Jahkeem Stewart changed everything in one burst.
With USC staring at a second-half deficit against Washington on Saturday night, the 295-pound defensive tackle scooped up a fumble and raced 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, sparking No. 18 USC to a 25-21 comeback win in Los Angeles.
The Trojans did the rest with defense and just enough offense. Jayden Maiava threw for 245 yards and found Tanook Hines for a second-half touchdown as USC closed with the game’s final 15 points to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. It was USC’s first win over Washington since 2016.
Washington, meanwhile, dropped to 3-2 and 0-2 after another painful finish.
Demond Williams Jr. finished with 198 passing yards and kept the Huskies alive deep into the fourth quarter. Washington drove from its own 5 to the USC 12 on the final possession, converting two fourth downs and a third-and-11 along the way. But after Kameryn Crawford got to Williams for a sack on third down, Williams tried to force a pass into double coverage in the end zone and it fell incomplete with 39 seconds remaining.
That final stand capped a much sharper night for USC’s defense after last week’s rough home loss to Oregon. Gary Patterson’s unit did not allow another point after Stewart’s score, and the Trojans got enough disruptive plays late to turn the game.
The Huskies got on the board first when receiver Dezmen Roebuck threw a touchdown pass to Baron Naone. Washington then pushed ahead 14-10 just before halftime on an 80-yard march finished by Kade Eldridge’s touchdown dive.
USC had already been hurt by unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both sides of halftime, and those miscues kept the Trojans from building momentum. Washington took advantage again in the third quarter when Decker DeGraaf hauled in a short pass and turned it into a 42-yard touchdown after multiple USC defenders failed to force him out of bounds.
But USC answered right back. Hines wrestled a 10-yard touchdown pass away from a Washington defensive back later in the third quarter, trimming the gap before Stewart’s scoop-and-score flipped the game for good.
USC linebacker Desman Stephens missed the game while serving a suspension after his ejection last week for a late hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. Ta’Mere Robinson started in his place.
For Washington, the loss came despite another solid effort from a team dealing with injuries. The Huskies have now lost two straight by a combined seven points, and coach Jedd Fisch’s group heads into October with a schedule that still offers a chance to rebound if the defense tightens up.
For USC, the night brought a badly needed response. The Trojans held Washington to 123 yards in the first half and made enough big plays to survive a game that kept threatening to slip away.
USC now heads to Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 10.
In Other News...
USC Fans Have Plenty To Debate After That Gritty Washington Win
The heat was no joke, and neither was USCs defense in a 25-21 win over Washington that gave the Trojans plenty to feel good about and even more to debate. Against the kind of grind-it-out test that can expose a team in September, USCs pass rush came through with four sacks, multiple tackles for loss and a sack-fumble recovery that turned into a touchdown, the sort of sequence that can swing a close game and change the feel of a night.
For a team ranked No. 18, the result mattered just as much as the details, and there were enough of both to keep fans talking well after the final whistle. The game offered a useful look at individual performances and how USCs defensive plan held up in tough conditions, but it also left room for questions about which players are emerging, which adjustments are working and how sustainable this kind of gritty win might be as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Maiava's Rough Start Put USC's Offense Under A Harsh Spotlight
Jayden Maiavas afternoon against Washington put USCs offense under a harsh spotlight, as the Trojans spent much of the first half searching for any kind of rhythm. The quarterbacks decision-making and mechanics were both under scrutiny, and a series of poor throws, long holds in the pocket and drive-killing penalties left the offense looking flat when it needed to be sharp.
Maiava finished the half 12 of 19 for 143 yards, but the numbers only told part of the story as USC went to the locker room trailing 14-10. The Trojans still had time to settle in, but the opening half raised real questions about whether the offense could clean itself up quickly enough to change the tone of the game. [Read more 🡒]
USC Defense Escaped Washington After One Brutal Breakdown
USCs defense came out of Washington with a win, but not without a few uneasy moments that will linger in the film room. In a 25-21 victory over the Huskies, the Trojans had the kind of mixed outing that can leave a staff thankful for the result and still frustrated by the details, from a costly missed-tackle sequence that opened the door for a long touchdown to the kind of timely response that kept the game from slipping away.
Jahkeem Stewarts fumble return for a score gave USC a huge lift, and Kameryn Crawford made key defensive plays late to help secure the finish. Even so, Washington had chances behind Demond Williams Jr. and Chris Lawson, and the combination of injuries and breakdowns made this one feel closer than the Trojans would have preferred, with one brutal lapse standing out in a game they still managed to escape. [Read more 🡒]