Did Washington State expose Sam Darnold, USC?

Did Washington State provide the blueprint to beating USC or was this just a rare bad performance from Sam Darnold and the Trojans?

Sam Darnold played the worst game of his college career during Friday night’s loss to Washington State. The loss may keep Darnold from joining Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer as Heisman-wining quarterbacks from USC — it may even keep him from being a finalist — and could knock USC out of the  College Football Playoff conversation.

But was this a case of Washington State having the blueprint to beating USC or was this a case of USC facing a poor matchup without several key starters?

It’s both.

Sam Darnold was without three starting offensive lineman and it showed as the Cougars pass rush was getting him to the ground often. When they didn’t sack him, the defense was in his face and making him escape the pocket and abandoning his reads prematurely. The offense was out of sync all night, save for a few passes late, and one 86-yard touchdown run from Ronald Jones. Other than those few plays, there wasn’t much help from Darnold’s supporting cast.

Completing 15-of-29 passes for a career-low 164 yards with an interception, a lost fumble to ice the game and zero touchdown passes seems to suggest Alex Grinch’s defense figured him out. Darnold didn’t help himself, Darnold didn’t get much help, and Washington State also played great defense. All three things can be true.

I believe that Grinch had the perfect gameplan to slow USC on Friday night, but that blueprint was the same as every football team employs. If you can get pressure on the quarterback, you’re going to have a chance to win. That’s the blueprint of every defensive coordinator from Pop Warner to the NFL. This is not a knock on Washington State’s defense because they had the personnel, opportunity and will to execute Grinch’s game plan. They are being commended for that and should be rewarded on Sunday afternoon when they likely move into the AP Top 10.

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However, other Pac-12 teams won’t be so lucky to carry out the blueprint that Washington State had. USC won’t be as decimated by injuries, especially on the offensive line, as they were on Friday night. This may sound like an excuse for USC, but a quarterback isn’t going to be as effective if he’s running for his life because he has a freshman at left tackle and two other starters out.

The quickest way to make a superman at quarterback look ordinary is a pass rush. Washington State was Darnold’s kryptonite on Friday night, but I don’t think many other teams in the Pac-12 will be able to do to USC and Darnold what Washington State did to them.