Football falls to No. 17 Washington in Seattle

Once again, the Trojans took an inexperienced starting quarterback on the road, and once again, that quarterback made costly mistakes. This time, the man behind center was redshirt junior quarterback Matt Fink.

USC’s 28-14 loss against No. 17 Washington Saturday could have easily had a different outcome. The Trojans failed to capitalize on two opportunities from inside the Huskies’ 11-yard line — Fink was picked off near the goal line in the third quarter, and the Trojans failed to convert on fourth-and-goal when a touchdown would have put them within 7 points of Washington with just over four minutes to play.

Fink’s red zone interception — one of his three picks on the day — came after a 60-yard run from junior tailback Stephen Carr on the drive’s first play. Following the turnover, Washington kept its foot on the gas with an 89-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Salvon Ahmed that put the Huskies ahead 28-7.

“What came down to it was my decision-making,” Fink said. “It wasn’t the best, and obviously the ball was turned over way too much, and they capitalized on just about each and every [turnover].”

Other than the long rush by Ahmed and Washington’s first-quarter touchdown that was set up by a poor punt after a three-and-out, the Trojan defense held strong, especially given the absence of sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga and sophomore cornerback Olaijah Griffin. Washington junior quarterback Jacob Eason, who averaged 266 yards per game entering Saturday’s game, threw for just 180 yards and no touchdowns.

“That’s as good a quarterback as we may face,” Helton said of Eason. “Him and probably [Oregon senior] Justin Herbert later on. So credit those kids for the job they did today. It wasn’t perfect, but the defense put us in position to have a chance to come out with a win today.” 

The Trojans, who entered the game ranked No. 21, also saw some promising glimpses of talent from their young players in the defensive backfield. Freshman cornerback Chris Steele recovered a fumble in Washington territory on the first play of the Huskies’ opening fourth-quarter drive, giving USC a much-needed scoring opportunity down two touchdowns.

Freshman cornerback Max Williams played the first quarter in place of redshirt sophomore cornerback Greg Johnson, who violated a team rule, Helton said. After Fink’s first interception gave the Huskies the ball at USC’s 38-yard line, Williams forced a fumble just before the goal line, which Washington recovered in the end zone for a score.

Offensively, the Trojans were forced to rely on short runs and passes as the Washington secondary was covering the deep ball. USC was able to put together its best rushing performance of the season with 212 yards on the ground, including 94 from Carr. The Trojans actually had fewer passing yards with 163, as Washington was clearly prepared to counter offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s Air Raid strategy.

“We challenged both the offensive line and the runners that they were going to have to step up big,” Helton said. “It felt like they were going to play their safeties deep and corners deep the majority of the day. They did. We were able to hit one deep ball, getting [senior wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.] behind a corner one time. But for the majority of the day it was going to be, ‘Hey, run the ball and try to make explosive plays.’”

With so many mistakes and missed opportunities — Fink’s three interceptions, the failure to capitalize in the red zone twice, numerous short gains on third-and-long — Saturday’s game resembled the Trojans’ road defeat at BYU over two weeks ago.

Despite another tough loss on the road, Helton said he was confident that the Trojans are still in the mix for a Pac-12 title.

“I told those guys in the locker room that [Washington] is a team you can see again come December if you do your job,” Helton said. “They’re a very good football team [like us], and this is our first conference loss to a North opponent. We’ve got the opportunity to go back, make corrections and have the opportunity to go win the Pac-12 South and hopefully beat them again someday.”

The Trojans head into their bye week, which should give Hufanga, Griffin and freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis a chance to get healthy before the team takes on No. 10 Notre Dame Oct. 12 in South Bend, Ind.