Washington upsets USC 17-12 to end Trojans playoff hopes

USC’s grand visions of playing in the College Football Playoff were all but dashed Thursday as Washington came into the Trojans home stadium and came away with a 17-12 upset win.

And it was all about the Huskies defense.

Aside from holding one of the nation’s most potent offenses to a season-low 12 points, the Huskies also limited quarterback Cody Kessler to 156 passing yards and picked him off twice. USC converted just one of its 14 third-down possessions and finished with three total turnovers.

It was easily the worst offensive performance for the Trojans this season. The Trojans have now lost back-to-back home games for the first time since 2001, coach Pete Carroll’s first season where he went 6-6.

Washington took its first lead early in the third quarter after the Huskies executed a double pass that ended with Marvin Hall making a 27-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Perkins.

The Huskies game-winning score came early in the fourth quarter when Myles Gaskin ran the ball into the end zone from one yard out.

From there, it looked like USC was scrambling and panicking. It did manage to get a touchdown back, but Tre Madden dropped a wide open two-point conversion pass that would have put the Trojans within three.

Washington’s defense put a heap of pressure on Kessler, including several late hits and roughing the quarterback calls, which ultimately affected Kessler’s pocket presence and his ability to get the ball downfield.

USC made some questionable decisions down the stretch, including opting to kick a 46-yard field goal that came up short and gave Washington the ball back with 3:44 remaining. Washington got a first down and was able to kill the rest of the clock as USC had no timeouts.

Both of USC’s losses came from teams in the North Division, so winning the Pac-12 South isn’t totally off the table, but this team needs to figure out exactly how it lost offensive confidence during the bye week. USC’s offense is too talented to be held to just 12 points and the offensive line is too good to be manhandled the way it was by Washington.

Right now, all of the teams that many believed were the powers in the Pac-12 South are looking up at underdog Utah, which is 4-0 heading into a pivotal matchup against undefeated Cal this weekend.

As for Washington, it’s probably going to have some trouble making a run at the Pac-12 North, but this is a big win for coach Chris Petersen as he attempts to change the culture at Washington and turn it into not only a consistently successful program but one that can compete for the division title.

Doesn’t hurt that he got his first signature win as Huskies coach against its former coach, Steve Sarkisian.

For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.

For more Washington news, visit TheDawgReport.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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