Here are five things to watch for when the No. 17 Washington Huskies face the No. 21 USC Trojans Saturday afternoon.
1. Eason Time
This is another game where Washington’s quarterback Jacob Eason could shine on the national stage. Eason was nearly perfect in a 45-19 win over BYU – completing 24-28 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. USC starts three sophomores and a freshman in the secondary. The Trojans are very talented in the secondary but very young. This will be by far the best QB they’ve faced this season. Expect Washington to take plenty of shots down the field.
2. USC’s talented wide receivers
The Trojans might just have the best wide receiver group in college football. USC is led by 6-foot-4 senior Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman has caught 31 passes for 437 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Tyler Vaughns, has caught 27 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns. Rounding out the talented group, is sophomore Amon-Ra St. Brown. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound WR has caught 19 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns. This will be a great test for UW’s secondary. USC has size and speed at WR and their new air raid system is a perfect fit.
3. Trojans defensive line
USC’s defensive line is very talented and has a bright future. True freshman Drake Jackson has 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks this season. Former UW commit Marlon Tuipulotu, a redshirt freshman, has 19 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack. This might be the best defensive line the Huskies have faced so far – at least the most talented. It will be interesting how UW’s stout offensive line handles the Trojans’ front seven.
4. Matt Fink gets first start at QB
True freshman Kedon Slovis left last week’s game with a concussion in the first quarter. Matt Fink took over for Slovis and passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ upset win over Utah. Slovis is in the concussion protocol and has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest. Junior Matt Fink will get his first career start.
5. Winning 50-50 balls
Whenever USC gets man coverage, they trust their receivers to go get the ball. In last week’s win over Utah, backup QB Matt Fink looked as if he was playing 500- seemingly throwing the ball in coverage to let his talented wideouts make a play on the football. It worked last week. For some reason Utah’s secondary had a hard time tracking the ball and it resulted in big plays for the Trojans. So expect USC to take some chances downfield when they see man-to-man coverage Saturday at Husky Stadium.
