After a big win over Utah last week, No. 21 USC hopes to take down another Pac-12 juggernaut in No. 17 Washington with Matt Fink getting the start.
If you need a definition of an up and down season, just look to the USC Trojans. In a year where the team is fighting for head coach Clay Helton’s job, it’s hard to get a good read on where this USC team stands. They started the season with a close victory over Fresno State, then followed it up with a resounding victory over Stanford behind their second-string quarterback in week two. In week three, they fell to BYU in a bitterly disappointing overtime loss, and now last week they knocked off No. 10 Utah behind their third-string quarterback.
Now things get even tougher this week as they travel to Seattle to take on their toughest opponent yet this season. Washington though, while being the top dog in the Pac-12 for a few years now, also surprisingly dropped an early-season contest to California. Last week though, the Huskies dominated BYU on both sides of the ball, something USC failed to do. That’s why they come into this game as 11-point favorites at home against the Trojans.
Matt Fink will get the call against the Huskies with Kedon Slovis not ready to play after being knocked out in last week’s win over Utah. Fink did a more than a solid job in his place, throwing for 351 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception.
Washington quarterback Jacob Eason is a legitimate NFL prospect for next years draft and should give this shaky USC passing defense problems. Eason was 24-of-28 against BYU last week and threw for 290 yards along with three touchdowns.
USC is the only team in the Pac-12 that is 2-0 in the conference thus far so a road win over Washington would be huge for Helton’s odds of keeping his job and getting to the Pac-12 championship game. If Washington loses, that would be catastrophic for their Pac-12 hopes as they would fall to 0-2 in the conference.
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 28
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Stadium: Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium
- TV Channel: FOX
- Odds: Washington -11.0 (Bovada)
- Over/Under: 60.5 (Bovada)
- Live Stream: FoxSports.com
Prediction: So far this season, the Trojans have been completely reliant upon the passing game. While they have gotten some good performances out of their backup quarterbacks, I find it hard to see that being a common theme. Especially considering they are going up against a talented Washington team that is hungry for a Pac-12 victory after a disappointing loss to Cal. Expect Jacob Eason to throw for a lot of yards and for the Huskies defense to be focused on stopping the passing game of the Trojans. For those reasons, I expect Washington to cover this one comfortably and I will take the over.
Score: Washington 45, USC 21
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.