No. 5 Washington outlasted No. 20 USC on Saturday, winning 52-42 to remain unbeaten. Here’s what you need to know:
- Huskies running back Dillon Johnson rushed for four touchdowns, three coming in the first half, and 256 yards on 26 carries — all career highs.
- Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams connected on 27-of-35 passes for three touchdowns and 312 yards, while adding a touchdown on the ground.
- Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 256 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and had a rushing touchdown of his own.
- The Huskies improved to 9-0, as the Trojans fell to 7-3.
Washington capitalizes on Johnson’s career night
Penix Jr. may be the face of the Huskies, but he was not their biggest star Saturday. That would be Johnson, who went off for a career night against a hapless USC defense that could not tackle him. Penix, so ridiculously effective his first six games, has not looked quite as sharp the last three. He did have a remarkable scramble and touchdown pass to Devin Culp in the second quarter, but also had an interception.
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Washington, which came in averaging a modest 102 rushing yards, went off for 316 on the ground. This allowed the Huskies to hold on to the ball longer in the second half. — Stewart Mandel, college football editor-in-chief
Huskies’ road ahead
Washington is 9-0 yet still faces several obstacles to get to the College Football Playoff. It has to turn around and face a tough Utah team next, followed by a road game against another top-20 foe, Oregon State, then the Apple Cup, then a possible rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. And there’s seemingly no margin for error.
Every other Power 5 conference can still produce at least a 12-1 champ, so the Huskies need to just keep winning. — Mandel
What happened to USC?
The defense is the main reason for the loss. Make no mistake about it. The unit surrendered 575 yards and 50-plus points. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has no sort of answers and that showed on Saturday night.
USC’s offense had to play a perfect game to win this one and blinked at two of the worst moments it could. Williams fumbled right before half, which led to a Washington touchdown, and he took a critical fourth-quarter sack that knocked the Trojans out of field goal range when they trailed by three. — Antonio Morales, USC football writer
What this means for Lincoln Riley
USC’s coach had never lost more than two games in a regular season since he became head coach in 2017. Now the Trojans are 7-3, have an extremely improbable path to the Pac-12 title game and play a top-10 Oregon on the road next week. That has the potential to get really ugly.
Next year he will be without Williams and in a more difficult conference. Riley has to make a change defensively but this offseason will require a serious look inward because this team has shown troubling habits from Week 0 on. — Morales
Highlight of the game
Give him da ROCK 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/zetF8qTcUg
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) November 5, 2023
Required reading
- For Caleb Williams, can there be victory in defeat?
- Is potential No. 1 pick Caleb Williams being held back by USC’s scheme?
- How Michael Penix thrives under Kalen DeBoer
(Photo: Jessica Alcheh / USA Today)