NFL
By George Lopez
The USC Trojans travel to the state of Washington to take on a familiar opponent…the Washington Huskies in a BIG10 matchup. The Trojans will look to keep their momentum going following their 42-20 victory over Rutgers, snapping a 3-game losing streak. Washington looks to rebound following their 31-17 defeat to Indiana.
Quarterback Miller Moss leads the Trojans offense. Against Rutgers, Moss competed 20-28 passes for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns. Moss did a better job taking care of the ball, not throwing a single interception against Rutgers. All season Moss has spread the ball to multiple receivers and that continued against Rutgers as he completed passes to 8 different receivers. Look for Moss to continue to target multiple receivers.
Makai Lemon led the Trojans receivers with 134 yards on 4 receptions and 1 touchdown. Opposing defenses have done a good job of limiting the production of Ja’Kobi Lane and Zachariah Branch in recent games both were limited to 2 receptions each against Rutgers. With Moss continuing to spread the ball around, not having Lane and Branch as consistent targets have not hurt the Trojans passing attack.
Woody Marks had one of his finest games as a Trojan. Marks rushed for 94 yards on 15 carries with 3 touchdowns. Marks was also a factor in the passing game, leading the Trojans with 5 receptions for 48 yards. As a team, the Trojans rushed for 135 yards on 23 carries. Head Coach Lincoln Riley has been going with a balanced offensive attack. Look for Riley to continue to use a balanced offensive attack against Washington.
The Huskies are led by quarterback Will Rogers. On the season, Rogers has based for 2022 yards with 13 touchdowns. Rogers has done a good job of taking care of the football, throwing only 4 interceptions on the season, 2 coming in his last game against Indiana. Rogers is not much of a threat to run the ball. Look for Trojans defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to devise a scheme to bring pressure on Rogers. The Trojans secondary has been banged up in recent weeks and Rogers will look to exploit this if given time in the pocket.
The Husky’s top two receivers on the season have been Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson with 44 and 49 receptions respectively. Like Moss, Rogers will spread the ball around as he has completed passes to 12 different receivers this season. The Trojans defense will look to contain Boston and Jackson. With Rogers spreading the ball around, the Trojan’s pass coverage will look to be diligent in defending the entire Huskies receiving group.
RB Jonah Coleman is the Huskies workhorse in the backfield. On the season, Coleman has rushed for 785 yards with 5 touchdowns. The Huskies will look to get Coleman and their running game established early in the game. The Trojans’ defensive line will look to get off their blocks and close up the inside rushing lanes. The defensive edge will look to maintain outside containment and force the Huskies runners back to the inside. The Trojans’ defense will look to maintain proper pursuit angles and get as many defenders to the ball as possible.
The Trojans have had late-game collapses in their 4 losses this season. Against Rutgers, the Trojans were able to avoid this and score 14 unanswered points after Rutgers got within 8 points. Look for the Trojans to use a balanced offensive attack to keep the Huskies’ defense off-balanced as they make it 2 wins in a row and improve their record to 5-4.
