Trojans Fall in shootout
Williams put up some real god numbers completing 27 of 35 for 312 yards while responsible for four touchdowns (3-passing ,1 rushing) helping total a massive 515-yards of offense. Austin Jones had 127 yards rushing including a 32-yard scamper.

By Earl Heath
Contributing Sports Writer
It was an ole fashion college football shootout at the LA Coliseum as PAC-12 rivals Washington and USC
No. 5 HUSKIES secured a 52-42 win at No. 20 TROJANS last week to move one step closer towards earning its first Pac-12 Championship Game appearance since 2018. The Huskies relied on their ground attack instead of star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the first time all season and racked up 316 yards rushing. Dillon Johnson had a career high in attempts (26), yards (256) and touchdowns (four), and his 1-yard score with 2:23 remaining ultimately put the game away.
“I’m pissed,” head coach Lincoln Riley said after the game. “I’m pissed we missed this opportunity. You evaluate everything that you’re doing (on defense). You just keep grinding to fix it… It all falls under my responsibility, ultimately, and I don’t shy away from that. I never have. There are times and places for those discussions, and those will happen at the appropriate times.”
Washington controlled the time of possession in the second half to limit USC’s offense, led by the reining Heisman Trophy and Walter Camp Player of the Year winner Caleb Williams.
Williams put up some real god numbers completing 27 of 35 for 312 yards while responsible for four touchdowns (3-passing ,1 rushing) helping total a massive 515-yards of offense. Austin Jones had 127 yards rushing including a 32-yard scamper.
Early in the second half from 25 yards out Williams threw an incomplete pass to Brenden Rice just over his fingertips in the end zone for an incompletion. On the very next play Rice ran the exact same pattern, this time Rice hauled it in tying the game at 35 apiece.
On the defensive side Calen Bullock had nine tackles and Eric Gentry had six. The TROJANS take on OREGON this week on the road.
The HUSKIES (9-0, 6-0 PAC-12) came into Saturday ranked No. 117 in the FBS in rushing yards per game (102.2) but had its best team rushing performance of the season.
Nearly 200 of Johnson’s 256 yards came before contact making the defense appear to be a matador style. Before the night he never had a 100-yard game.
The HUSKIES extends its winning streak to 16 games, which dates back to the 2022 season. That run ranks No. 2 nationally behind two-time reigning national champion Georgia, which has won 26 consecutive games.
ADD TROJANS: Lincoln Riley announced this week that Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch has been relieved of his duties,” the athletic department said in a statement. “Defensive Line Coach Shaun Nua and Inside Linebackers Coach/Associate Head Coach for Defense Brian Odom will serve as interim co-defensive coordinators for the remainder of the season. Additionally, Defensive Analyst Taylor Mays has been elevated to an on-field assistant coach and will work with the safeties.”- Despite the Trojans having a premier offense and reigning Walter CAMP Player of the Year winner Caleb Williams, the defense has been blamed for a majority of the teams shortcomings in the two seasons under Lincoln Riley. The Trojans went 11-1 in the regular season in 2022, needing a win in the Pac-12 championship game to reach the College Football Playoff. Instead, USC gave up 47 points in a loss to Utah, and followed it up with a stunning loss in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane in a 46-45 defeat.
Things haven’t improved this season. Despite having the second-best scoring offense in FBS at 45.5 points per game, USC ranks 119th in total defense by allowing 436 yards a game, and the 34.5 points allowed per game ranks 121st out of 130 teams.