While the Oregon-California matchup will undoubtedly be the Pacific-10 Conference’s marquee matchup this weekend, that doesn’t mean the other four conference games will be any less important in the standings.
The most intriguing of the four will be in Seattle as the Washington Huskies (2-2, 0-1 Pac-10) host No. 1 USC (3-0, 1-0). Husky Stadium will serve as a raucous backdrop for the night game, which will be broadcast at 5 p.m. on ABC. Both teams played last week in Los Angeles, but with differing results: USC beat Washington State while Washington was downed by UCLA.
The Huskies should be emboldened by the fact that last year’s team, which finished 5-7 overall, took the Trojans to the wire, losing 26-20 with the offense on the USC 15 yard line as time expired. However, Washington is 1-8-1 all-time against top-ranked teams, losing a combined 89-24 in its last two such matchups – against the ’04 and ’05 Trojans.
The ’07 Trojans come into the game surging on both sides of the ball. The John David Booty led offense put up 47 points on the Cougars, with more than 300 yards passing and 200 yards rushing on the night, despite not having one running back rush for more than 100 yards individually.
The always-steady Booty completed 28 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Fred Davis was his main target for the night, establishing career highs with nine receptions for 124 yards.
USC’s resurgent defense, which had a fourth quarter meltdown against Nebraska in week three, held the usually strong Cougar offense to 14 points and 247 total yards. USC head coach Pete Carroll mentioned that starting linebacker Brian Cushing “will be day to day” for the game.
Linebacker Keith Rivers and defensive end Lawrence Jackson will attempt to contain Washington’s budding superstar in redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker, who not only ranks fourth in the conference for total offense (266.2 yards per game), but also sixth in the conference in rushing (90.2).
Carroll knows a thing or two about Locker’s abilities – he tried, although unsuccessfully, to recruit him.
“We found him in the springtime and were interested in getting after it, but he really decided early that he was going to stay in the state and stay at UW,” said USC head coach Pete Carroll in his weekly press conference.
“He poses a lot of problems, and I’m having trouble seeing anything else when I’m looking at them.”
Despite Locker’s heroics, which include beating then-No. 22 Boise State on Sept. 8, the Huskies have lost two straight games. The team ranks close to or at the bottom of the conference in several offensive statistics, including passing offense, passing efficiency and field goals.
Its defense, despite ranking seventh in the conference in total defense, isn’t without its standouts. After compiling 15 tackles last week against UCLA, junior linebacker E.J. Savannah is tied for second in tackles per game in the Pac-10 while senior linebacker Dan Howell is third in tackles for loss, with six.
Savannah’s status is questionable for Saturday’s game after suffering a stinger against UCLA.
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