LOS ANGELES - USC didn’t exactly look like a team in control for much of Saturday night. Then the Trojans flipped the game with defense, one huge turnover return, and just enough offense to claw past Washington 25-21.
Jahkeem Stewart delivered the moment that changed everything. The 295-pound defensive tackle nicknamed Thanos scooped up a fumble and returned it 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, helping No.
18 Southern California finish with the game’s final 15 points. It was USC’s first win over Washington since 2016.
Jayden Maiava threw for 245 yards and connected with Tanook Hines for a second-half touchdown as the Trojans improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Washington fell to 3-2 and 0-2.
The finish came after the Huskies mounted one last threat. Demond Williams Jr. passed for 198 yards and guided Washington from its 5 all the way to the USC 12, converting two fourth downs and a third-and-11 on the drive. But Kameryn Crawford got to Williams for a sack on third down, and Williams then forced a pass into double coverage in the end zone that fell incomplete with 39 seconds left.
USC’s response was a far cry from the flat showing that followed last week’s home loss to Oregon. The Trojans tightened up defensively and overcame nine penalties for 94 yards, including an illegal formation call that wiped out a long touchdown pass.
The noise around the program was hard to miss while Washington was building a 21-10 lead. Chants of “Fire Lincoln!
Fire Lincoln!” could be heard from the student section, but USC’s defense shut the door from there.
“I felt like for a long period of the game, we were really outplaying them," Riley said. "But when you make some of those mistakes and you just let them keep hanging around ... with penalty after penalty, we've clearly got to do a way better job on that.
A lot to clean up, (but) a lot to be excited about. We had to dig deep for this one.
There's no question, especially with as sloppy as we played, especially offensively.”
Washington had its own burst of creativity early, with receiver Dezmen Roebuck throwing a touchdown pass to Baron Naone for the Huskies’ first points. Later, Kade Eldridge finished a drive with a touchdown dive shortly before halftime, and Decker DeGraaf turned a short pass into a 42-yard score after multiple Trojans failed to shove him out of bounds.
USC had two drives derailed by unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on either side of halftime, which kept Washington in striking distance. But Hines answered with a 10-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter, ripping the ball away from a Washington defender before Stewart’s scoop-and-score put USC ahead for good.
“I made the quarterback step up, and thanks to Luke (Wafle) for getting the sack, and I picked the ball up and ran 22 miles per hour,” Stewart said with a grin.
The Louisiana native ended his postgame news conference by saying he was hungry and planned to eat “so much gumbo.”
Washington still had a chance to steal it late, but the Huskies couldn’t find another answer after going scoreless over the final 28:30. Their last two losses have come by a combined seven points.
“Right now it’s certainly challenging to get the sticks moving," Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. "It’s like you just feel that you have a third down that you’re looking to convert and something happens, whatever that something is.
When you get stopped, there’s no tempo involved. There’s no ability to get that energy that we like to play with when we can convert, and then get on the ball and make some plays.”
Williams said the late turnover was the killer.
“Third down, trying to get (away) on the scramble, and just double-clutched it,” Williams said. “And when I pulled back to throw again, got hit in my arm, and I just can’t do that. I've got to always put our team in a better position to win.”
USC linebacker Desman Stephens did not play after being suspended for his ejection last week against Oregon for a late hit on Ducks quarterback Dante Moore.
The win gave USC a needed lift after a rocky September. The Trojans held Washington to 123 yards in the first half and made enough impact plays late to survive the penalties and the deficit.
Washington next hosts Iowa on Friday night. USC heads to Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 10.
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