Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Washington St. pulls off rare victory against top-five team
NO. 16 WASHINGTON STATE 30, NO. 5 SOUTHERN CAL 27
PULLMAN, Wash. — Mike Leach and his team were engulfed in a sea of crimson on the turf of Martin Stadium, reveling in a rare occurrence for Washington State football.
An upset victory 25 years in the making was worth celebrating in grand fashion. And, it proved that these Cougars are true contenders for a Pac12 title.
“It’s exciting. I’ll enjoy it tonight. I’ll probably enjoy it a little in the offseason,” Leach said.
Luke Falk threw for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns, Erik Powell kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:40 left and No. 16 Washington State beat No. 5 Southern California 30-27 on a wild Friday night.
With the national stage to themselves, the Cougars showed they were legitimate, stopping USC star quarterback Sam Darnold and pulling off their first regular-season victory over a top-five opponent in 25 years. The last time a top-five team was handed a loss by Washington State was 1992 when the Drew Bledsoe-led Cougars rolled rival Washington in a driving snowstorm.
Washington State (5-0, 2-0) had lost 15 consecutive home games against ranked opponents. This was its first victory over the Trojans since 2002 — that game also finished in a 30-27 Cougars victory.
“We just showed that we were the better team tonight,” Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa said.
Falk was excellent against the pressure from Southern California (4-1, 2-1) most of the time, but it was a key 35yard run from Jamal Morrow that set up Powell’s winning field goal.
Falk finished 34-of-51 passing, while Morrow added 91 yards rushing on six carries. The duo combined to give the Cougars the lead early in the fourth quarter, with Falk finding Morrow for a 23-yard TD on a shovel pass and run. The drive included a key third-and-6 conversion early in the possession and a fourth and 3 on Falk’s pass to Kyle Sweet for 12 yards.
“I think it’s just a stepping stone. We expect to win games like this,” Falk said. “Hopefully from here on out going forward guys will continue the tradition of competing in games like these. Right now it’s a stepping stone.”
Darnold struggled through a miserable night. He was 15of-29 passing for 164 yards and an interception. He has thrown eight interceptions in five games after throwing nine interceptions all of last season.
Darnold ran for a pair of touchdowns, including a 2-yarder with 5:01 remaining that tied it at 27. But he couldn’t pull off a final rally, fumbling when he was sacked deep in Washington State territory with 1:27 left. Falk took two kneel downs and the party began.
“We knew what they were going to run, it was just a matter of executing it,” Darnold said. “They made more plays than we did.”
Darnold had one drive in the fourth quarter that showed why he’s coveted by the NFL. He stayed in a collapsing pocket on fourth and 13 and Tyler Vaughns made a leaping catch across the middle in traffic for 15 yards to the Washington State 27. Darnold hit Vaughns for 26 yards on the next snap, and two plays later Darnold ran for a score.
Playing without three of his starting offensive linemen, Darnold was flustered and at times appeared rattled by the pressure from Washington State’s defensive line. He was sacked only twice but was forced to move in the pocket regularly, disrupting the timing of the pass game.
USC was already without starting left tackle Toa Lobendahn before starting right tackle Chuma Edoga limped off late in the first quarter after a wayward flea flicker that ended up being an intentional grounding penalty and a 14yard loss.
It got worse for the Trojans when Viane Talamaivao was shaken up early in the second quarter and also did not return.
“Got a bunch of hurt kids right now in that locker room,” USC Coach Clay Helton said.
Southern California’s Ronald Jones had 128 yards rushing and an 86-yard touchdown, but was mostly a non-factor outside of the long run.
Southern Cal............ 7 10 3 7 — 27
Washington St......... 3 14 3 10 — 30
First Quarter
WST—FG Powell 44, 11:36 USC—Darnold 4 run (McGrath kick), 7:46
Second Quarter
WST—T.Martin 28 pass from Falk (Powell kick), 14:48 USC—R.Jones 86 run (McGrath kick), 11:25 USC—FG McGrath 20, 9:47 WST—Morrow 1 run (Powell kick), :13
Third Quarter
WST—FG Powell 33, 8:20
USC—FG McGrath 29, :16
Fourth Quarter
WST—Morrow 23 pass from Falk (Powell kick), 10:14 USC—Darnold 2 run (McGrath kick), 5:01 WST—FG Powell 32, 1:40
Attendance—33,773.
USC WST
First downs ...................... 15 23 Rushes-yards ................29-163 30-122 Passing............................ 164 340 Comp-Att-Int ................ 15-29-1 34-51-1
Return Yards .................... 76 58 Punts-Avg......................6-43.5 6-29.66 Fumbles-Lost ...................2-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards ...............9-80 6-59
Time of Possession .......24:33 35:27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Southern Cal, R.Jones 14-128, Darnold 9-25, Carr 5-11, (Team) 1-(minus 1). Washington St., Morrow 6-91, Williams 10-34, Wicks 4-10, (Team) 2-(minus 4), Falk 8-(minus 9). PASSING—Southern Cal, Darnold 15-29-1-164. Washington St., Falk 34-51-1-340. RECEIVING—Southern Cal, Vaughns 6-89, Burnett 6-45, J.Lewis 2-21, J.Imatorbhebhe 1-9. Washington St., D.Martin 6-55, Johnson-Mack 6-24, Morrow 5-47, Sweet 5-42, Bell 3-101, Calvin 3-35, Williams 3-24, Wicks 2-6, T.Martin 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.