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

3. The Washington defense shut down USC

USC came to Husky Stadium on their third-string quarterback after losing J.T. Daniels and Kedon Slovis over the course of September play. Matt Fink, the three-star recruit who almost transferred away from Los Angeles in the offseason, was at the helm of the Trojans offense after a huge performance to upset Utah in Week 4.

Fink came nowhere near his 351-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Utes in his follow-up against Washington. The Huskies held Fink to 163 yards on 19-of-32 passing, and they picked off the quarterback three times and allowed only one touchdown through the air. It was a decisive shutdown of the longtime Trojan depth-chart filler.

USC had better luck on the ground than they did in the air, having some success when they tried to carry the football. The Trojans racked up 212 rushing yards, led by Stephen Carr and his 94 yards on seven carries. But Washington dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game.

As they fell further and further behind, USC tried to force the ball more and more. That just proved more costly, as they were unable to find any consistency against a stout Huskies defense. Washington looks capable of staying with any team in the Pac-12 this year thanks to a shutdown unit when they don’t have possession.