Hapless Cougars are in for a long afternoon against USC

Washington State's 113th-ranked pass defense has a tough matchup with USC's talented receivers. (AP)

WSU (2-6) vs. USC (5-3)

• Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Martin Stadium
• Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle
• Line: USC by 9.5

What’s at stake: For the 2-6 Cougars, this is the last chance to qualify for a bowl game. They must win this game and the next three against Oregon State, Arizona State and Washington to finish 6-6.

But let’s be serious: In whose pipe dream does this happen? Next week, more than likely, if you return to this digital space, I’ll be writing about how the Cougars can somehow salvage a respectable 5-7 season.

Why the Cougars might win: Since USC is the vastly superior team, let’s start and end with the weather as the biggest reason why WSU has a chance to beat USC.

Here’s how that thinking goes: Because they live and practice in Los Angeles, the Trojans won’t be used to playing in bad weather, and it could be an equalizer if Mother Nature is in a bad mood, and in November in the Palouse, she usually is. Right on cue, she shows up Saturday with a 60-percent chance of rain at kickoff and 80-percent chance by the end of the game. Temperatures will be in the mid-40s throughout.

That’s perfect. Plus Connor Halliday proved he could get it done in the rain, rallying the Cougs to a 28-27 win at Utah last month.

Why the Cougars might lose: For good reason, this will be a longer section than the “Why the Cougars might win” section. A lot longer.

I can’t understand why USC is favored by only 9.5 points, and earlier this week, the line was down to 6.5. Who in his right mind thinks Washington State can get within a touchdown or even nine points of the Trojans. I’m a homer who loves the Cougs, and I can’t even come up with a scenario in which this happens.

Well, yes I can, if the weather bothers the Trojans and causes turnovers galore, and it is a road game after all, and teams don’t play as well on the road as they do at home, yadda, yadda, yadda. But still, the Trojans beat Arizona in Tucson, and that same Arizona team lambasted the Cougars last week 59-37 in Pullman.

The Cougars have given up an average of 52 points in their three Pac-12 games at Martin Stadium. Raise your hand if you think the Cougs can hold the Trojans to fewer than 50 points. I’m looking, still looking, can’t find a single arm in the air.

Our defense is awful. Make excuses for the secondary if you want – and coach Mike Leach has – but how did it get so bad back there? And what kind of an afternoon do you think No. 15 for the Trojans, Nelson Agholor, will have on Saturday? That kid’s really good, and I expect he’ll be on the receiving end of plenty of long throws from Cody Kessler, who completes 70 percent of his passes and has 20 touchdowns with only two interceptions.

Washington State is 113th in the country in pass defense and figures to fall even farther after this one. The Cougars also have to try to stop Javorious Allen, who leads the Pac-12, averaging 126 rushing yards a game.

When the Cougars have the ball, Halliday will have look out for Leonard Williams and Su’a Cravens, who have four sacks each. Williams is expected to be selected among the first five picks of the 2015 NFL draft.

This will be the first preview you’ve ever read where the writer correctly predicts that the opposing team will return a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown. Why? Because it seems to happen every week against the Cougs, even back-to-back in the Cal game. Plus, USC has electric returners in Agholor and Adoree Jackson, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown last week at Utah.

I hate being down on the Cougs, but come on, this is brutal even by our standards. I’m to a point where I’d almost rather see our punter and kicker knock it out of bounds than to see the other team celebrating in our end zone again.

I know one thing – if we’re down 36 points in the fourth quarter like we were last week against Arizona, and Halliday’s still out there throwing his 75th, 76th and 77th pass, I will take a sledgehammer to my flat screen.

Prediction: USC 52, Washington State 17

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.