One of the biggest games in the Pac-12 this season didn’t quite get off to a high-scoring start as No. 4 Washington struggled at home with red-hot USC and went in at halftime trailing 17-6.
Each team’s quarterback threw an ill-advised interception in the first half, with Trojan Sam Darnold’s coming on the team’s opening drive. Huskies QB Jake Browning tossed just his fourth pick of the year early in the second quarter on an under-thrown ball to USC’s all-everything corner Adoree’ Jackson.
Darnold rallied however, quieting the hostile crowd at Husky Stadium to throw a 13 yard strike to Darreus Rogers in the back of the end zone and cap a 68 yard scoring drive. The signal-caller later marched the team right down the field just before the whistle for another touchdown and needed to do most of the work with the Trojans’ normally reliable ground game bottled up to the tune of 3.6 yards a carry.
In a concerning bit of news for the Pac-12 favorites, linebacker Azeem Victor -- the Huskies leading tackler -- was carted off with a lower leg injury and could be out for an extended period.
Two top 10 teams have already fallen today, could Washington be another? The Huskies look like they’re in for a dogfight against a talented USC team in the second half.