Jake Locker Leads Washington Huskies To Upset Victory Over USC Trojans

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The Washington Huskies entered their matchup against the mighty USC Trojans coming off their first positive in a long time. Last week, they scored on their first five possessions en route to a 42-23 victory over Idaho. It was their first win in sixteen games; they lost all 12 games last season. Confident for the first time since 2007, the Huskies were ready to invite the 3rd-ranked Trojans into their house and make a statement, that Washington football is back on the map.

Steve Sarkisian was hired as head coach following their winless 2008 campaign. He, it just so happens, was the mastermind behind the Trojans dynasty as their offensive coordinator, calling the plays for a flurry of talented and NFL-bound quarterbacks. So, before the battle began on the field, the Huskies had an advantage.

Despite this inside track into the Trojans offense, it was a safe bet that USC would overwhelm the home team. Leading up to the game, the question "Can Washington pull off the upset?" was posed, but analyst after analyst gave them little chance, saying something to the effect of "Quarterback Jake Locker is very capable, but Washington is no match for USC, a team that has more than one talented player."

For the first time in a long time, the Trojans quarterback is not one of those talented players. Junior Aaron Corp, taking over for the injured true freshman Matt Barkley, played behind Mark Sanchez last year and threw for a grand total of fourteen yards. He appeared in this season's opener, completing all four passes he threw. But, unlike Barkley before him, he was rusty in his first career start.

Not only was Corp woeful throwing the ball early, but he was battered by the Huskies highly motivated defense, a defense that was dead last in the Pac-10 conference last season. He was hurried continuously and quickly turned a once powerful offense into an anemic one.

Because Corp had difficulty completing passes, the Trojans relied heavily on their running game. That's wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They have three tremendous runners, Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson, and Stanley Havili, and each punished Washington's run defense, which, unlike their passing defense, is still porous. McKnight, an immensely talented junior, finished off a superb 6-play, 80-yard opening drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.

McKnight compiled 100 yards rushing, Johnson ran for 64 yards on ten carries, and Havili added 59 more yards on the ground, part of a running attack that averaged nearly eight yards per rush and accumulated 250 yards on the day. But, despite their terrific ability to run the ball, their offense went nowhere. That's because of Corp's lack of experience and his inability to live up to the reputation past USC quarterbacks rightfully gained.

He threw for only 110 yards--the fewest output for USC under head coach Pete Carroll--and completed a mediocre 13 of 22 attempts. That put too much pressure on the Trojans run game and made their offense too limited. This was why, despite their success on the ground, that USC could only manage a field goal after McKnight's touchdown run.

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