Washington vs. USC Complete Game Preview

USC head coach Steve Sarkisian faces his former team for the first time since taking over in Los Angeles as the Washington Huskies come to town in a prime-time Thursday night matchup. The Trojans, led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Cody Kessler, sport the Pac-12’s top offense and are coming off a thrashing of Arizona State less than two weeks ago. They’ll be tested by the Huskies, however, who will take a young squad on the road for conference play for the first time but do have some quality young players, especially on the league’s top-ranked defense.

Thanks in part to UCLA’s loss to Arizona State in Week 5, the Trojans control their own destiny in the Pac-12 at the moment, but they can’t afford any missteps against a Washington team that has proved tricky to beat no matter what its record is. It should all make for a fun and interesting game from the Coliseum on Thursday night.

Date: Saturday, October 8

Time: 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET

Location: Los Angeles Coliseum

TV: ESPN

Radio: Sirius/XM Ch. 84, ESPN 710 Los Angeles, Washington IMG Sports Network

Line: USC -17, according to OddsShark.com

Washington Keys to Victory

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Control the clock

In Stanford’s upset of USC earlier this year, the Cardinal controlled the clock beautifully with several long drives that gave their defense an opportunity to rest and keep the ball out of the hands of Kessler and company. The Huskies haven’t had a ton of success on the ground (they were out-rushed by Cal of all teams), but they’ll need to start if they want to pull off a road win.

Stop the turnovers

Washington turned the ball over five, count ‘em five, times against Cal in a six-point loss. That can’t happen against a much better opponent on the road. The last game out was uncharacteristic for a Chris Petersen-coached team, so hopefully for the Huskies they correct those issues for Thursday night.

Find explosive plays

Washington’s offense managed just two plays over 20 yards in its last outing and simply hasn’t been able to threaten teams down the field. That has allowed opposing defensive coordinators flexibility in stopping tailback Dwayne Washington while keeping young quarterback Jake Browning in check. Whether it’s on trick plays or in the regular offensive flow, the team has to find some success when it comes to big gains.

USC Keys to Victory

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

Be physical in the trenches

The Trojans offensive line hasn’t quite come together like many had thought it would this season, but Washington represents an opponent where the unit could get back on track after a more encouraging outing against ASU in its last game. On the other side of the ball, the defensive line has to start creating pressure even if the team decides to back off and not blitz.

Forget the Sark drama

There will be a ton made of Sarkisian facing his former team, but the players on the field don’t need to be worried about any of that or going out on the field trying to do too much to get their coach a win. Just play under control and a win will come.

Extra possessions

Sarkisian’s offense wants to be much more uptempo than in previous years, but USC is only averaging 66 plays per game. That hides the fact that the offense is still snapping the ball quickly and finding the end zone more often than last season so far this year. The thing that isn’t happening at this point is getting enough possessions to turn the fast pace into even more points. Some of that comes from the defense creating turnovers, and the other part comes from the offense taking advantage of any extra possessions.

Washington Players to Watch

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

QB Jake Browning

Chris Petersen’s history shows he’s not inclined to start freshmen at quarterbacks, but he’s pushed his chips in with the young prolific signal-caller from the state of California this season. Browning has shown flashes at times of being able to get the job done, but he needs to improve on his consistency. If he plays well, UW has a shot. If he looks more like a fresh-faced player, it won’t come close.

WR Jaydon Mickens

The wideout isn’t the biggest on the field, but he is one of the most electric playmakers the Huskies are able to throw out onto the field. The former USC commit will no-doubt be excited to perform on the big stage in his hometown and has enough moves to take it to the house no matter where he touches the football.

S Budda Baker

One of the top recruits in the country two years ago, Baker has developed into a star for the Huskies defense and one of its leaders. He’ll have his hands full given the number of offensive weapons against the Trojans, but Kessler and company will want to steer clear of the athletic safety roaming the middle of the field.

USC Players to Watch

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

QB Cody Kessler

Despite a loss to Stanford in which he played well, Kessler remains the likely Heisman Trophy contender from the West Coast. He’s completing 73 percent of his passes and has an incredible 15-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the season to help lead the Pac-12 in most offensive categories. He can still be a little inaccurate when pressured but is pretty tough to beat when given time to throw.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

It seems like every year USC has Biletnikoff Award candidate, and this year it falls on the shoulders of Smith-Schuster. Whether it’s a long fade pattern against double coverage or taking a short pass to the house, there are few wideouts in college football that have the playmaking ability that the sophomore does.

DB/WR/KR Adoree’ Jackson

Last time out against Arizona State, Jackson showed why he’s one of the most dangerous players in the sport no matter where he is playing. Taking a quick throw on third down, the three-way star turned a short gain into an 80-yard jaw-dropping touchdown to announce to the rest of the Pac-12 to not forget about him on offense even if he’s focused mostly on defense this season. He’ll be tasked with slowing down Mickens this week while at the same time trying to rack up more all-purpose yardage.

Prediction

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

USC has played up and down to its competition at times during Pac-12 play, and coming home for a Thursday game after time off from a big win represents a big chance to do just that and get caught in a closer-than-expected game against Washington. Don’t, however, expect the team to fall into this kind of trap.

Washington is extremely young this year and while the future is bright under Petersen going forward, this isn’t a squad capable of hanging with the elite teams in the Pac-12. The defense has some impressive statistics backing it up so far this year, but it hasn’t quite faced the playmakers that USC can trot out onto the field. The same can be said of young Jake Browning and the offense, who haven’t quite faced the speed of the Trojans’ back seven.

Things may start slowly at the Coliseum for both sides, but expect USC to eventually pull away in a contest that should go final with the home team scoring in the 40s while holding the Huskies to under 24 points.