Trojan defense helps USC escape thriller over Washington

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LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t pretty by any means, but No. 18 USC can exhale. The Trojans snuck out a 25-21 victory over the Washington Huskies on Saturday night at the Coliseum, improving to 5-1 overall. 

"You go blow somebody out or play awesome, that can be a spark…but man, sometimes these gutsy wins when you maybe don't quite have your A-game, they can sometimes do something for you maybe that even a blowout win can't do," head coach Lincoln Riley said. "You got to take the positives from it, and I think this team will carry a lot of momentum into this next game."

A defensive stand in the waning moments prevented unranked Washington from pulling off the upset, and temporarily, a storm of outrage from the fanbase. The Huskies’ offense had worked all the way down to the Trojan 12-yard line before finally stalling out. Kameryn Crawford secured a critical sack on a third down before Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw incomplete on fourth down to sink the drive for good.

USC did not need to throw themselves into the stressful ending they endured by any means, but a penalty-filled first half halted any momentum that looked to develop. The Trojans headed into the locker room at halftime with five penalties for a total of 50 yards, trailing 14-10.

"Penalties were just massive in this game," Riley said. "It felt like for a long period of the game we were really outplaying them. But when you make some of those mistakes, you just kind of let it keep hanging around…we clearly have to do a way better job on that."

Somehow, with just 44 passing yards to their name and only four completions from Williams Jr., it was enough for the Huskies to have the early edge. 

Jayden Maiava (21/34, 245 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) and the offense managed to score their lone touchdown of the opening 30 minutes via Waymond Jordan (11 carries, 33 yards). A 40-yard completion from Maiava to Zacharyus Williams (four catches, 78 yards) earlier in the drive got the Trojans into the red zone before Jordan punched in the 8-yard score three plays later.

In the second half, another glaring problem reared its head for USC: tackling. On just the second play of Washington’s second drive of the half, tight end Decker DeGraaf managed to slip free down the sidelines for a 42-yard score. He somehow maneuvered past Kennedy Urlacher and Rock Hill IV, who each failed in their attempts to shove DeGraaf to the sidelines.

USC, trailing by its biggest deficit of the contest, answered back.

In a slow and methodical drive, featuring a 23-yard grab from Williams and a combined 27 rushing yards from Jordan and King Miller (18 carries, 93 yards), Tanook Hines (five catches, 51 yards) finished it off. The receiver leapt over the top of his defender to haul in a 10-yard touchdown, and the Washington lead shrank to 21-16 after a failed two-point attempt.

With momentum back on their side, USC found the big moment it needed. On the ensuing Washington drive, linebacker Elijah Newby snuck around the edge to force the ball free from Williams Jr., allowing defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart to scoop it up and rumble 48 yards for the score.

It was the first career touchdown for the big man, who had jokes about his speed after the game.

"Thanks to Newby for getting a sack, and I picked the ball up and ran 22 miles per hour."

On a more serious note, he credited the defense for remaining composed, even when the team fell down multiple scores.

"The main thing for us was to play connected," Stewart said. "We're not really worrying about the score. We're just worrying about us playing for our team. I feel as though that's what we did, and we came out victorious."

Nico Alba – The Sporting Tribune

Jahkeem Stewart #4 of the USC Trojans celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a NCAA football game against the Washington Huskies, Saturday October 3rd, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Up 22-21, the Trojans had their first lead since the opening quarter, but once again failed to convert on a two-point try. Fortunately, the defense was able to force a three-and-out on the following possession, and kicker Caden Chittenden drilled a 39-yarder on USC's next drive to make it 25-21 with 9:36 remaining.

While Maiava and the offense were unable to put points on the board the rest of the way, it gave the defense an opportunity to step up. After taking the criticism that came with allowing 41 points to Oregon, safety Christian Pierce sees his unit's performance as an encouraging sign.

"I feel like it's a big confidence booster," Pierce said. "But I feel like that's our standard, and that's been our standard. I feel like we just have to keep attacking it every single day and realize that we have the pieces that we have, and that's all we need."

Now, USC will not return to the Coliseum until Halloween, spending their next two games on the road with a bye week in between. Next Saturday's battle at Penn State during their annual White Out game presents a test that will indicate exactly what levels of composure and courage this team has. 

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