The Huddle: USC vs Washington State
The No. 6 USC Trojans (5-0, 3-0) look to keep their perfect record in tact Saturday evening against the visiting Washington State Cougars (4-1, 1-1). The Trojans and Cougars are both coming off home wins last week as USC took down Arizona State and Washington State beat Cal. Check out The Huddle for all the names, news, notes and numbers you need to watch your Trojans take on the Cougars this Saturday.
Looking Back at the 2021 Meeting
There’s very little either team can use from last year’s meeting in Pullman, which resulted in a 45-14 win for the Trojans. Both teams have new head coaches and are led by transfer quarterbacks. But USC did throw for 399 yards against Washington State last season. The Cougars are struggling again to stop the pass this season.
New Faces on Both Sides
At quarterback, Cameron Ward and Caleb Williams have been very good early on for Washington State and USC, respectively. The teams are also led on defense by transfer linebackers. USC’s Eric Gentry and Washington State’s Daiyan Henley lead their respective teams in tackles.
Coaching Familiarity
There is more than a little crossover when it comes to the coaching staffs of these programs.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley was the position coach for Washington State offensive coordinator Eric Morris when both were at Texas Tech. Trojans’ defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons and rush end coach Roy Manning all coached for multiple seasons at Washington State within the last decade. USC inside linebackers coach Brian Odom served as a defensive quality control assistant for the Cougars in 2015 and 2016. And USC defensive graduate assistant Payton Pelluer played linebacker for six seasons at Washington State between 2013 and 2018.
