In a high-stakes game, high-scoring game, it was Washington’s relentless pressure that ultimately led to the undoing of reigning Heisman-winner, Caleb Williams.
At the most critical of times Zion Tupuola-Fetui and Voi Tunuufi sacked Williams forcing a fumble and a punt, respectively.
But the knight belong to the Washington running back. Here are our takeaways from Washington’s 52 to 42 victory over USC.
Dillon Johnson: 256. That’s how many yards that Dillon Johnson rushed for last night. Throw in his 4 touchdowns and you have maybe the best solo performance any Husky has had this season.
And only 40 yards short of the single game Husky record. Johnson had been steadily improving before Arizona State and Stanford seemed to bottle him up.
The rushing attack that the Huskies had unlocked was starting to look like an epiphany. That was until Johnson stepped onto the Collesium grass. He was untouchable (maybe credit the offensive line for that), but Johnson looked like the RB the Huskies have needed to become a complete offense. His 9.8 yards per carry including a 53 yard burst to take the Huskies off their own 9 and lead the 91 yard TD drive that gave Washington the first 2 possesion lead of the football game.
The Defensive Line: Zion Tupuloa-Fetui had the biggest defensive play of the night when he stripped Caleb Williams to put the Huskies in the drivers seat for the rest of the night.
The pass rush was making plays late in the game, holding USC scoreless in the final quarter. But earlier on in the game they were not able to drop Williams. The Heisman-winner was dodging rushers and they couldn’t get a stop.
That’s why Voi Tunnufi’s sack was so big. USC had a shot to tie the game with a field goal, and instead of letting Williams survive in the pocket, Tunnufi made a play and knocked the Trojans out of field goal range. Plays like that win football games, but the Huskies don’t want to need them. If the D-Line can make those plays earlier in games it won’t come down to the final minutes.
Offensive Line: After a string of bad games this is the unit that can lead the Huskies into the playoff. Dillon Johnson gained 199 of his 256 rushing yards before a defender even laid a hand on him.
Watching the holes the O-Line was tearing in the Trojan defense didn’t look fair. Both Johnson and Penix had all the room they could want as USC only had two tackles for loss and one sack.
We knew this team was going to be bad on defense, and the Huskies exposed that. The best passing attack in the nation got to the ground and ran over USC on the road.
If UW continues to have both the passing and rushing success like they have shown, this offense is far and away the best in the cfb landscape. It all starts up front, and when the line plays like that 50 points looks effortless.
Penix: While Dillon Johnson’s 256 yards is the real story, he was supposed to be a subplot entering the game. The story was supposed to be the battle between Michael Penix and Caleb Williams. Turns out Penix’s own 256 yards was complementary to Johnson.
In a battle of Heisman contenders the Huskies’ QB was lights out. With 8.5 yards per attempt and two touchdowns Penix went shot for shot with projected first round pick Caleb Williams.
The biggest play from Penix was on thrid and 18, after a penalty backed the Huskies up and USC had a shot to take control. Instead of giving in to pressure, Penix rolled to his left, and from the sideline fired a dart to Devin Culp in the end zone to tie the game up.
USC didn’t give up any single receiver, so the Huskies used everyone. Eight Huskies had a completion of 10+ yards, but only Polk(52) and Odunze(82) had more than 50 yards. That many weapons makes this offense so tough to stop no matter how talented the defense is.
Final Thought: On the big stage in the Los Angeles Collesium, the Huskies executed. With a very tough slate to finish the year playing like that will be important. Limiting penalties, holding onto the football. This team has a very high ceiling—and it appears to be within reach.
