Considering there was significant talk about this game against a one-loss, well-balanced Washington State team being a legitimate threat to USC's undefeated record, coming out with a comfortable and convincing 30-14 win was a fairly ideal outcome for the Trojans.

Considering all the consternation going back to the preseason about the defense, delivering a second straight second half shutdown was overwhelmingly encouraging.

It's hard to be very critical about a sixth straight win to open the season (five of those now coming by double figures) for the program's best start since 2006.

But this is the weekly First-and-10, and we call it like we see it regardless. So in this installment, there is indeed a lot of praise passed around, but there are also specific critiques that need attention if the Trojans are going to reach their full potential the rest of the way.

Here were our 10 most significant takeaways from the win over Wazzu.

Quarterback Caleb Williams and the USC passing offense had yet another substandard showing following the bounce-back game against Arizona State. Things weren’t quite as bad as they were against Oregon State, but they certainly weren’t pretty as Williams completed just 15 of his 29 attempts for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. This time around, however, it’s hard to pin the passing game’s struggles entirely on the QB. Both his protection and the play of his receivers wasn’t up to par, as he faced a litany of drops on well-placed balls and a number of inopportune pressures. His stat line would have certainly appeared much cleaner and more efficient had his receivers hauled in a majority of the balls they let bounce off their hands in this one.

Nonetheless, Williams’ game wasn’t at its best either, as he had some lapses of accuracy and displayed some of the processing errors that haunted the offense against Oregon State. Most significant is the way his field vision appears to get warped after difficult drives and scores by the opposition. Williams seems to lock onto receivers in those situations, avoiding easier underneath routes and checkdowns. He appears to have an urge to get everything back at once, hunting for the big play downfield instead of keeping the offense moving methodically. Doing so killed a few of USC’s drives, further disjointing the flow of the offense.

Finding and maintaining an offensive rhythm after periods of stagnation is something that Williams can do better, and he’ll need to in order to fare well against teams that will put up a fight on defense. His exceptional talent is never in question -- he made a number of spectacular downfield throws and pulled off plenty of remarkable scrambles in this game as we’ve come to expect of him. He’ll just need to get the processing part of his game to remain consistent, as he’s been arguably the best quarterback in the country when it’s clicking for him.

This was a tough day for USC’s receiving corps. An apparent ankle injury to Jordan Addison sustained around the mid-point of the game kept the star receiver from seeing much action the rest of the way, while other receivers struggled badly with drops.

Mario Williams led the Trojans with 4 catches for 82 yards and 2 TDs, but even he had some ugly moments, dropping two wide-open passes on crossing routes that would have gone for big yardage. Williams made up for them, however, with big-time touchdown catches on third down, hauling in a 38-yard score on third-and-16 on the Trojans' first possession and later a 24-yard TD grab on third-and-13 in the third quarter as USC finally started to pull away. The second of those catches was a masterful one, as Williams slid neatly to catch a low laser of a throw to the center of the end zone, trapping it expertly with his hands right before it reached the turf.

The remainder of the USC receiving corps didn’t manage as much redemption, with the only two other wide receivers to catch a pass being Brenden Rice and Addison for 3 receptions and under 40 yards each. The drops came from everywhere, with Rice, Tahj Washington and tight end Malcolm Epps all failing to come down with balls that should have been caught. A lack of playmaking out wide shouldn’t be among the problems this team has to deal with, but it was in this one.

Though Addison and Williams have largely been dependable, inconsistency from the rest of the Trojans’ receiving corps has been a recurring issue for this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more of an effort to get a larger variety of contributors involved going forward to see if USC can find consistent production from other complementary receivers. C.J. Williams, Terrell Bynum, Kyron Hudson, Kyle Ford and Michael Jackson III might all be in line for increased opportunities.

Whenever the USC passing offense has struggled this year, the rushing attack has stepped up consistently in order to keep the chains moving. In fact, the Trojans have moved the ball efficiently and consistently in almost every game this season no matter the circumstances; it might actually be the most consistent strength of the offense. The offensive line’s aptitude for run blocking can’t be overstated. This unit has repeatedly shown its ability to be physical at the point of attack, consistently forming creases for the Trojans’ running backs to work with.

None has capitalized quite as well as Travis Dye, who’s been an excellent runner of the football all year. Dye’s consistent success has led him to become USC’s clear bell-cow back despite opening the year in a time-share situation with Austin Jones. Now, there’s no doubt that Dye is the Trojans’ man on the ground, as he’s shouldered the offensive load for multiple weeks in a row. Dye was a workhorse in this game, contributing early as he averaged over 6 yards per carry and scored a touchdown in the first half. As the Trojans entered the final quarter of the game with their passing offense struggling, Lincoln Riley handed it almost entirely over to Dye. The USC offense ran almost exclusively through its lead tailback, as Dye served as the focal point and engine of the USC attack through the final phase of the contest.

He toted the ball a remarkable 14 times in the fourth quarter for 74 yards, securing a reception as well for another 10 yards. Dye’s ability to reliably move the offense forward allowed USC to milk the clock for all it was worth in the latter portion of the game, giving the Trojans long, slow scoring drives and keeping the Cougars off the field. He finished the game with a season-high 28 carries, for 149 yards and 1 touchdown.

Dye’s importance to this offense can’t be understated; he might be its single most important component right now aside from the quarterback position. He’s certainly been its most consistent contributor all year. He's up to 571 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry with 6 TDs, plus 114 receiving yards.

In recent weeks, the Trojans offensive line has appeared shaky at times in pass protection and that trend continued against Washington State. Though the team didn’t give up a sack, an impressive achievement against this defense, the line certainly allowed more pressures than it would have liked (8, per PFF). On a number of occasions, Caleb Williams was forced to abandon his progressions from the pocket as rapid pressure forced him to evacuate and make a play elsewhere. Once again, the Trojans’ biggest lapses in protection came off the left edge, where Bobby Haskins struggled at times along with his backup Mason Murphy. Williams’ escapability keeps it from appearing a major issue, but the regularity with which pressure off the edge has been forcing Williams to flee the pocket is starting to become a concern for this offense.

It keeps Williams from going through his reads the way he should, instead pushing him to play more hero ball and putting his body at risk as he looks to maximize the play with his legs. As the Trojans prepare to take on an imposing Utah front seven next week, the offensive line has to do better to keep the passing game effective.