PULLMAN, Wash. -- Could be that this is a bit condescending, but honestly, it was hard not to feel a tinge of sorrow for banged-up little Washington State on Saturday.
Try as they might -- and nobody should question the Cougars' effort -- nothing short of a major miracle would have allowed them to keep their game against USC even relatively close. An upset win? That was never on the table, even against a team that has burped up some unbelievably surprising losses in recent years.
So, yeah, I had a bad feeling for the kids from eastern Washington as they plowed into the mighty Trojans, and I'm not alone.
"I was a little uncomfortable. . . . I just didn't want the score to go any higher than it had to," admitted Pete Carroll after loping off the cold synthetic turf at pint-size Martin Stadium, a 69-0 victory in hand. "I feel terrible for them. Those guys are busting their tails to try to find something positive and it has just been as hard as it can get."
Carroll added, of course, that he was also "really fired up" about his team (when is he not?), which he said played with more focus and discipline than it had all season, an assertion backed by the fact that the error-prone Trojans went an entire game with no turnovers and just two penalties.
All of this is fine and good, but now a question looms: After this win, can anything about how the Trojans might play down the stretch of this season be gleaned?
Short answer: Nope.
Saturday's opponent, remember, was a team that started the year talent-thin only to be devastated by injuries; a team that has now given up more than 60 points to four opponents; a team that came to play Saturday ranked 116th out of 119 major college teams in scoring offense and 114th in total defense.
"What was tougher," the leaders in the USC locker room were asked, "a Trojans full-tilt scrimmage, or this game?"
Mark Sanchez wouldn't bite. (But he did flash a cagey smile that said more than even his silence.)
Rey Maualuga: "You know, practice is always hard for us as far as going against our own offense." (He wouldn't be more specific.)
Patrick Turner: "Uh, well (long pause, cagey smile similar to that flashed by his quarterback), scrimmages are pretty tough considering our defense . . . but, uh . . . you know (another smile, because he really doesn't want to get in trouble with his coaches for telling it like it is) these guys in the Pac-10, they give us a good challenge too."
