USC holds off Washington amid calls for Lincoln Riley’s job
· California PostBoos filled the Coliseum as another limp USC drive ended in a punt to begin the third quarter.
Trojans fans weren’t through voicing their displeasure. Not even close.
After two defenders failed to push a Washington receiver out of bounds with half-hearted effort on a nearly inconceivable Huskies touchdown, chants resonated from the student section.
What followed was a lengthy rebuttal by USC’s besieged coach.
His offense finally got rolling. His defense came up with several huge plays.
While it wasn’t the bounce-back performance fans may have envisioned, the No. 18 Trojans’ 25-21 victory Saturday night at the Coliseum sufficed to silence audible calls for Lincoln Riley’s job.
At least for the moment.
The Trojans (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) scored the game’s final 15 points to save their season from disaster a week after falling at home in an emotionally charged setback against Oregon.
“We just kind of had like a whatever-it’s-gonna-take attitude,” Riley said, “and that’s what it took.”
There was even a notable step forward for Gary Patterson’s defense – with the notable exception of the play in which it appeared to be playing two-hand tag – after the defensive coordinator called the game from the press box for the first time this season.
The Trojans could exhale only after two plays in the final minute.
Defensive end Kameryn Crawford sacked Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. for a 6-yard loss on third down at the USC 12-yard line. That brought up fourth down, and Williams’ pass into the corner of the end zone and into double coverage fell incomplete.
For maybe the first time all season, USC’s defense had outplayed its offense.
USC surged into a 22-21 lead late in the third quarter after back-to-back touchdowns, including a 10-yard touchdown catch from Tanook Hines in the front corner of the end zone and a 48-yard scoop and score by Jahkeem Stewart. The 295-pound defensive tackle was quite the sight rumbling toward the end zone after linebacker Elijah Newby had ripped the ball away from Williams.
“I picked the ball up,” Stewart quipped, “and ran 22 miles per hour.”
Added Riley: “If that was 22, they’re going to like disband that GPS company.”
When Caden Chittenden added a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Trojans held a 25-21 advantage.
Riley said the decision to have Patterson call the game from the press box came after a discussion early in the week about maximizing a defensive operation in which the veteran coordinator seemed to be struggling to communicate with an unfamiliar group of assistants.
“We got a heck of a defensive staff and I think it’s kind of like players, right?” Riley said. “You’re trying to just move the chess pieces to put everybody in the right position to get the best out of them. And I thought our coaches on the field did a great job. I thought Gary called a really good game and the players responded.”
USC tied its season high with five sacks and kept the Huskies (3-2, 0-2) scoreless over the game’s final 28 minutes 30 seconds.
A bizarre, error-filled first half ended with USC appropriately trailing, 14-10, even after its defense had considerably stepped up from recent performances.
A partial list of Trojan gaffes included Terrell Anderson muffing a punt that a teammate recovered at USC’s 1-yard line, two illegal formation penalties on the same doomed drive and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on guard Alani Noa that forced the Trojans to punt when they would have otherwise faced a fourth-and-1.
There was also some questionable decision-making by USC’s Jayden Maiava. With the Trojans facing third-and-6 at the Washington 9-yard line on their opening drive, the quarterback ran sideways instead of cutting upfield toward the end zone. He was brought down and USC had to kick a field goal.
Maiava also threw a pass up for grabs under pressure, resulting in an interception.
Meanwhile, in a far more encouraging sign, USC’s defense forced four three-and-outs in the first half. Washington scored its first touchdown on a trick play and its second after tight end Kade Eldridge took a direct snap and bulldozed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
But the Trojans’ defense giving up only 133 yards by the game’s midpoint qualified as a major win given the way it had been pushed around in recent weeks.
The display caught the attention of USC great Matt Leinart, who tweeted, “This is a Great start for Usc [sic] defense !!!”
More importantly, given what followed, the Trojans nailed the finish, perhaps saving their season.
“Sometimes these gutsy wins when you maybe don’t have quite your ‘A’ game,” Riley said, “they can sometimes do something for you maybe that even a blowout win can’t do. So we’ve got to take the positives from it. And I think this team will carry a lot of momentum into this next game.”