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WSU preparing for No. 6 USC and 'formational wizard' Lincoln Riley

QB Cam Ward and the Cougars have a chance to make a statement nationally as they travel to No. 6 USC on Saturday.
QB Cam Ward and the Cougars have a chance to make a statement nationally as they travel to No. 6 USC on Saturday. (AP)

Washington State continues to hover just outside the national rankings, as it has throughout its impressive 4-1 start to the season.

After a commanding 28-9 win over Cal last weekend, the Cougars just missed the AP top-25, finishing as the team with the next-most votes.

But the Cougars certainly have an opportunity this week to earn some of that national recognition they seek, as they go on the road to visit No. 6 USC (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) on Saturday in the Coliseum.

Even with all the noise and hype surrounding this huge matchup, head coach Jake Dickert said the message remains the same for his team.

"We're on a business trip trying to get a win. We understand it, we know what we're walking into. It's a great college football environment and it's what makes college football so special," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's about what happens between these 100 yards and that's it."

Defensively, the Cougars looked as impressive as they have all season last Saturday in limiting Cal’s true freshman running back Jaydn Ott to a little over 4 yards a carry a week after he rumbled for 274 yards and 3 TDs vs. Arizona.

The Cougars defense has stepped up all season, except for the collapse against Oregon, but now the biggest test of the comes Saturday when they face Lincoln Riley's high-scoring, star-filled offense that ranks 10th in the country at 42.2 points per game and 19th in yards per game at 480.4.

The Trojans are led by Heisman candidate Caleb Williams at quarterback (1,402 passing yards, 12 TDs, 1 INT, 144 rushing yards, 3 TDs), former Oregon star Travis Dye at running back (422 rushing yards, 6.8 yards per carry, 5 TDs) and a deep receiving corps headlined by reigning Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison (29 catches for 442 yards and 6 touchdowns)."

But the biggest challenge for the Cougars defense may be Riley, the former Oklahoma coach who is in his first year at USC.

"Coach Riley is probably one of the best play designers in the country. I think he's like a formational wizard," Dickert said. "Each week he schemes up just unique different things to challenge you and does a good job really checking everything from the sideline, giving them thumbs up, thumbs down."

As far as the personnel, Dickert described Addison as playmaker who demands the defense's full attention.

"They get him the ball in unique ways. It isn't just an outside receiver or stretch vertical pass game. They're going to find a lot of different ways," Dickert said. "He's got a couple big explosive plays off screen games, but he's so smooth in and out of cuts and he creates so such separation at the top of routes. I've got to find a way to double him at certain times, got to find a way to win in single zone man coverage and know where he's at too.

"It's an interesting challenge because like last year, Drake London, you felt like that was the one guy and you could find a way to do it. They've got three, four five guys -- it's hard just to say we're going to take away [Addison]."

Mario Williams, a former five-star prospect who followed Riley and Caleb Williams (no relation) from Oklahoma, is probably the second most potent receiving threat for the Trojans with 18 catches for 266 yards and 2 scores.

Meanwhile, the offense definitely was the big question again for Washington State last week. After a slow start for quarterback Cam Ward with a couple interceptions, he finally settled down and ended the game strong, throwing for 343 yards, 3 TDs and those 2 picks.

The offense is still developing but looks to be way better than that Week 1 game against Idaho, with Ward settling in more, but the one thing that is plaguing this offense is the lack of a developed run game.

Wide receiver Renard Bell talked about how this offense is still learning each other every week, but the improvements are starting to show.

“I think we were able to respond to adversity, especially coming off of a loss,” Bell said. “We didn’t start off great in the first half ... coming into the second half knowing that we left plays on the field.”

The offensive scheme has adjusted week to week, but it still seems to be flourishing, with Ward passing the ball to many receivers throughout each game, looking at all his reads before making his decision.

The Cougars have not had a top 10 road win since the 2003 season when they defeated Oregon in Eugene, and this Saturday. Those are the stakes for Dickert's squad.

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