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Jedd Fisch, Washington Huskies survive USC Trojans second half scoring surge

By Ethan Lee

Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch stands on the sideline during the first quarter against the USC Trojans at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch stands on the sideline during the first quarter against the USC Trojans at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
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I, for one, never doubted the Washington Huskies. Or, well, maybe I did. That first statement was definitely true in the first half, but the Huskies allowed the USC Trojans to have an impressive third quarter scoring surge that really made things difficult for Washington Husky fans in the second half. 

That said, Jedd Fisch and the Washington Huskies survived. Washington was able to hold on for a 26-21 win over USC. The Huskies now sit at 5-4 overall on the season and are 3-3 in Big Ten play after week 10. Meanwhile, USC falls to 4-5 overall this year and now the Trojans sit at 2-5 against Big Ten teams.

While the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten has been challenging for the Huskies, at least they’re doing a fair bit better than the Trojans right now. 

Washington Huskies snag late lead to beat USC Trojans 26-21

This isn’t exactly the biggest win of the season so far for Fisch, but it is going to be considered a win to be proud of given who the Huskies were playing and the way the Huskies were able to respond late in this game after falling behind in frustrating fashion.

Washington should be commended for surviving this game. It shouldn’t have been anywhere near as close as it was given the way the Huskies were controlling things early, but we’ll take the win. It’s notable that Washington was able to survive even with shaky offensive play in the second half. 

The Huskies, who boast what is arguably the best pass defense in the country, were able to pick off the pass happy USC quarterback Miller Moss on three different occasions, which helped ensure a UW win over the Trojans.

Now, it should be noted that USC running back Woody Marks cut through Washington’s defense for 123 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, but that wasn’t enough to beat UW Saturday evening. 

Carson Bruener, Jonah Coleman play key roles in Washington’s stressful home win vs. USC Trojans 

In this win for Washington, Bruener was able to pick Moss off on a couple of occasions, which helped the Huskies’ defense in some pretty significant ways. In addition to those two interceptions, Bruener also racked up 12 tackles.

Meanwhile, on the offensive side of things, Jonah Coleman ended up gaining 104 rushing yards and scored a couple of touchdowns. It wasn’t Coleman’s most productive game ever, but he was solid and generally plays an important role for Washington in games like this.

Oh! And it should be noted that Grady Gross was perfect on his kicking attempts in this game. From 39 yards out and then 45 yards out, the UW kicker who has seen some field goal struggles this season hit both of his field goal attempts in this game. 

Not bad! 

Washington showed resilience in this game. The Huskies scare their fans in the process, but it’s worth noting that USC’s offense is potent and Lincoln Riley has assembled a talented roster. Their problem is that they’re underachieving. 

Washington will now gear up to go play the Penn State Nittany Lions next week and then the Huskies will come back home for a matchup with the UCLA Bruins. After that, Washington’s game with the Oregon Ducks will be sure to get some level of meaningful attention.

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