After returning from Lubbock on Friday, the thought of enjoying San Diego weather and becoming a Saturday couch potato was incredibly appealing. However, legendary USC superfan, John Jones, had other ideas. JJ called and offered me a ticket. How do you turn down a 50-yard-line ticket on what rated to be a picture perfect day in LA? Especially when the unbeaten Washington Huskies will be in town with their passing circus?
Two games were almost entirely predictable Saturday. At Wrigley Field, the first team to crack double digits in the Northwestern-Iowa rockfight would be the winner. At the iconic LA Memorial Coliseum, getting to 50 seemed like a need for the winner. And both so played out.
When the subject came to Washington, 99%+ of the pub was based on 4 players: Their all-world QB, Michael Penix Jr. and a prodigiously talented trio of receivers by the names of Odunze, Polk and McMillan were the face of 2023 UDub. Imagine the Odyssey’s surprise when the Huskies called many more running plays than expected. The Washington brain trust must have thought the Trojans’ run D was even more vulnerable than USC’s pass D.
Frankly, the name Dillon Johnson never would have registered with the Odyssey at 4:30PM. While Washington’s 52-42 triumph over USC was reasonably predictable (and as wildly entertaining as the final score suggests), Johnson’s prominence was nothing short of shocking. Johnson’s 26 carries resulted in a truckload of yards: 256. So dominant was the Huskies’ offensive line that Johnson rambled for 199 yards before first contact. All of which suggests that the USC front 7 has been spending too much time at Manhattan Beach. Of course, when an offense amasses 573 yards, Penix also had a chance to shine before a line that often gave him ample time. The Penix highlight of the game was when he was flushed out of the pocket to the left sideline after a Caleb Williams-like escape from the Trojan pass rush. Just before Penix was forced out of bounds, he threw a seeming prayer 30 yards downfield into double coverage in the corner of the end zone. A ridiculous touchdown.
The Trojan defeat certainly could not be pinned on Caleb Williams. For most of the game, he was Houdini, as his amazing ability to avoid the pass rush could seemingly only occur with eyes in the back of Williams’ head. That Williams could not almost single handedly beat the Huskies came down to 3 plays where the WIlliams magic was trumped by Kryptonite. Duce Robinson dropped a 3rd down pass well in Husky territory which forced a rare Trojan punt (Robinson would later redeem himself by blocking an equally rare Husky punt). Just before halftime of a 28-28 tie, USC had the ball deep in their own territory. When you have Superman, you do not go conservative, Washington’s first sack of the game was very pivotal as Williams fumbled. The fumble resulted in a 35-28 Husky lead at halftime.
At 42-42, USC’s maligned defense scored a victory of sorts. A field goal attempt was forced. Even with a successful field goal, a moral victory in this scorefest, especially when you have #13 QBing your side. Sure enough, Williams delivered with a TD pass to put the Trojans in front. Except it didn’t: holding. When Williams was sacked on 3rd down, Huskie fans became ecstatic as a punt was forced. Quickly, UW put the game to bed with a 91-yard TD drive.
NIL money and Tinseltown allure does not resolve all issues. USC fans are numb from watching the ongoing defensive ineptitude of this squad. Ronnie Lott must be in tears. While Johnson was rumbling all over the Coliseum, USC coverage busts were also evident. It is a shame that USC and Iowa could not pull off a merger like occurs in the business world. On the drive home, I imagined a team with USC’s offense and Iowa’s defense. My thought seemed like a perfect solution for America’s two “half teams.”