Breakthrough Win For Cougs In Los Angeles
Southern California hadn't even finished the first half of its home opener before the Coliseum crowd erupted in boos for its inept offense and full-throated chants of "Fire Kiffin!"
Lane Kiffin heard it all night long during a disheartening 10-7 loss to Washington State.
And while the fourth-year coach isn't about to agree with the instructions, he couldn't argue with the sentiment.
"That's not a performance that anybody should have to pay to see," Kiffin said.
Andrew Furney kicked a 41-yard field goal with 3:03 to play, to give Washington State its first victory at the Coliseum in 13 years.
Damante Horton returned an interception 70 yards for a tying score in the final seconds of the first half for Washington State (1-1, 1-0 Pac-12), and he made the clinching interception with 2:18 to play in the Cougars' first win over the Trojans anywhere since 2002.
Dom Williams took Connor Halliday's third-and-long screen pass 49 yards to the USC 30 with 5½ minutes left to set up Furney's tiebreaking kick.
Horton then picked off Max Wittek's pass to finish off USC (1-1, 0-1), which received loud boos throughout its Pac-12 opener.
USC (1-1, 0-1 Pac-12) was knocked out of the AP Top 25 with an embarrassing offensive performance against the Cougars, who held the Trojans to their fewest total yards (193) and single-game yards passing (54) since 1998.
While USC's defense was dominant, the talent-laden offense was shockingly poor, with two quarterbacks struggling equally.