Washington Football: 3 takeaways from big win over USC in Week 5

Washington football pulled away against USC for a key interdivisional win in Pac-12 play. Here are three things we learned from the Huskies’ win.

After toppling Utah a week earlier, USC came to Seattle hoping to replicate the effort against Chris Petersen’s Washington Huskies. Entering the weekend, the Trojans looked like the new favorite in the Pac-12 South and had just climbed back into the AP Top 25. After this week, that will probably prove to be a short-lived visit.

But the defending Pac-12 champions proved too much to handle for the Trojans, as the Huskies ran away with a 28-14 victory at home that reaffirmed their position as a contender in the Pac-12 North this year. Washington ran out to a 14-0 lead right away in the first quarter, and from there Clay Helton’s team was left playing catch-up the rest of the day. Dealing with persistent injuries at quarterback, the Trojans proved incapable of keeping up on the scoreboard.

Washington played well in all phases of the game, showing why they remain one of the biggest dark-horse candidates across the nation. They shut down USC and earned themselves a quality win against a ranked opponent in the process.

Heading on the road the next few weeks, Washington will take confidence into October from this display against the Trojans. Let’s look at three other things to take away from the Week 5 win over the Trojans on Saturday afternoon.