The USC Trojans haven’t played a complete football game since Stanford on September 9. It has been a long time since USC produced 60 high-quality minutes. The Trojans played a strong first half against Colorado on September 30, but then they crumbled in the second half and nearly gave away a 27-point lead. They have consistently struggled over the past month and a half. They are not in a good place. They have not earned any benefit of the doubt.
Is there any good news for USC heading into this Washington game? It has nothing to do with the Trojans themselves.
Washington isn’t playing well, either.
It made sense that the Huskies sleepwalked through the Arizona State game a few weeks ago. That contest versus ASU came one week after a very draining game versus Oregon. That was a classic hangover game. No one should have been overly alarmed that U-Dub was pancake-flat for that contest.
However, Washington was then supposed to snap back into form and play well against Stanford. The hangover was supposed to have been limited to ASU.
It carried over into the next week. Washington struggled with Stanford, winning by nine in a game where the Cardinal had the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead.
What’s the old saying? “One’s an accident. Two’s a trend.” Washington is trending downward after the Oregon game. Are the Huskies a fundamentally weaker team than previously thought? Maybe.
USC certainly hopes so. The Trojans haven’t earned any trust, but Washington might be fading at the wrong time — for the Huskies.
It would be just the right time for the Men of Troy. If Washington remains on the struggle bus, USC could get back on track in the Pac-12 race.
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