USC Football: 3 takeaways from win over Washington State in Week 14

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Dec 6, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans linebacker Tuasivi Nomura (44) celebrates after a play in the first half of the game against the Washington State Cougars at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

3. An attempt to send a message

When the Pac-12 decided to be the last Power Five conference to play this season, it knew it wouldn’t be easy to make it to the College Football Playoff.

The critical concern was each team’s ability to play enough games to qualify for the playoff. Even with a five or six-game schedule, a team could get the attention of the committee with some blowout wins.

USC had the kind of schedule that lent itself to doing just that. Southern Cal started the season with the Arizona schools and then Utah. The Trojans earned no style points for those games. It seemed like the Trojans might lose one of those games.

The Trojans looked on their way to a massive blowout when they took a 35-7 lead, but USC could only muster three points the rest of the game; hardly what you want to do when attempting put up style points.

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