Freshman Myles Gaskin ran for 134 yards and Washington used a trick-play to perfection to stun the No. 17 ranked USC Trojans 17-12 at the LA Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night.
One play after recovering a USC fumble in Trojans territory, Washington head coach Chris Petersen called for a trick play in hopes to catch Southern Cal off guard. Huskies quarterback, Jake Browning, threw a quick screen pass to receiver Marvin Hall and he dropped back and threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Joshua Perkins for the score.
Washington is leading USC thanks to this perfectly executed double pass TD http://t.co/bvQF4xlZtk pic.twitter.com/96m4NR4ES3 — SB✯Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) October 9, 2015
The play was the first touchdown of the game, and gave Washington all the momentum they needed in the second half to upset their former coach Steve Sarkisian in a defense-dominated game.
"I thought our defense was spectacular against a really explosive offense," Petersen said of Washington's defensive effort.
It was Sarkisian's first game against the Huskies since he left the University of Washington for Southern California at the end of the 2013 season. Sarkisian spent five years in Seattle building the program, only to leave and take all of his assistant coaches with him. Many of the players on the field for the Huskies were recruited by Coach Sark.
"I'm proud of those kids," Sarkisian said of the Husky players. "I recruited them. They're a good team, with good coaches, good players and that's a great win for their program."
Thursday's loss marked the first time USC had dropped back-to-back games at home since Pete Carroll's first season in 2001. It was also the first victory for the Huskies against a ranked opponent under Petersen.
"This one is on me," a frustrated Sarkisian said after the game. "We didn't execute enough and didn't manage the game well enough at the critical moments to deserve to win."
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Gaskin ran down the throat of the Trojans defense at the end of the third quarter and turn of the fourth. Gaskin was given the ball four consecutive times, rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown to put the Huskies up 17-6.
The Trojans scored their first touchdown with 12:02 left to play in the game after a six play, 69-yard drive, was capped off by three straight runs from Ronald Jones II. Jones ran for 15 and 23 yards before diving into the end zone on a one-yard carry.
Both defenses played well against the pass, but were carved up like a pumpkin on the ground. Tre Madden rushed for 120 yards for the Trojans, but dropped a crucial two-point conversion in the fourth quarter that would have put USC down only three.
Jones II rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and Justin Davis ran for 31 yards. In total, three different running backs rushed for over 200 yards on the Huskies defense.
"We had our run game going pretty good, but we didn't execute our passes," Offensive lineman Toa Lebendahn said after moving to center midway through the game. "Apparently we weren't focused enough and we need to have a better sense of urgency."
Both quarterbacks struggled as Browning finished 16-for-32 for 137 yards and an interception. Heisman Trophy hopeful, Cody Kessler, was not his normal self, throwing for 156 yards and two interceptions, the second multi-interception game of his career.
"It's something I don't want to do at all," Kessler said of the interceptions. "I didn't play well. We need to fix stuff. We didn't improve throughout the game like we should have. They did a great job of putting pressure on me."
The Trojans came out flat after 12 days of rest between their blowout victory over Arizona State and tonight, but they could not replicate their offensive assault in the desert.
"It was a different schedule, but that's never an excuse. If anything, we had more time to prepare," continued Kessler. "That's something we have to fix moving forward, especially going to Notre Dame next week."
Next for the Trojans, they travel to Notre Dame to take on their rivals in South Bend.
Game Notes:
Wide-receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. surffered an ankle injury and missed the entire second half. Center Max Tuerk also missed the majority of the game with a right knee injury.
12 points were the fewest scored against Washington since 1997.
