Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN and WatchESPN
Husky to Watch: Freshman QB Jake Browning
While he does not get as much hype as UCLA's true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, Jake Browning has actually been more efficient on the season. He has completed 64.4% of his passes, averaging 249 yards per game with 5 TDs and 4 INTs. Overall, the Huskies offense has struggled, ranking 11th in total offense, but Browning provides a centerpiece talent for Chris Petersen to build the program around.
(Photo by Ted S. Warren)
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3 Keys
Brown Out
The USC defense bounced back with a strong performance against Arizona State by forcing turnovers. Head coach Steve Sarkisian knows that his defense will yield total yards because his offense is playing at such a fast pace, so he is focused on takeaways and yards per play allowed. Currently, the Trojans rank seventh in the Pac-12 in yards per play allowed, giving up 5.19. USC can really build some momentum against the struggling Huskies' offense by pressure Browning, who has been sacked 10 times, and stuffing the run.
Start a Run
The USC offense has been in perfect balance this season with 129 rushes and 135 pass attempts, but the ground game was halted by ASU's relentless blitzing. While the Trojans took advantage of the Sun Devils game plan, offensive coordinator Clay Helton still wants his backs to be a factor every week. The sledding will be tough this week against UW's rush defense, which ranks first in the Pac-12, giving up only 2.61 yards per carry.
"Sharpen Our Sword"
The Trojans showed great resolve to dominate ASU in the desert after a disappointing loss to Stanford, but Sarkisian has bigger goals than winning one game. He wants to string victories together to create a special season, and so the constant focus is on improvement. As he says, "Every day, we have to sharpen our sword. We have to get better." USC will have to run a dangerous gauntlet to the finish, but if the Trojans show progress every week, all their goals are still attainable.
