USC football continued its winning ways and advanced to 6-0 on the season with a 30-14 victory against Washington State. Here are four key takeaways from USC's big win over Washington State in Week 6.

The USC Trojans' defense demonstrated its ability to match the same level that has kept USC unblemished halfway through the regular season against high-scoring Washington State.

Caleb Williams, the quarterback for No. 6 USC, delivered two touchdown passes to Mario Williams, and the Trojans shut out the Cougars in the second half for a massive Saturday night triumph.

This was a really awesome win for the Trojans, who hadn't started a season with six straight wins since 2006. Travis Dye played a big part, too, carrying for 140+ yards and a score.

Those teams from the early-to-mid-2000s prospered on both sides of the ball, and the current Trojans are showing indications of doing the same.

Now let's take a look at four things we learned about the USC Trojans in their Week 6 win over Washington State.

4. Tuli Tuipulotu tackle machine anchors a superb defense

Simply set up USC football defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu anywhere you want and let him get to work. It's a pleasure to see him go after the opposing QB and the ball. He's a bloodhound in USC colors.

As a result of his aggressiveness, Tuipulotu had four tackles for loss and three sacks in Saturday's contest. All of them occurred in the first half, which was an impressive exhibition of pass-rushing prowess. He was a nightmare for the Washington State offensive line all night. His third sack, in particular, was pretty painful.

USC was also tenacious in defending the pass. Washington State QB Cam Ward finished 19-for-32 for 172 yards, and he was hit five times. Washington State converted just four of thirteen third-down opportunities. Yardage wasn't easy to come by via the air, and USC was able to restrict the big plays. Of course, the Tuipulotu -led defensive front played a significant role in this.

3. Receivers struggle

During the game, explosive USC WR Jordan Addison was handicapped by something. He went to the medical tent early on and then returned but finished with a season-low 37 yards receiving.

Given that, the wideout group as a whole had a relatively poor game. There were a few drops. There was miscommunication. That was perhaps the worst performance from one of the team's strongest groups. Take note that prior to Week 6, USC football averaged 250+ air yards per game.

In this game, they had just 188 passing yards, with Caleb Williams passing 15-for-29 and two touchdowns. Mario Williams grabbed each of those passes for a total of 82 yards on four receptions. He continues to show tremendous promise, and the Trojans will continue to need him in the games to come.

2. Terrific Travis Dye

USC football RB Travis Dye, a fifth-year transfer, made the difference for USC in a game that required deep, blue-collar effort to overcome an equally physical opponent.

Fittingly enough, Dye is a Southern California native who spent four years at Oregon before returning home. He ran for 149 yards and one rushing TD.

Dye pretty much bulldozed over any Washington State defender, churning, cutting, and juking for yardage whenever the Trojans looked shaky. He was big-time in this contest, recording 13 carries and a reception in the fourth quarter when the Trojans effectively kept the ball out of the hands of Ward and his own playmaking running back Jaylen Jenkins.

1. Caleb Williams was okay and had no INTs

USC football QB Caleb Williams completed only 15-of-28 throws for 188 yards in this game. He was frequently under pressure and ran nine times for 34 yards, taking a hard hit on many occasions. Still, he successfully helped USC to the big win, and perhaps more importantly, he didn't throw a single interception (he had one last week against Arizona State).

Overall, Williams was just okay here. He had his second-lowest yardage total and completion percentage. Still, he was sacked just once and finished with a 128.9 passer rating. With so many weapons at his disposal, Williams should have better numbers, yes. He knows that, of course, and we're sure he'll return to form sooner rather than later.