The Washington Huskies head to Southern California for their first road game of the season, and they’ll walk into a familiar matchup with plenty on the line in the details. Washington is 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the BIG 10, while USC comes in at 4-1 and 1-1 in conference play.
It’s the 89th meeting between the former Pac-12 rivals and their second BIG Ten matchup, with both teams trying to rebound from conference losses. Washington fell to Minnesota 27-24, and USC was beaten by Oregon 41-27.
Even with the rough start, Washington has had USC’s number lately. The Huskies have won the last three meetings, and they’ll need that momentum to carry over if they want to keep the streak alive against a ranked Trojan team. USC is No. 18 in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25, while Washington, after drawing early-season votes in the Coaches Poll, is now unranked.
For Washington, the clearest path starts on defense. The Huskies built their early-season success on that side of the ball, and the opener against Washington State was a perfect example.
Washington didn’t allow a single third-down conversion, as the Cougars finished 0-for-11. That kind of stop rate has shown up in Husky lore before, too - the last time Washington held an opponent to 0-for-11 on third down was in the 16-13 win over a Peter Carroll-led team in 2009, when USC went 0-for-13.
But last week’s loss to Minnesota exposed some cracks. Washington gave up a season-high 21 points and allowed a season-high 329 total yards, including 125 on the ground and 204 through the air. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters pointed to discipline and tackling as the issues that need cleaning up.
“Some of the issues were not being on the right leverage side,” said Walters . “It’s harder to make those type of plays against a physical back, when we’re not in a great position.”
“There’s too many time where we’ll run into contact instead of wrapping up or leading our feet on contact,” added Walters. “All those things we teach while tackling, we’ll clean it up, I’ve seen us tackle better and I’ve seen us play better hopefully it’s not an issue moving forward.”
The other big ask for Washington is simple: create more takeaways. Through three games, the Huskies were forcing mistakes and getting after quarterbacks at a strong clip, piling up seven total turnovers - five interceptions and two fumble recoveries - along with six sacks. That pressure and ball production helped power the three-game winning streak even when the offense wasn’t humming.
Against Minnesota, though, Washington came up with just one interception and no sacks. Head coach Jedd Fisch made it clear that the defense has to keep attacking the ball.
“We’ve got to play the ball exceptionally well, said Fisch” We’re not going to go in there and play scared and just keep everything in front of us… play something like bend but don’t break defense we’re gonna play the ball and be physical at the point of attack when the ball is in the air.”
The challenge only gets tougher against a USC offense that has been rolling under Offensive Coordinator Luke Huard’s “Power Raid” system. Through five games, the Trojans are eighth nationally in total offense and are scoring 39.9 points per game.
USC’s attack runs through quarterback Jayden Maiava, who has thrown for 1,219 yards with 12 touchdowns and one interception while completing 75.7% of his passes. His top weapons are true freshman Trent Mosley, who has 13 catches for 255 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 19.6 yards per reception, and freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who has 25 receptions for 355 yards and three touchdowns at 14.9 yards a catch.
“Obviously they are certainly one of the most explosive teams out there they have incredible speed and they have incredible talent,” said Fisch. “they’ve done a great job of acquiring talent over the course of the last few years, I think they have the no. 1 position class in the country.”
In Other News...
Seahawks Backfield Concern Grows As Key Defender Trends Toward Return
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Zach Charbonnet was back on the field in a limited capacity after working his way back from an ACL tear, a sign the Seahawks are at least moving him closer to availability. He is not yet eligible to play in games, but his return to practice adds another layer to a backfield that already looks thin at the moment, especially with Seattle still sorting through who will be available when the Chargers come to town. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Rushing Struggles Point To A Bigger Offensive Concern
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Even with that uneven ground game, the offense has still managed to put up 25 points per game on average, which is part of why the bigger concern feels less like a collapse than a work in progress. The expectation around the team is that the rushing attack should improve as the pieces settle, but for now it remains tied to a larger question about how quickly Seattle can regain consistency across the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Get Encouraging Injury News Before A Bigger Chargers Test
The Seahawks got a useful midweek lift as they worked through practice preparations for a bigger Chargers test. Zach Charbonnet opened his practice window, a meaningful step as Seattle continues to manage its backfield, while Ty Okada was back in limited work after missing time. The rest of the injury report brought a familiar mix of limited and full participation, giving the coaching staff a better sense of who might be available as the game plan comes into focus.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, had a more uneven day on the field. Some Chargers players were back to full participation, but Derwin James and Ladd McConkey did not practice after being limited the previous day, a sign that the situation still bears watching on both sides of the matchup. For Seattle, the encouraging developments are helpful, but the real test will be how much of that progress carries into a game against a Chargers team that is still sorting out its own health. [Read more 🡒]