USC remains unbeaten after beating Washington State 30-14

USC Trojans #13 Caleb Williams scrambling for big yardage against the Washington State Cougars’ defense. Photo by Daynesha Lewis/TGSportstv1.

LOS ANGELES, CA - The #6 rank USC Trojans football team remained undefeated by beating the Washington State Cougars 30-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The Trojans starting quarterback Caleb Williams completed 15 of his 29 passes for 188-yards and two touchdowns, Travis Dye carried the ball 28 times for 151-yards and one touchdown, and Mario Williams caught four passes for 84-yards and two touchdowns.

USC's defense did a marvelous job of keeping Washington State's offense off balance without two of their best defensive players, Shane Lee (LB) and Calen Bullock (S) ejected from the game for targetting.

“When you lose two of our best players, two of your leaders, you’ve got to have everybody step up,” USC's head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We had a lot of guys step up. The defensive front had a dominant game.”

Williams and the USC Trojans offense struck first when he threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams to take a 7-0 lead.

The Trojans, on their second possession, made it to the Cougars' nine-yard line but didn't get into the endzone and had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Denis Lynch, making the score 10-0.

Washington State Cougars #1 Cameron Ward (QB) looking downfield for a receiver. Photo by Daynesha Lewis/TGSportstv1.

Washington State trailed USC 10-7 in the second quarter after Cameron Ward threw a quick-slant 12-yard touchdown pass to Robert Farrel.

Ward had the Cougars' offense on the move and drove down to USC's 4-yard line after throwing a 46-yard pass to Jaylen Jenkins. Moments later, Nakia Watson caught a 1-yard touchdown pass to give them a 14-10 lead.

The Trojans regained the lead 17-14 after going down field 65-yards, capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Travis Dye with 2:10 left before halftime.

USC Trojans #26 Travis Dye (RB) rushed for 149-yards against the Washington State Cougars' defense. Photo by Daynesha Lewis/TGSportstv1.

Williams completed 10 of 18 passes for 125-yards and one touchdown in the first half, Mario Williams caught three passes for 58-yards and one touchdown, and Travis Dye with eleven carries for 54-yards and one touchdown.

With 7:49 left in the third quarter, the Trojans' defense stopped the Cougars on fourth and nine at their 38-yard line.

USC increased their lead to ten points, 24-14 after Williams caught a sliding 24-yard touchdown pass from Williams.

The Trojans led 27-14 in the fourth quarter after Lynch kicked a 27-yard field goal with 9:09 left in the game.

Lync would score the last points for USC after he kicked a 31-yard field goal making the final score 30-14, and improved their record to (6-0, Pac-12, 4-0).

Ward finished the game by completing 19 of his 32 passes for 177-yards and two touchdowns for Washington State (4-2, Pac12,1-2).