5 Storylines For the USC Trojans–Washington Huskies Game
Week 5 of the college football season is upon us and conference play is getting into full swing.
The USC Trojans were victorious in their Pac-10 opener, defeating the Washington State Huskies 50-16.
The Washington Huskies had a bye last week, so this matchup with USC presents Steve Sarkisian and company with their first crack at Pac-10 play.
Last year’s contest between these two teams resulted in a huge upset, with the Huskies defeating the Trojans, which was the beginning of the end for the USC dynasty that college football fans had seen for the last decade.
Pete Carroll takes the Seattle Seahawks job and in comes former USC offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Lane Kiffin.
Fast forward to October 2, 2010 and we have a matchup that contains former colleagues, quarterbacks with Heisman potential, and a few other key matchups that make this Pac-10 battle one worth watching.
Matt Barkley vs. Jake Locker
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Matt Barkley was the number one recruit in his high school class. He was given USC’s starting quarterback position as a true freshman.
Four games into his sophomore season he has shown signs of becoming another one the great quarterbacks to put on a Trojans uniform.
Through the first four weeks, Barkley has thrown 12 touchdown passes for 941 yards with a passer rating of 113.4.
Last season, Jake Locker was a junior with one of the highest draft stocks. He decided to return to the Huskies for his senior season and critics wonder if he made the right decision.
Through the first four weeks of his senior season, Locker has thrown six touchdown passes for 626 yards and has a passer rating of 86.6.
Those numbers hardly resemble that of a preseason Heisman hopeful and potential first round pick in the NFL draft.
Two of the best quarterbacks the Pac-10 has to offer will duke it out to try and make a move in the early portion of their conference schedules.
Lane Kiffin vs. Steve Sarkisian
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Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian fall under the coaching tree of the former Trojans coach, Pete Carroll. They coached together during the height of the USC program, before pursuing their own interests as head coaches.
Once Carroll left, with his protégé Sarkisian’s victory over him in 2009 having something to do with it, the Trojans extended their head coaching position to Kiffin, who ditched Knoxville after only one season.
Now Kiffin and Sarkisian will face off, with each head coach looking to pick up a crucial win in the deep and talented Pac-10 conference.
Lane Kiffin has done alright in his inaugural season as the coach of the Trojans. He currently has them undefeated and ranked 18th in the country. Although they have had an interesting road to 4-0, they are 4-0 regardless.
Steve Sarkisian on the other hand has had a disappointing 2010 season thus far. His Washington Huskies are currently 1-2. They beat Syracuse, but lost their season opener to a tough BYU team and were dominated by Nebraska in Week 3.
Must Win for Both Teams
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Although USC is 4-0 and cannot make a bowl game this season and Washington doesn’t look like it has what it takes to appear in a bowl game, this game is still a must win for both teams.
After the Trojans host the Huskies, they have a very tough five game stretch starting at Stanford next week, then hosting California, Oregon, and Arizona State, before hitting the road to take on Arizona.
After the Huskies play USC, they also have a very tough five game stretch ahead of them starting at home against Arizona State and Oregon State, then hitting the road to play Arizona, finishing the five game stretch off by hosting Stanford and Oregon in back to back weeks.
Both teams are going to be challenged to the maximum as they try to work their way through the toughest parts of their schedules.
USC may not have bowl game implications on the line, but they still have their dignity. They ought to show people that they are still the same Trojan football team that can go out and dominate on any given Saturday.
Washington does not appear to have the talent to make a bowl game, but this five game stretch is as good an indication Sarkisian and the Huskies will get to see if they have what it takes to compete with some of the best teams in the Pac-10.
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USC Pass Defense vs. Jake Locker
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Currently USC ranks second to last in pass defense in the Pac-10, allowing 1129 passing yards through the first four weeks of the season.
Through the first three weeks of the season Jake Locker has only thrown for 626 passing yards.
In Saturday’s game one of these statistics is going to give. Either Locker is going to explode for 300+ passing yards or the USC passing defense is going to buckle down and prevent the Huskies from gaining big yards through the air.
This is definitely a matchup that is being overlooked amongst the hoopla created by the former USC coaches facing each other head on and the star power at the quarterback positions for each team.
USC Offense vs. Washington Defense
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USC’s offense averages 468.5 yards of total offense a game and Washington’s defense allows 425.7 yards a game.
These averages are interesting numbers to look at.
From USC’s point of view, they feel like they will have no trouble moving the ball down the field and scoring at will against Washington’s defense.
From the Huskies’ point of view, they will be motivated to improve upon their abysmal defensive statistic and shut down the Trojans offense.
Kiffin and Sarkisian figure to both be aware of this matchup that clearly favors the Trojans and have done their best this week to fully exploit it.
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