Huskies flirt with upset, eventually fall to top-ranked Trojans

Washington gave No. 1 USC reason to worry.

The Huskies (2-3, 0-2 Pac-10), outmatched at almost every single position, put the Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Pac-10) in a position to sweat until the 60th minute was complete.

But just as they did a year ago, the Trojans did what good teams do. In a game marked by sloppy play and mistakes by both teams, USC made just enough plays to escape with a 27-24 victory in front of 68,654 fans at Husky Stadium Saturday.

"Obviously from my vantage point I think it was a good football game," said UW coach Tyrone Willingham. "I thought there were mistakes by both teams, and I thought that we did not overcome the ones that we made."

On a night when Washington's offense performed a disappearing act the likes of which cannot be afforded against such a high-caliber opponent, the Huskies used their patented bend-but-don't-break defense to hold the Trojans' offense largely in check.

"I don't want points on the board," said defensive coordinator Kent Baer. "I don't want the bend."

Missed tackles and a lack of a pass rush told the Huskies' defensive story, but the Dawgs did well to only bend.

For the second week in a row, the UW allowed two 100-yard rushers [HTML_REMOVED] Stafon Johnson carried the ball 14 times for 123 yards and Chauncey Washington piled up 111 yards on 21 carries.

USC racked up 460 yards of total offense while Washington managed just 190.

Jake Locker again struggled mightily to get any sort of aerial attack going, completing just 13 of 28 passes for 90 yards. The red-shirt freshman looked very much the part of a rookie quarterback facing the best team in the country [HTML_REMOVED] an interception in the red zone ended a promising game-opening drive, and an overthrow of wide open Corey Williams on the Dawgs' second possession cost the Huskies another potential score.

"They were a good defense," Locker said. "I just missed it tonight. I missed some throws that would have kept drives going early on that I have to make."

Locker did manage to put points on the board, though. His 10-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter [HTML_REMOVED] set up by a John David Booty fumble deep in USC territory [HTML_REMOVED] broke a scoreless tie, giving the Huskies their only lead of the game.

But just as soon as the Huskies burst ahead in the first, USC responded. Patrick Turner hauled in a 24-yard touchdown toss from Booty to even the score, and an eight-yard touchdown run by Johnson capped a seven-play, 88-yard drive on USC's next possession to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead.

With the offense struggling, it was the Husky defense that evened the score. Mesphin Forrester picked off a pass from Booty at his own 46-yard line with just over two minutes left in the first half. Fifty-four yards later, Forrester had his first career interception return for a touchdown and the Huskies had tied the game at 14-14.

A USC field goal right before halftime gave the Trojans the lead, and a two-yard touchdown run by Chauncey Washington put the Trojans up by 10 with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Two pass interference penalties on USC [HTML_REMOVED] the Trojans were penalized 16 times for 161 yards [HTML_REMOVED] aided the Dawgs on their ensuing drive, which eventually ended on a made field goal by Ryan Perkins to cut the Trojan lead to 24-17.

The Dawgs then buckled down on the defensive end, forcing USC to go three and out on two consecutive drives. But the Huskies' final mistake proved to be the most costly.

A fumbled punt by Anthony Russo with 2:23 to play gave the Trojans the ball at the UW 43 [HTML_REMOVED] a devastating miscue that proved to be the nail in the coffin.

"What seems so simple sometimes is not that simple," Willingham said. "That guy trying to rip the ball out of Russo's arms is pretty strong. It's not quite as easy as we make it seem."

USC drove to the UW 16, kicking a field goal after a Byron Davenport interception was overturned to make it a two possession game with 4:53 to go.

Still, the Dawgs battled back. After turning the ball over on downs, Roy Lewis returned a blocked punt to the nine-yard line with just under a minute left.

Three plays later, Locker was in the end zone and the Huskies had cut the lead to three with 34 seconds left [HTML_REMOVED] but an onsides kick attempt failed, and USC escaped once more.

For the second straight year, the Huskies had to settle for a moral victory against the Trojans [HTML_REMOVED] a disappointing outcome for a team that is never satisfied with any kind of loss.

"We take no solace in the fact that we came close and didn't win," Willingham said. "We only teach one thing, and that is to win."

[Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@thedaily.washington.edu]