Some quick thoughts on the first three quarters of tonight’s USC-Washington State matchup at the Coliseum:

• Penalties! Penalties! Penalties! Ack!!!! USC’s lack of discipline is turning me into Cathy Guisewite.
• Great to see Brice Butler getting involved.
• And even better to finally see a Damian Williams TD.
• Loni Fangupo’s injury was pretty gruesome. Not Tim Krumrie-ugly, but still nasty.
• Watching Anthony McCoy limp off the field is disappointing, but watching Blake Ayles run out on the field is a thrill. There’s no doubt, the kid’s got the gift.
• Way too much love for Tuel — guy didn’t score a TD, and yet the announcers were going all Tebow on him.
• We connected with Big Mike Williams on Twitter tonight. Assuming it really was him and not an impostor, we are stoked.
• Does being an academic star at Washington State really count?
• Matt Barkley is throwing Brett Favre hard on some plays. Don’t be afraid to dial it back a touch, young Jedi.
• Those terrible Sonic commercials were more entertaining than a lot of the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
• I left a sportsbar so I could come home and watch the game, which allowed me to get reacquainted with Petros Papadakis. A decision that wound up feeling like that time you opted to have dinner with your ex-girlfriend, only to have it quickly devolve to hurried eating and angst-ridden bill paying. And then he went and made out with Tuel before we even left the building.