The pick: Why No. 17 USC will beat Washington State

In the past two meetings, Washington State vs. USC has been a wash.

In 2017, the Cougars won 30-27 on Jahad Woods’ magnificent strip sack of Sam Darnold to close out one of the biggest wins of the Mike Leach era.

In 2018, it was a 39-36 victory for the Trojans, who got a hand on Blake Mazza’s field-goal attempt inside the final 2 minutes, denying WSU a win that would’ve vaulted the Cougars to the Pac-12 championship game.

It’s WSU 66, USC 66 since 2017, and while neither of those results matter now, they do demonstrate the competitive nature of a cross-division rivalry that’s historically been anything but. The Trojans won decisively in 2014, but that came after the Cougars picked up a 10-7 win in Los Angeles the year prior.

Vegas oddsmakers expect a two-score USC runaway Sunday, but we’re predicting something that’ll make for a more entertaining finish.

Coming off their respective breaks, I expect both will be prone to sluggish starts. But Nick Rolovich’s run-and-shoot offense has enough firepower to hang 30 points in three quarters and the same can be said for Graham Harrell’s variation of the Air Raid.

In the end, WSU’s defense hasn’t shown enough resolve – particularly in the second half – to generate enough confidence that the Cougars will stymie Kedon Slovis and his big, athletic receivers enough times over the course of four quarters.

As they have three of the past four times the teams have met, the Cougars will put up a fight. The offense will keep them competitive, but I expect that USC’s defense – the Pac-12’s best at generating turnovers – will come away with a timely takeaway. Harrell’s offense will wear down Jake Dickert’s defense in the fourth quarter to preserve the Trojans’ unbeaten record, as well as the Pac-12’s paper-thin College Football Playoff hopes.

The pick: USC 38, Washington State 30.