USC Has Good Reason to Be Wary of Pullman

Before USC played Oregon two weeks ago, Coach Larry Smith didn’t tell his young team that it was on the verge of elimination from the Rose Bowl race.

He believed that, youthful or not, his players could figure that out for themselves.

If so, then the Trojans have ascertained that, after beating Oregon and taking last weekend off, they remain in a precarious spot.

To stay in the race, USC will have to beat Washington State today at Martin Stadium.

USC is 2-2 overall, 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Washington State is 2-3 and 1-1.

USC usually beats Washington State--the Trojans have won 19 of the last 20 meetings, 25 of the past 27 and are 42-5-4 against the Cougars--but the last two trips to Pullman have been frightful.

In 1986, USC took a 4-0 record and a No. 9 ranking into Martin Stadium and was blown out, 34-14. Washington State accumulated 510 yards in recording its only victory over USC in the last 34 years.

Two years ago, USC needed a near-miraculous rally to pull out an 18-17 victory at Pullman, the deciding points coming on a touchdown and two-point conversion with four seconds left, at the end of a 91-yard drive led by quarterback Todd Marinovich.

“Our campus is a difficult place to play,” Washington State Coach Mike Price said. “Our fans can be--and are--intimidating.”

Washington State started the season with losses to Oregon, Fresno State and Ohio State, stretching its losing streak to seven games.

But the Cougars have rallied, beating Nevada Las Vegas, 40-13, and Oregon State, 55-7.

“We’re going in the right direction,” Price said. “I don’t know if we’ve turned the corner yet.”

Led by sophomore quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Washington State ranks second in the Pac-10 in passing with an average of 265 yards a game, more than twice the Trojans’ average of 122 yards.

And although Washington State’s rushing average of 157.8 yards a game is tied with UCLA’s for the worst in the conference, it is a great improvement over last season’s mark of 90.4 yards, which was easily the worst in the Pac-10.

Running back Shaumbe Wright-Fair is the Pac-10’s No. 2 rusher behind Russell White of California. Wright-Fair has run for more than 100 yards in four consecutive games.

But the key to the Cougar attack is 6-foot-6, 233-pound Bledsoe, who came off the bench last season to lead two fourth-quarter touchdown drives in a 30-17 loss to USC at the Coliseum, earning his first start the following week.

In his first game as a starter, Bledsoe passed for three touchdowns in a 55-24 victory over Oregon State. Although Washington State ended the season with four consecutive losses and a 3-8 record, he has been the starter ever since.

This season, he has completed 56.8% of his 155 passes for 1,235 yards and eight touchdowns, with five interceptions. Against Oregon State, he passed for five touchdowns, equaling a school record that had been shared by Jack Thompson and Timm Rosenbach.

Price called him the strongest quarterback that has played at Washington State, and Smith said that, in terms of size and strength, Bledsoe is similar to Penn State quarterback Tony Sacca.

Among Bledsoe’s receivers are two of the Pac-10’s best, flanker C.J. Davis and slotback Phillip Bobo. Bledsoe hooked up with Bobo on a 63-yard scoring pass play against USC last season.

“Their offense is predicated on getting your defense into a bad situation--a bad matchup--and then beating you one-on-one,” Smith said. “A year ago, we defensed them pretty well and, boom, they hit two touchdowns. You just can’t let up on them.”

Defensively, the Cougars aren’t nearly as imposing.

They rank eighth in the Pac-10 against the run. Their opponents are averaging 225.8 yards a game on the ground. Ohio State ran for 321 yards against the Cougars, averaging more than six yards a carry, and Oregon ran for 283.

Last season, USC ran for 307 yards against Washington State, 203 by tailback Mazio Royster in his first game as a starter.

Defensively, “We’re not where we want to be,” Price said.

Trojan Notes

USC linebacker Willie McGinest is expected to play after missing two games because of an ankle injury, but Lamont Hollinquest will start in his place. . . . Linebacker Gidion Murrel, bothered by an ankle injury, did not make the trip. . . . Trojan safety John Herpin dislocated a shoulder in practice this week and is expected to undergo surgery before the end of the month.

In Washington State’s last four games, quarterback Drew Bledsoe has completed 62.5% of his passes. He leads the Pac-10 in total offense. . . . Washington State’s all-conference tight end, Clarence Williams, has caught passes in 16 consecutive games.