One Washington Down, One to Go

Before we discuss the game last week and the upcoming game, I strongly encourage everyone to read this story about how the USC football program "adopted" a young boy with cancer and helped make his dreams of attending a USC game come true Click here for this MUST READ story .

The Trojans defeated the Huskies 38-0 in a game dominated by USC. The Trojans looked very sluggish and uninterested on offense, but really cranked it up on defense.


Tidbits about the Game, USC and the Pac 10

• USC ended Washington's streak of 271 games without a shutout, the longest such streak in the nation
• With an attendance of 72,855 last week, USC is averaging over 84,000 and is almost certain to break last year's attendance record of approximately 78,000
• UW had only 113 yards of total offense, 63 passing yards and 6 first downs
• This was the 6th shutout of the Pete Carroll era and the 4th shutout of a Pac 10 team
• USC is now ranked 3rd nationally in scoring defense, 6th nationally in rushing defense and 10th nationally in total defense
• Reggie Bush had another strong game with an electric 30yd punt return, a beautiful TD catch (see below) and several strong runs between the tackles Click here for Reggie Bush highlight video

• Redshirt freshman and Temple City product, Desmond Reed, had a fantastic game with a 22yd TD run (his first TD as a Trojan), a huge block to spring Bush's punt return and a big tackle on a Husky kickoff return
• Other "firsts" included Jason Mitchell's first TD reception, Jody Adewale's first reception, Keith Rivers' first interception and John Walker's first reception
• For those of you who don't like Pete Carroll's "bend, but don't break defense", USC has not given up a pass completion longer than 26yds in 17 quarters
• Matt Grootegood made a huge hit on the first play of the second half, forcing a fumble and setting up an easy Trojan TD
• Eric Wright continues to play outstanding at corner back and had a forced fumble and the deflection that led to Rivers' interception
• Reggie Bush and LenDale White have each scored 9 touchdowns this season....the same number scored by all USC opponents combined
• Husky defensive tackle Manase Hopoi had six tackles for loss (ties a UW record) and now leads the nation in that category with 19
• For the second consecutive week, UCLA lost to the team defeated by the Trojans the previous week. UCLA gave up 93 points to Cal and ASU, while USC gave up only 24 points
• Cal and USC are both ranked among the top 15 nationally in scoring offense, scoring defense and total defense
• Cal is ranked first nationally in total offense while USC is ranked 2nd in turnover margin
• There are some big games in the PAC 10 this week with UCLA taking on Stanford and ASU traveling to Cal...the PAC 10 race will look much clearer come Sunday

Tailgate Review
We had another great tailgate this week as we were fortunate to have perfect weather and some great footballs games to watch while we relaxed and enjoyed some food and drink. It was tough to watch Florida lose to MSU and very painful to see the Fighting Irish choke against BC, but most of us did enjoy watching the Bruins collapse against ASU!

Marcus Wooler made his long-awaited return to California (and the tailgate)....it was great to see him! Thanks again to everyone who brought food and drink...it has been a long 3 weeks for everyone involved and it is time for a well-deserved break. Get your rest now because the final stretch includes huge games (and early arrivals for tailgaters) against Notre Dame and UCLA. Next home game is against Arizona (homecoming) on November 13th at 7:15pm.

Washington State Preview

• The Cougars are 3-4 and are coming off a loss to Oregon St. last week in Corvallis
• USC is 3-3 vs the Cougars in their last 6 meetings, including a big USC win at the Coliseum last year (#3 USC defeated #6 WSU 43-16) and a hearbreaking loss in Pullman in 2002
• WSU is without starting QB, Josh Swogger, and back-up Alex Brink will be getting his second consecutive start
• The Cougars are ranked 7th or 8th in the conference in most key statistical categories, but they do have some talent and are always dangerous in the Palouse (click here for Pac 10 stats)
• Cougar WR Jason Hill leads the Pac 10 in TD receptions with 9...he is a legitimate deep threat, similar to Todd Watkins from BYU
• WSU linebacker Will Derting was first team all conference last year and anchors the Cougar defense
• Forecast is for wind, rain and temperatures in the high 30s
• Look for USC to play a similar defensive scheme as we have seen the last few weeks....stuff the run, no deep passes, sure tackling on underneath routes
• Given the weather, one would expect to see USC run the ball more, but Chow always seems to do the opposite of what would be expected
• With LenDale White nursing a bruised thigh and a nagging ankle sprain, we may finally see more of Herschel Dennis
• Cougar punt returner/WR (and former USC recruit), Michael Bumpus has been very explosive on punt returns
• The Cougars will likely try and press the USC wide receivers and try and force Leinart to beat the Cougars deep
• Kickoff is 4pm and game will be televised on ABC regionally

Road games in Pullman are never easy and the Cougars always play tough....let's hope the Trojans can grind out another road win.

Fight On!