Washington Huskies cough up second-half lead in loss to USC

LOS ANGELES — Jacob Manu’s first response during the postgame news conference was an interjection. 

The senior linebacker and team captain had sat quietly for a few questions while quarterback Demond Williams Jr. answered a series of questions about Washington’s struggling offense, its failed end zone attempt and his decisive fumble, which gifted No. 18 USC a lead in the third quarter it never relinquished. 

“I just want to add on that this is not on Demond,” Manu said. “As a team, we all have plays we wish we got back. We’ve just got to be better.” 

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To an extent, Manu is right. Washington’s problems this season are beyond the scope of any single player’s responsibility. But against USC, during a game that saw the Trojans commit an unending parade of self-inflicted errors, Williams’ struggles during UW’s 25-21 defeat in front of an announced crowd of 59,136 at LA Memorial Coliseum on a scorching Saturday evening only highlighted worries about his progression during his third year as UW’s starting quarterback. 

“I’ve got to find ways to put our team in a better position to win,” Williams said. “Turned the ball over in back-to-back weeks on fundamental scramble drills. And I understand that when the play is dead, I have to be better for our team.” 

Williams finished Saturday 15-for-26 passing for 198 yards and a touchdown. It’s the first time the junior has been held below 200 yards passing this season. His 57.7% completion percentage also was a season low, and the second-lowest mark of his career as a starter. He completed only 50% against Oregon in November 2025. 

All against a USC defense that allowed Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola to complete 76% of his 25 pass attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns a week ago, and was missing starting linebacker Desman Stephens II, who served a one-game suspension against UW following his targeting penalty and subsequent “conduct” against Oregon after his late hit on Duck quarterback Dante Moore. 

“We’ve got to reset,” coach Jedd Fisch said. “We’ve got to figure out what it is to enable him to feel like he could play the perfect game, and while we’re chasing that, we’ll see if greatness comes.” 

Williams and the rest of UW’s offense endured a dismal first half. The Huskies (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) went three-and-out on four of their first five drives. Williams was 2-for-8 passing for 8 yards through the first 20 minutes of the game. UW’s first touchdown was a 5-yard pass by wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck, who took a pitch from Williams before finding tight end Baron Naone in the end zone. 

Despite the Huskies’ poor start on offense, USC’s mishaps gave Washington an improbable 14-10 lead entering halftime. 

An illegal formation penalty wiped out a 37-yard touchdown by Trojans wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. USC defensive end Luke Wafle was called for a face mask penalty while bringing down Williams for a 12-yard sack during UW’s second touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by tight end Kade Eldridge. And USC right guard Alani Noa’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty prevented the Trojans (5-1, 2-1) from going for it on fourth down late in the second quarter at UW’s 42-yard line. 

Williams and the rest of UW’s offense finally showed some cohesion late in the second quarter. Fisch shifted sophomore John Mills from left guard to left tackle, replacing freshman Kodi Greene, with 5:15 remaining in the first half. Seventh-year offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett slid over to left guard, while sophomore Champ Taulealea was inserted at right guard for the remainder of the game. 

Washington responded to the changes by putting together two touchdown drives: Eldridge’s end zone plunge shortly before halftime and tight end Decker DeGraaf’s 42-yard touchdown catch on UW’s first possession after the break. It was the first time the Huskies had scored during their opening drive of the second half this season, and gave UW a 21-10 lead. 

USC responded with a grinding 13-play, seven-minute drive punctuated by a 10-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Jayden Maiava to wide receiver Tanook Hines. And Williams’ fumble during Washington’s next drive started the tailspin.

Facing third-and-8 on his own 49-yard line, Williams was flushed to his left. He tried to flip his hips and find Eldridge, leaking out of the backfield as a check down option, but double clutched.

He never had time for a second attempt. USC linebacker Elijah Newby hit Williams’ arm as he attempted to throw. Defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart scooped the fumble and rumbled 48 yards to the end zone, giving USC its first lead since the second quarter. Washington never recovered. 

“When I pulled it back to throw again, I got hit in my arm,” said Williams, who threw two interceptions during scramble situations against Minnesota on Sept. 26 in UW’s 27-24 defeat. “I just can’t do that.” 

Yet Washington still had a chance to extend its three-game winning streak against USC. UW got the ball back trailing by four points with five minutes remaining. And Williams showed some of the spark that made him one of the Big Ten’s most exciting quarterbacks in 2025. 

He layered a 15-yard pass over a defender to wide receiver Chris Lawson on an out route to overcome a false start and gain UW’s first third-down conversion with 4:19 remaining. On fourth-and-2 from UW’s own 27-yard line, he escaped pressure and launched a perfect pass to Lawson deep down the left sideline for a 43-yard gain. He converted another fourth down with a 5-yard pass to Roebuck four plays later to reach the red zone with 1:18 remaining. 

But Williams’ struggles facing pressure reemerged at the end. On third-and-4 from the USC 12-yard line with 50 seconds remaining, Williams took a 6-yard sack. His prayer thrown toward Roebuck in double coverage on the next play sealed the result. 

“We have to avoid the sacks,” Fisch said, “because the sacks put us in those negative situations.” 

Of course, Washington is asking — relying — upon Williams to cover up some of its apparent flaws. The Huskies need him to be a reliable distributor to a young wide receiver corps that lost starter Christian Moss on the second play of the season. They need Williams’ legs to make up for a depleted running back group behind a struggling offensive line. Against USC, he had moments that were reminiscent of his 2025 campaign. 

But the defeat against USC was another reminder that nearly every Washington loss from Williams’ tenure as a starter coincided with a substandard performance from its quarterback. His four most difficult outings in 2025 were against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Oregon. All UW defeats. Minnesota a week ago. And now USC. The frequency between tough showings only seems to be decreasing. 

Williams spent most of the offseason speaking about resiliency. Finding the will to overcome challenging moments on the field. Something he never had to do much after an accomplishment-laden tenure at Basha High in Arizona. 

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Washington needs its starting quarterback, the player shouldering nearly the entire burden of its offensive production, to find some resilience going forward. There are no backup plans. No other quarterback on UW’s roster has his pedigree, experience or ceiling. He will play unless he physically can’t.

This team will go as far as Williams can take it. The direction is up to him. 

“Just got to go back to the drawing board and try to get a win,” Williams said. “It’s the Big Ten. Teams can win on any given Saturday. Any moment. We play (No. 14 Iowa) on Friday. It’s going to be a short week.

“We’ve got to be able to put this behind us and move forward.”

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