If nothing else, USC’s 52-42 loss to Washington this past Saturday provided the impetus for the best thing Trojan Head Coach Lincoln Riley has done lately—fire his Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch. Grinch leaves a team that is in the bottom 10 nationally in defense, a team that gives up an average of 436 total yards of offense per game and 34.5 points. USC’s defense is actually ranked lower than that of both Colorado and Stanford, teams with records of 1-5, and 2-5 respectively. It’s sad that a team with such a brilliant offense, led by a generational talent in Caleb Williams who no doubt will be the Number 1 draft choice in spite of all this, can’t provide a complimentary or at least a decent defense. They got through Colorado in Week 5, but just by a single possession. Then in Week-6 folks were shocked that they were only able to beat Arizona by two points, having to score 43 to do that. Of course since then we’ve grown to have more respect for a Wildcat team that is roaring back to life and is now ranked. But after that it all fell apart. First on the road to Notre Dame; then at home in a narrow two point loss to Utah; a one point victory the next week over a Cal team that’s 1-5 and has a defense even worse than the Trojans—fourth from the bottom; and then this past Saturday against the Huskies. And the losses aren’t over as they’ll be on the road to Eugene this next Saturday to take on a great Oregon team which, after that loss, will give them a 7-4 record going into their final game of the season against their cross-town rivals, the Bruins, for the LA City Championship.
This was a game everybody was rightfully excited about watching—expected to be a back-and-forth dual between two of the best quarterbacks in the country, both of which will be drafted in the first round of the NFL and soon to be starting on Sunday. And it didn’t disappoint in that regard as the QB’s combined for 568 yards in the air and seven TD’s, including one each on the ground. The game was tied up six times spanning from the last four minutes of the 1st Qtr all the way to the last two minutes of the 3rd Qtr and in spite of a Caleb Williams fumble during a sack on his own 25 yard line that turned into a Washington 35-28 lead three plays later, USC should have won this game and would have if not for giving up 316 yards and 5 rushing TD’s on the ground. Washington’s Junior RB Dillon Johnson’s performance was so dominant—26 carries for a career high 256 yards rushing and 4 TD’s—that he was named the PAC-12 Offensive Player of the Week. Husky QB Michael Penix-Jr, who between the win against Oregon and this game may have a lock on the Heisman, connected for 256 yards of his own, 2 TD’s, 1 pick, and one more TD on the ground. Against the brilliance of Caleb Williams, running the ball, eating up the clock, and limiting the time USC had on the field was good strategy that worked and accounted for an almost ten minute difference in time-of-possession. But it’s a strategy that only works if you’re playing against a defense that can’t stop the run and for the umpteenth time USC couldn’t and it cost Grinch his job—finally! I think Lincoln Riley is a great coach and will get this fixed.
For the Trojans it was WR Tahj Washington that led the pack in the air with eight receptions for 122 yards and 1 TD. On the ground, Senior RB Austin Jones had his best game of the year picking up 127 yards on just 11 carries—an 11.5 yard average per rush. Washington Junior Rome Odunze and Sophomore Ja’Lynn Polk both had 5 receptions each for a combined 124 yards and 1 TD with Senior TE Devin Culp picking up Penix-Jr’s other TD pass. Tied at 42-to-42 this was still anybody’s game at the start of the 4th Qtr. But following a Washington field goal early to put them up by three USC had to give the ball back after a Caleb Williams sack and 12 yard loss on a 3rd and 13 at the Husky 30 yard line which pushed them back to the 42, out of field goal range and forcing a punt. And in a play that could have been the straw that broke Alex Grinch’s back, on the first play out of scrimmage after the punt Husky RB Dillon Johnson broke away for 53 yards down to the USC 38 yard line. Just half-way through the final quarter and wanting to eat the clock, Washington took five more minutes before they handed the ball for the last time to Johnson who fittingly ran it into the end zone for his fourth TD of the game and a Washington 52-42 ten point lead that held up.
Going forward, the Huskies have a couple of tough games ahead. The first against Utah at home, a game which they could loose if they take their eye off the ball but a game in which they should be able to outscore their opponent if nothing else. I think a tougher game for them will be on the road in Corvallis against Oregon State. They’ll need the team that beat Oregon and USC to show up for that one in order to stay undefeated. Finally, the Apple Cup and at this point a reeling Washington State may have nothing left to play for in that game other than pride, but always a dangerous game. For the Trojans, they have to go to Oregon and will need to not dwell on what might have been and concentrate on what seems to me to be a game they can’t possibly win against the Ducks who, in spite of the loss to Washington, I think is the best team in the conference. After that, it’s UCLA in a game that could go either way.