

Linebacker

ILB #13 Jahad Woods – 6-1, 225, GR
MLB #37 Justus Rogers – 6-2, 230, GR

Jahad Woods is the Pac-12’s active leading tackler, with 337 in his career. He already has 18 this season. He’s a fifth-year starter and will be all over the field against USC. Justus Rogers is another experienced linebacker as a three-year starter. Rogers is second on the team, behind Woods, with 11 tackles. Both lead the team with 1.5 tackles for loss, while Rogers has one of the team’s two interceptions.

They’ll be asked to bring pressure on the quarterback at times. But ultimately, the real test here is for the USC offensive line to be able to reach them in the running game.

Defensive back

CB #0 Jaylen Watson – 6-3, 204, RS SR
NB #3 Daniel Isom – 6-0, 200, GR
FS #42 Halid Djibril – 6-1, 202, RS JR
SS #1 Tyrone Hill Jr. – 6-2, 206, GR
CB #5 Derrick Langford Jr. – 6-3, 198, SR

That’s former USC signee Jaylen Watson at cornerback for the Cougars (though he was injured to some degree in the previous game). USC had a little trouble getting wide receivers open against Stanford’s secondary last week. Washington State will hope to do the same, but this is a group USC receivers absolutely have to find success against — whether that’s on downfield routes or with the ball in their hands on quick throws outside.

Washington State Special Teams

This is a battle to watch. USC’s special teams have had issues through two games, which is not what was expected heading into the season from Sean Snyder’s groups.

Specialists

P #38 Nick Haberer – 6-5, 224, FR
K #49 Dean Janikowski – 6-1, 211, RS SO

Dean Janikowski (no relation to Sebastian), is 4-of-5 on field goals and 7-of-8 on extra points this season. He’s also hit six touchbacks on kickoffs. His field goal miss is a 31-yarder off the upright and he hasn’t really been pushed from deep yet. His long is just 35 yards.

Opponents have returned five kickoffs for just 74 yards (14.8 yards per return), so that unit for the Cougars has been very good.

Nick Haberer is averaging 44.3 yards per punt and has allowed just one return for 12 yards.

Returners

KR/PR #1 Travell Harris – 5-9, 185, RS SR

Harris is dynamic on both kick and punt returns. Stanford looked close to breaking a kickoff last week, so this will be a test for the Trojans. Harris is averaging 19.3 yards on three punt returns and 35.3 yards on three kickoff returns. He was the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts last Saturday. He owns the school record for kick returns and kick return yards.