Welp, the College Football Playoff committee will have to roll back those sleeves this week.
Behind a solid game from quarterback Sam Darnold and a few key plays from their defense and special teams, the 20th ranked USC Trojans (7-3, 6-2 Pac-12) went into Seattle, Washington and earned a big conference win over the #4 Washington Huskies (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12), 26-13.
A contest that featured a number of college football stars on both sides, USC cornerback Adoree Jackson came up with two interceptions, one that pretty much sealed the win for the Trojans with four minutes left in the game, as well as a blocked field goal recovery. What is interesting is that his great game was a backstory to the performance of the Trojans defense.
The unit flustered Washington quarterback Jake Browning, who tossed two interceptions, and held Pac-12 second leading rusher Myles Gaskin to just 51 yards on 15 carries.
The Trojans took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter thanks to a Darnold to Darreus Rogers touchdown for 13 yards. Running back Ronald Jones II scampered for a 4-yard touchdown with just 28 seconds left in the first half to give USC a 17-6 halftime lead.
A 70-yard touchdown by Huskies receiver John Ross in the third quarter seemed to swing the momentum clearly in favor of Washington but a blocked field goal two drives later, recovered by Jackson, came at a crucial point in the game to which USC snatched away the momentum and held on to it throughout the duration of the contest.
Jones totaled 93 rushing yards and a touchdowns for USC while Darnold passed for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions against a Washington defense that was ranked 17th overall in total defense coming into the game.
The dynamic Ross was his normal self for Washington with eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. His quarterback on the other hand was not himself throughout the night. Browning completed just 47% of his passes and his QBR of 30.4 was his lowest all season. By losing at this point of the season, Washington’s chances of making the College Football Playoff after receiving the number four spot earlier this week, is in jeopardy. The loss places them in second place in the Pac-12 North behind rival Washington State. Their rivalry matchup in a few weeks will likely be for the Pac-12 North championship.
The win keeps the conference championship game aspirations for USC alive and well and are in need of another Colorado loss to leapfrog the Buffaloes and find themselves in the Pac-12 title game which would make that 1-3 start to the season for USC a distant memory.
