University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
Final Thoughts: USC Football Defeats Washington State, Remains Undefeated
October 10, 2022 | Football
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USC Stays Undefeated
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The Trojans have reached the halfway point of the regular season without a blemish on their record. It's the first time that a USC team has started the season with a 6-0 record since 2006 under Pete Carroll.
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USC's win over Washington State allowed the team to remain one of college football's 15 undefeated teams in the 2022 season. The Trojans continued their third-quarter dominance Saturday and have now outscored their opponent 62-7 in those 15 minutes of play.
"Really, really tough, hard-fought win," head coach Lincoln Riley said Saturday. "We had to win this one, again in a different way. We talked to the guys all week about how circumstances don't make or break you whether they are positive or negative. They just reveal your training; they reveal what's inside of a team, what's inside of the person. It was fitting because the way the game played out, some key guys for us were not able to play…A lot of guys had to step up in different ways. We had some guys banged up across the board, but we continually found a way."
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Mr. Reliable aka Travis Dye
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Running back Travis Dye once again showed that he is a valuable and consistent weapon for USC's offense. The redshirt senior ran for a season-best 149 yards on a season-high 28 carries with one touchdown. Saturday marked his fourth 100-plus yard performance on the season and his fifth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown.
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"He's a tough player. He's a very reliable player," Riley said of Dye. "I just have a lot of trust and faith in what we're going to get out of him each and every week."
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Overall, USC was able to score 30 points against a Washington State team who had held 4 of its first 5 opponents to 17 points or less prior to Saturday's matchup. Quarterback Caleb Williams finished 15 of 29 for 188 yards with two touchdowns. Mario Williams recorded 82 yards on 4 receptions with two touchdowns as USC's leading receiver on the night.
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A "Sack-Trick" for Tuli
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Defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu was an absolute menace on Saturday, recording three sacks on the night. He fell just one short of tying USC's record for most sacks in a single game, which has only been done four times in the school's history. Tuipulotu now leads the nation in sacks.
"I'm just glad to be winning. That's all I care about," Tuipulotu said Saturday. "I'll do whatever the team wants me to do — so we can get the job done. That's what I love, just winning. It doesn't matter how many plays I make as long as we win."
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Trojans Show Resilience on Defense
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USC was already down one key defender heading into its matchup against Washington State. Team captain and inside linebacker Shane Lee was sidelined with a lower arm injury, which meant both Ralen Goforth and Tuasivi Numora had to step up in his absence. However, the Trojans lost another key member of its defense when safety Calen Bullock was ejected for targeting early in the second quarter. Starting safety Max Williams assumed a larger leadership role in turn, while redshirt freshman Anthony Beavers rose to the occasion with the most playing time he's seen as a Trojan. Riley credited his defenders following for their mental toughness despite facing adversity.
"Just seeing the huddle after Calen got kicked out of the game," Riley explained. "It was like 'Okay, what's next?' I went to Calen and I said, "Hey, now you're the biggest cheerleader, and you have to bring the energy." He was like, 'Great, what's next?' Just keep responding. Don't judge it, positive or negative. It's just respond, respond, respond, and I think the further we go, hopefully we'll continue to trust that more and more, and it'll be very, very key."
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Halfway Through the Regular Season
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Though fall camp feels like just yesterday, the Trojans have officially made it through one half of the regular season. Lincoln Riley is the first USC coach to start their tenure 6-0 since Jess Hill in 1951. When asked about his initial six games in Southern California, Riley notably mentioned the bond he has established with his coaching staff and players in such a short amount of time.
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"I just really love coaching this team," Riley said. "This team continues to get better, and we continue to lean on each other. I think if you ask most people, it's been fun. It's been tough, it's been a grind to start to build this. If you ask these guys, I think we're all having a hell of a lot of fun right now, and really enjoy playing the game. We only get so many this year, we wish we had more."
Victory Podcast: Breaking Down USC's win over Washington State
