yahoo
LOS ANGELES — The Washington Huskies appeared poised to pull off an upset against a USC team that may have been emotionally drained from a loss to Oregon. For a while, it seemed they might do just that.
However, as has been the case, self-inflicted errors drained the Huskies' momentum and likely demoralized Husky Nation as well.
After two drives that netted only 14 total yards, Washington found its rhythm, marching 41 yards in eight plays, capped by a Dezmen Roebuck pass out of the backfield to an open Baron Naone for a touchdown.
USC answered in the second quarter with a Waymond Jordan rushing touchdown, but the Huskies responded after trading punts with an 8-play, 80-yard drive. This was arguably their most complete drive of the year.
Brian Bonner rushed for 32 of his 89 yards on that drive, and Demond Williams Jr. completed passes of 14 and 17 yards while adding 9 on the ground. The drive ended with more creativity, as fullback/tight end Kade Eldridge shifted spots with Williams and took the direct snap for a 1-yard score.
It looked as though offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch was getting comfortable emptying his bag of tricks, and it was working, as the Huskies took a 14-10 lead into halftime.
After a USC punt to open the second half, a short 2-play drive ended with Decker Degraaf rumbling down the sideline, sprinting 42 yards almost untouched due to hapless USC tackling. With the Dawgs up 21-10, it felt like another victory in the Coliseum, a much-needed boost for a team that badly needed it after last week's drubbing against Minnesota.
Alas, it was not to be.
On the very next drive, USC took 7 minutes off the clock, going 75 yards in 13 plays, finishing with a Jaiden Maiava touchdown pass to Tanook Hines from 10 yards out. A missed 2-point play made it 21-16.
On the next Husky drive, Brian Bonner continued his stellar performance, rushing for gains of 6, 16, and 2 before Demond took the shotgun snap, pump faked, stepped up, and fumbled. The ball was recovered by Jahkeem Stewart, who took it all the way home, giving USC the lead, 22-21.
From there, Williams was shut down, as he was for much of the first quarter. At times, he looks unsure making his reads, like he's not in rhythm. This allowed USC to sack Williams 5 times and keep his rushing ability in check to the tune of only 26 yards.
But the big story of the game was the penalties. 10 for 74 yards for the Huskies, and 9 for 84 for the Trojans. To the Trojans' credit, they tightened up when they had to, in spite of a line of bad performances from their unit.
In the fourth, all USC scored was a field goal. They got it, thanks in part to a defensive pass interference penalty on Dylan Robinson that looked like it was on the offense. This was the play that, in concert with the earlier fumble, fully turned the game in USC's favor.
From there, all USC had to do was hold the line. Whether or not they could was in doubt for a while, as Demond made some plays, like a 15-yard pass to Chris Lawson and a 43-yard pass, also to Lawson. But then you have plays like the 2-yard flat pass to Brian Bonner, and the final desperation throw by Demond, and with those, fans were left to wonder yet again if having him was worth the headache trying to get him back. Or maybe they were wondering if Fisch is really the guy to call the offense.
Whatever the case may be, there will be a lot of finger pointing by the fanbase, as what really could've been a galling upset turned out to be a crushing loss, in a season that is looking increasingly more lost as the weeks go on.
We'll see if the Huskies can get back some of the momentum back, but seeing as how their next game is Friday against an Iowa team looking to get some momentum of their own, it'll be difficult.
Originally reported by yahoo.