The Husky Haul
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Will Washington Football fans root for Cougars or Trojans tonight?

By Bret Stuter

LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 22: Referees stand on the field to discuss the play during the game between the Washington State Cougars and the USC Trojans on September 22, 2007 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 22: Referees stand on the field to discuss the play during the game between the Washington State Cougars and the USC Trojans on September 22, 2007 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES – SEPTEMBER 22: Referees stand on the field to discuss the play during the game between the Washington State Cougars and the USC Trojans on September 22, 2007 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – SEPTEMBER 22: Referees stand on the field to discuss the play during the game between the Washington State Cougars and the USC Trojans on September 22, 2007 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

Two of the Pac-12 undefeated teams clash tonight in what will surely have significant impact to the conference rankings. But, will Washington Football fans cheer for Washington State or USC tonight?

At 7:30 pm PDT, Friday, September 29, 2017, the USC Trojans will travel to Pullman Washington to face the Washington State Cougars. Both teams enter the game undefeated, but only one team will emerge as such. While neither team would find many cheers from the Washington Football fans, tonight makes a strange sort of bedfellows. In short, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so to speak. So which team will Huskies fans quietly root for?

It’s not an easy choice by any means. Eventually, the Washington Football team will face each. You know that the Washington State Cougars await the annual Apple Cup game. But the USC Trojans are in line for the Pac-12 southern conference title. As such, they will face the Pac-12 northern conference title winner for the conference championship. As of right now, that will likely be Washington.

And so, the choice is to name your poison. Do you wish to face a nationally ranked Cougars team before the Pac-12 championship? Or do you prefer to promote the USC hype until the Washington Huskies can knock them off their lofty perch?

Friend or Foe? You decide

On one hand, you have the USC Trojans who have attracted national media attention back to the conference. The narrative of the Trojans appears to have been a stock script which simply needed some positive signs from the team to hit the headlines.  Now with USC at 4-0, the shackles are off, and across the nation NCAA fans are getting bombarded with just how dangerous the Trojans are. Some even state that they are the most capable team in the Pac-12 to win the national championship.

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    • Now, all of that speculation is fun for the fans of USC. I’m not certain it holds up to the reality of the team yet.  While the Trojans are in fact undefeated, they have certainly struggle with most of their unranked opponents. And they enter the game tonight fighting their own list of injured players.

    In the end, this is a huge test for the USC Trojans to face a very capable enemy in hostile territory.  But the folks over at Saturday Blitz have five reasons why USC will win. Perhaps they know something the rest of us do not?

    Don’t discount Washington State

    Washington State is a victim of a small town college and the wrong time zone to attract national media attention. How else do you explain the complete lack of media attention over their quarterback Luke Falk? As the nation ooh’s and ahh’s over USC quarterback Sam Darnold‘s 1225 yards passing with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions, Falk has tossed for 1378 yards and 14 touchdowns with just one interception. And he’s thrown the ball 23 more times than Darnold.

    But Washington State has more going for them than just a quarterback who can hurl the ball.  Washington State’s defense has been surprisingly stout so far this year. Per the Los Angeles Times, it’s the nation’s 12th best pass defense.  And it’s led by defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa.  Mata’afa already has eight tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks, this season.

    What happens next?

    The outcome depends on who wins and by how much? If the game is close with a USC victory, you can expect Washington State to fall out of the rankings and USC articles to splash the headlines. A blowout victory by USC on the road could propel the team into the top four of the nation. But a blowout win by Washington State could have an adverse affect. Yes, WSU would rise significantly in the national rankings. But the Pac-12 bubble inflated by national rhetoric over USC will pop.

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    If that happens, Washington may be caught in the whirlpool of the game’s aftermath, and may actually drop in rankings over the short term. That being said, we sought guidance from former player Kevin King, cornerback for the Green Bay Packers.  His response is sage advice.

    In the end, the only things the Washington Football team can control is the next game on their schedule. But the fans, who so dearly love these Huskies, may be forced to root for a close win, or a USC win, if they worry about how the ranking system treats their team.  Perhaps the best way for Washington Football fans to go tonight is to cheer the referees on.

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