USC can’t keep up with Washington in scoring spree, crippling its Pac-12 title hopes
All they needed was one little spark, Lincoln Riley assured his USC Trojans, one measly twist of fate from the football gods for their fortunes to finally turn. That was the message all week — all month, really — with USC still tiptoeing along the precipice of its season.
What No. 20 USC (7-3, 5-2) got instead against No. 5 Washington (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12) was a whirling inferno, with enough twists and turns to leave the sold-out Coliseum crowd’s heads spinning. Thrust into an extravaganza of explosive plays, on a night when defense was largely optional, the Trojans caught fire but were left smoldering in a 52-42 loss, their Pac-12 title hopes largely reduced to ash.
Finding the strength to play after the death of his grandmother was not easy for USC safety Calen Bullock, but he knew she would want him to play and dominate.
It wasn’t for a lack of effort from its offense. The Trojans piled up 515 yards, an average of 8.2 per play. They rushed for 203 yards, just short of a season-high, despite not having their lead back, MarShawn Lloyd, due to injury. Caleb Williams, the Trojans star quarterback, had his best game in over a month, accounting for four touchdowns and completing 77% of his passes. One after another, USC piled up big plays — 17 in all, a total that probably would’ve blown the doors off most other teams across college football.
But once again, it wasn’t enough. Not with its defense once again incapable of making stops when it needed them. Or making stops at all.
Washington entered Saturday with one of the best offenses in college football. But even that resume couldn’t explain how unstoppable the Huskies proved in dismantling the Trojans’ flailing defense.
“We didn’t play very well tonight,” Riley said. “Some of our worst ball was on some of our biggest plays of the game.”
Washington put up 572 yards, the most allowed at USC since Riley became coach. After a week spent harping on the importance of stopping explosive plays, the Huskies still managed 18 of them against USC. Running back Dillon Johnson steamrolled the Trojans for 256 yards and four touchdowns, more yards than any other team rushed for against USC this season. Johnson had never rushed for more than 100 yards in a game, but managed 199 rushing yards before contact on Saturday.
“All of our big runs, either someone is not in their gap, or someone isn’t lined up,” safety Calen Bullock said.
Even Johnson said after that he was “shocked.”
“Kind of looked like guys weren’t ready to make the play,” added linebacker Mason Cobb.
And yet, USC still had a chance, with half the fourth quarter remaining and the ball in Williams’ capable hands.
The Trojans’ defense managed a rare stop, forcing Washington to settle for a field goal, and USC drove into Husky territory down three with a chance to seize the lead.
That’s when Williams found Tahj Washington in the flat. Washington dodged one Husky defender, then another, following blocks into the end zone for what appeared to be the go-ahead score. But a holding penalty erased the touchdown.
“That was probably the game,” Riley said.
Still within field-goal range, Williams dropped back on third down under immediate duress. He tried to step up in the pocket, but it was no use. He was sacked for a 12-yard loss, the significance of which seemed to hit Williams as he lay in the grass an extra few seconds, staring up at the night sky.
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1. USC quarterback Caleb Williams walks off the field during the final moments of the Trojans’ 52-42 loss to Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday night. 2. USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch yells at the defense a Washington touchdown on third-and-18. 3. USC’s Duce Robinson (88) blocks a punt by Washington’s Jake McCallister in the first quarter. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Any lingering hope left in the Coliseum dissipated with the sack. Washington then drove 91 yards in nine plays to score.
Misery persisted as Williams wandered the field in the aftermath until he found his mother in the first row. The quarterback jumped into the stands and into her arms, crying as she covered his face with a piece of paper.
“I want to go home and cuddle with my dog and watch some shows,” Williams said during the USC postgame news conference, the emotion still raw.
From the start, Saturday night seemed primed to be a heavyweight affair, as two of the nation’s top-five offenses traded punches from the start, while their respective defenses braced for the inevitable impact.
USC fans are tired of being told about what their “untrained” eyes are not seeing from Alex Grinch. As a result, Lincoln Riley is losing the fans’ trust.
The real bedlam began, rather uncharacteristically, with consecutive stops — the only two punts for either team of the first half. A devastating drop by freshman wideout Duce Robinson that would’ve otherwise scored stopped USC’s second drive dead. Washington responded with its own three-and-out.
But as the Huskies tried to punt, Robinson burst through the line in a blazing bit of redemption, overwhelming the punter. The block gave USC the ball back at the eight-yard line, and Williams ran in his 10th touchdown of the season just two plays later.
On any normal night, maybe that would’ve been a turning point. On this particularly dizzying Saturday night, it was just the first of several.
There was the stunning touchdown pass that Huskies star Michael Penix Jr. laced on the run into triple coverage, part of his 256-yard, two-touchdown night. Or the nifty, 41-yard flea flicker from Williams. Or the 11 runs of 10-plus yards from USC’s trio of backs. Amid Saturday’s scoring frenzy, though, all ended up merely footnotes.
The more consequential moment came just before the half, as Williams attempted to scramble and Washington linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui swatted the ball out of his extended arm for a fumble. The Huskies recovered and needed just three plays to score, taking a lead into halftime.
Still, the door remained open until the final minutes. And after the loss, Riley once again extolled just how close his Trojans came to a win.
But the image that would be remembered in the aftermath came from Williams in his mother’s arms, the Trojans’ star quarterback grappling with the same realization that everyone else had Saturday night.
Any hopes of a spark igniting USC’s championship season were extinguished Saturday, stomped out once again by its defense.
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