The Cougars are on the brink of being eliminated from bowl contention as they prepare to host the USC Trojans.

WSU (2-6, 1-4) is coming off of a 59-37 loss to the then 15^th-ranked Arizona Wildcats last Saturday in Pullman. The Trojans (5-3, 4-2) are in the same boat after they suffered a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to the now 17^th-ranked Utah Utes.

The Trojans enter Martin Stadium for the first time since 2010 when USC rolled the Cougs 50-16. WSU Head Coach Mike Leach said USC’s first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian’s mark has come from a familiar territory.

“The biggest thing really is they run the same stuff they did at Washington,” Leach said. “The biggest mark would be, well they look like Washington did last year.”

Here are a few keys to the game for the Cougars.

Cody Kessler vs. WSU’s secondary

The Trojans are led on offense by a talented redshirt junior quarterback in Cody Kessler. Kessler is having his best year so far as a collegiate player, tossing 20 touchdowns to just two interceptions for 2,148 yards, all while completing 70 percent of his passes. WSU defensive coordinator Mike Breske said a new look has given Kessler a chance to thrive.

“Well it’s a different offense and what they’re doing and that type of deal,” Breske said. “He throws the ball on the run very, very well, saves himself, but he’s always looking downfield and he’s got some talented receivers and they all catch the ball very well.”

The Cougar secondary has made a knack of letting opposing QB’s have big games. Last week, Arizona’s Anu Solomon racked up 294 yards and five touchdowns. Overall, WSU has allowed 21 touchdowns this season and forced just two interceptions.

Going up against a Trojan squad who is boasting a plus-7 turnover margin, the Cougar secondary will have to step it up if it has any hopes of forcing turnovers.

It’s now or never for the young secondary that has seen a myriad of players making their debuts this year, including three defensive backs last week in freshman Kevin Griffin, and redshirt sophomores David Bucannon and Willie Roach. If the Cougars fail to find a lineup that can play as a coercive unit, the Trojans will officially dash their bowl hopes.

WSU Front Seven vs. Javorius Allen

Redshirt junior tailback Javorius (Buck) Allen has led the USC rushing attack this year, accumulating 1010 yards on 177 carries with eight touchdowns. Allen leads the Pac-12 in rushing and the Cougars give up 155 rushing yards on average per game. Linebacker coach Ken Wilson said Allen will present a challenge for the defense.

“Well he’s strong, he makes good cuts,” Wilson said. “Very strong runner, he’ll drag guys so we gotta wrap, we gotta get a lot of guys on him, gotta get him to the ground.”

USC uses their run game to set-up their play-action pass. By stopping the run, it will give the Cougars an opportunity to limit big plays in the passing game.

“Well I mean they’re a good football team so if we can stop the run, we can slow the play-action down so that’s where we’ll start,” Wilson said.

The Trojans can sometimes be their own worst enemy as they average nine penalties a game. WSU will need to focus on containing Allen and forcing frustration amongst the USC offense in order to put them in a vulnerable position. If the Cougars can achieve that, they’ll have control of the pace of the game and allow their Air Raid offense to work its magic.

WSU Offensive Line vs. USC Defensive Line

The WSU offensive line had a stretch of dominance in the early part of the season, but they’ve struggled the last couple weeks to protect redshirt senior quarterback Connor Halliday.

Over last two games, Halliday has been sacked eight times and has lost 81 yards on those sacks. In the six games prior to that, Halliday had been sacked 12 times for 82 yards.

Offensive line coach Clay McGuire said poor play by the offensive tackles have allowed increased defensive pressure.

“The biggest thing the other day is I didn’t think we played very well at the tackle position,” McGuire said. “They’re able to collapse the pocket a little bit and a few instances where we weren’t able to step up in there, see I think if we would’ve played well on the edge we would’ve been fine in there.”

If the Cougars can keep Halliday on his feet, the nation’s leading passer will get the time to orchestrate WSU’s dynamic offense.

It’s do or die for WSU. They can etch themselves as one of the most resilient teams in Cougar history by winning out, or they can fade into the abyss like the majority of Cougar teams past.

The 1 p.m. game at Martin Stadium will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.