After USC gave up a 42-yard touchdown, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was filled with loud boos. Down 21-10 in the third quarter, nothing seemed to be going the Trojans’ way; a second straight Big Ten loss looked all but inevitable. 

Suddenly, a clutch pass on a third-and-long, followed by penalties in USC’s favor and a successful fourth-down rush, gave way to a touchdown, the first of 15 unanswered points for the Trojans.

A defensive touchdown and a late field goal put No. 19 USC (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) up by four points over Washington (3-2, 0-2), and the Trojans held on for a close 25-21 win.

“It’s a hard-fought win … defensively, on some of the steps we took and some of the clutch plays we made,” Head Coach Lincoln Riley said in a postgame news conference. “[To] overcome what we’ve had to this week and come out and get a win against a quality Big Ten opponent, we’ll take it.”

In sophomore defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart’s second game of the year, his impact was immeasurable Saturday night. Stewart scooped a Husky fumble and scored the game-winning touchdown, taking it all the way back for a 48-yard score, turning boos into loud cheers in mere minutes.

“I made the quarterback step up and — thanks to [redshirt sophomore linebacker Elijah] Newby for getting a sack — and I picked the ball up and ran 22 miles per hour,” Stewart said after the game.

Defense steps up in huge way

In the three games following USC’s shutout over Fresno State University (4-1, 1-0 Pac-12), the Trojan defense looked much like the unreliable units of years past. Up until Saturday’s game, USC had given up a combined 1,300 yards of offense and over 100 points to its past three opponents.

With the Huskies punting on four of their first five drives, all three-and-outs, the defense looked in top shape. But as the clock wound down to halftime, Washington broke through for its second touchdown of the game, covering 80 yards in three and a half minutes.

Then, on the first drive after halftime, the Huskies scored on just two plays, and the dominant defensive start had disappeared. Instead of letting up further, however, USC’s defense stayed strong, allowing a combined 128 yards in Washington’s final four drives and shutting the Huskies out for the majority of the second half.

“The bounce back is huge for us, especially as a defense,” freshman defensive end Luke Wafle said after the game. “We wanted to play a lot better collectively, so it meant a lot to us, and we got one under the belt.”

Wafle headed the campaign, recording one of the Trojans’ five sacks and his first in college. Junior defensive end Kameryn Crawford, redshirt freshman safety Alex Graham, redshirt junior linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson and Newby secured the other four sacks throughout the night, constantly pressuring Washington’s junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

“It was a long time coming,” Waffle said, referring to his first collegiate sack. “It’s like a weight off my shoulders, and now we can keep on rolling.”

Williams, an agile quarterback, only ran for 26 yards on 13 attempts. Instead, Williams focused more on throwing the rock, racking up 198 passing yards — and while he was never intercepted, his teammates were seemingly constantly tackled.

Senior safety Christian Pierce recorded a career-high nine solo tackles in a standout performance for the fourth-year Trojan.

“We were just worried about us and doing our one of 11 and making sure that we’re limiting our mental mistakes,” Pierce said, referring to the number of players on the field on defense. 

Penalties hurt struggling offense

While USC benefited from a few Washington penalties, the Trojans were still called for nine, which put them back 94 yards and constantly out of opportunities on offense.

This appeared to affect redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava, who struggled for his second straight game. Maiava completed 21 of his 34 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown, but also threw a costly interception at the top of the second quarter. He now has three interceptions in his past four games, a trend Maiava will likely want to forget.

“I am proud that we never wavered,” Riley said. “We made the adjustments that we needed to. We didn’t get into the ‘poor us’ attitude; we had a ‘whatever it’s going to take’ attitude, and that’s what it took.”

Redshirt senior running back Waymond Jordan and redshirt sophomore running back King Miller combined for 117 rushing yards, providing a strong rushing attack throughout the night. Jordan capped off the duo’s strong night with an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

A depleted receiving corps was upheld by redshirt sophomore wide receiver Zacharyus Williams and sophomore wide receiver Tanook Hines, who both shined for the first time this season. Williams caught four passes for 78 yards, including a massive 23-yard grab that allowed Hines to score USC’s second touchdown of the game in the third.

With freshman tight end Mark Bowman absent due to an undisclosed injury, redshirt senior tight end Carson Tabaracci stepped up, securing two catches for 33 yards. His biggest catch of the night, however, was a 29-yard toe-tap snag on the Husky sideline in the fourth quarter, breathing life into the Trojans and allowing them to kick a field goal to go up by four.

“I believe a lot in this team. I believe a lot in the capability, and that just pushes me to want to do everything I can to get these guys ready to play,” Riley said. “I’ve been lucky to have so many awesome moments in my career. I want these guys to feel what I’ve been able to feel.”

USC will play Penn State (3-2, 0-2) Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Beaver Stadium.