WSU vs. USC football: Baxter’s beer of the game

Baxter and I didn’t have much excitement for WSU’s trip to Los Angeles to face USC before this season. After the first three games, like many Coug fans, our outlook has changed. The Trojans look seriously flawed, and Wazzu looks much better than anticipated. Now, a win at the Coliseum seems possible.

In honor of that—and we’ll get to the reason in a second—Baxter has picked Second Death from Holy Mountain Brewing in Seattle as his beer for WSU’s tilt with USC. Second Death is a helles-style lager. It’s crisp, it’s refreshing, it’s crushable.

Music courtesy of Bensound.com

Holy Mountain is one of my favorite breweries, and its releases come and go quickly. However, you can still get Second Death in the taproom if you are so inclined, but I’d recommend heading there anyway. Lots of great beers and a diversity of styles. Only downside is they don’t allow Baxter or his baby friend Beatrix to stick around.

So, why Second Death? As we are all well aware, the USC-WSU series has a lopsided history—58 wins to USC, four ties, and just 10 wins to WSU. With that record, USC has a pretty lowly view of the Cougs. In fact, losing to Wazzu is probably considered rock bottom for the Trojans, regardless of context.

Funny thing is, the Cougs have made at least some headway relative to history in the past 20 years. Five of those 10 wins have come since 1997. Three of those five wins happened in Los Angeles. It would seem USC fans should be at least used to the idea of WSU beating them on occasion at this point.

Not likely, though. Last time WSU beat USC in LA, it played a major role in former head coach Lane Kiffin being left on the tarmac in Arizona the next week. This time, with current head coach Clay Helton feeling the heat, some are predicting a repeat should WSU prevail.

So, Second Death? That’s like a second demise of a USC head coach fueled by a WSU win (if they win, we aren’t getting too confident, that’s not in our nature).

That’s what Baxter and I will be having for this Friday night matchup. Let us know what you’ll be drinking.