Washington State, let’s rewind to last year’s matchup between the Trojans and the Cougars for a minute. It’s early in the second quarter, and the Cougars’ first two drives that night were a three-and-out and an interception. Connor Halliday snaps out of the shotgun and into a pocket that quickly dissolves. USC defensive end Morgan Breslin contracts the pocket and manages to get a hand on Halliday’s ankles, and then George Uko slides in off his assigned lineman and crushes the Cougars’ quarterback from the blindside. Halliday coughs up the rock mid-throw and USC returns the fumble to Washington State’s 22-yard line.

Alright, you probably weren’t expecting me to go back to that particular point in the Cougars’ 10-7 victory over the Trojans. But the Connor Halliday I saw that day did not look capable of playing quarterback at the collegiate level. The single most frustrating aspect of that game, though, was that USC was unable to take advantage of an anemic Washington State offense and put points on the board. After the Cougars scored the go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Nelson Agholor stood at the sideline with his hands on his hips, his eyes staring blankly into a season that had been reduced to ashes before it ever had a chance to become a Pac-12 title campaign.

The 2013 season, at least as we knew it, was pretty much over.

Don’t think for a second that any of us forgot what happened last year. Certainly not Agholor, who had zero receptions despite all the preseason hype anointing him as the second coming of Robert Woods. Least of all USC quarterback Cody Kessler, who probably needed Lane Kiffin’s permission to so much as use the bathroom in that game, much less throw a forward pass for more than eight yards. The Trojans know what happened against the Cougars last season. This season’s tilt will not be a repeat.

This is not meant to disrespect the progress Halliday has made since last season. The Cougars’ quarterback has somehow transformed into the Matthew Stafford of college football. By sheer virtue (or vice) of volume, Halliday leads the nation in passing yards by more than 900 yards, and passing touchdowns with 32. Barring three other quarterbacks, Halliday has more passes completed (348) than any other college football quarterback has even attempted. Sure, the Cougars’ defense is giving up 38 points a game, good for 117th in the FBS, which forces them to throw the ball more. Then again, a part of me gets a nagging suspicion that Mike Leach just likes passing the ball in general.

The Cougars will get some big plays against this inexperienced USC secondary, but this defense has managed to prevent opposing offenses from scoring in bunches (unless you count the fourth quarter, which, let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not going to get there for the Cougars).

But here’s why Washington State won’t win: USC is going to just put more points on the board, at a more consistent clip, than the Cougars can possibly be expected to manage — as has been the case all season. As much as USC’s defense has been maligned this season for having a “bend-don’t-break” approach under defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, there’s just no way Washington State’s defense can stop the Trojans. The Cougars are giving up a downright frightening 162 rushing yards per game — USC running backs Javorius “Buck” Allen and Justin Davis are going to find a way to collect all of those yards and more. Controlling the time of possession and dominating the running game is playing right into USC’s hands, and a thinned-out Trojan defense will benefit significantly from the reduced overall playing time.

Outside of the two losses to UCLA, the loss to Washington State in 2013 remains the single most agonizing loss I’ve experienced as a Trojan. It threw the entire season into a cyclone of coaching aporia and hazy expectations. Well, too late, Washington State: ASU and Utah have already beaten you to that distinction this year, so we’ll just take this victory for granted and be on our way.

Prediction: USC 41, Washington St. 24.