USC Football: 3 takeaways from comeback victory over Washington State

USC football and Washington State played an instant classic at the Coliseum. The Trojans made the home crowd happy with a narrow victory against the Cougars.

On Friday night, USC and Washington State kicked off Week 4 action in the Pac-12 with a back-and-forth thriller at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There were seven lead changes as the Trojans ultimately prevailed in the 39-36 shootout at home.

Victory was hardly a plan that was guaranteed to USC throughout the contest, though. The Cougars were in real position to pull off the comeback in full force, prompting them to play the clock and look to set up the final possession. But the Trojans got a stop to force the Washington State offense off the field, tipping passes and forcing errant throws and getting timely stops on the ground.

They weren’t perfect, however. USC came up with a massive field goal block less than two minutes from the final whistle, ensuring they would get back to .500 in the standings as they prevented a second straight loss to the Cougars. All they had to do from there is run down the clock, get one first down, and then wait for the final whistle.

Washington State had a two-touchdown lead early in the third quarter, but the Trojans turned things around in a high-scoring second half. Here are three things we learned from the #Pac12AfterDark barnburner on Friday night.