No. 5 UW Ready For First Visit To USC Since 2015

Saturday, November 4

Los Angeles, CA

4:30 PM

University of Washington

USC

October 30, 2023 | Football

Full UW Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME: The Washington football team (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) travels to Los Angeles to take on USC (7-2, 5-1) this Saturday. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. PT and the game will air on ABC TV. The game marks the Dawgs' first trip to Memorial Coliseum since 2015 (the scheduled 2020 game was canceled). The Huskies are off to an 8-0 start and have won 15 straight, dating back to last year. Following the USC game, the Huskies return home to take on two-time defending conference champion Utah on Nov. 11.

QUICK HITTERS: Washington is 19-2 overall under head coach Kalen DeBoer ... UW is 8-0 for just the sixth time in school history ... the Huskies lead the nation in passing offense and are No. 5 in total offense ... UW is also No. 3 in the nation in punt return defense (-0.5 per return) and rank No. 10 in kick return defense (14.9 per return) ... over just 20 games as a Husky, Michael Penix Jr. has notched five of the top-10 single-game passing yards marks in UW history, including his first three games this season (473 vs. Michigan State – 3rd; 450 vs. Boise State – 6th; 409 vs. Tulsa – 10th) ... in less than two seasons, Penix is up to third in UW history in career TD passes, with 51 ... he has thrown multiple TDs in 16 of his 21 games at UW ... his 7,586 career yards rank him 5th at UW ... through 8 games, Penix is No. 1 in FBS passing yards and pass yards per game, No. 2 in total offense, No. 3 in pass TDs and No. 6 in pass efficiency ... four different UW receivers – Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and Germie Bernard (2) – have scored a rushing TD so far this season ... prior to this season, UW had had just eight games in its history in which two players had 100 receiving yards (including two last year) ... this season, that has happened in 5 of 8 games ... Penix is currently No. 1 in the nation in pass plays of 10-plus (116 plays) ... UW enters the week with the nation's second-longest active winning streak among FBS teams, with 15 victories in a row ... only Georgia, with a 24-game run, has a longer active streak ... the win streak is the third-longest in UW history, after 40 (1908-16) and 22 (1990-92) ... Washington scored 40-plus points in the first 4 games, the first time that UW has scored 40-plus in four straight in the same season since 1944, when the Huskies did it with two lopsided wins each over Willamette and Whitman ... not counting the 4-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in 4 of the last 6 seasons.

TELEVISION: The Washington-USC game will air on ABC, with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe calling the action. Fans will with the proper subscription can also stream at espn.com/watch.

RADIO: All Washington football games will air on the Washington Sports Network from Learfield, with Tony Castricone (play by play), former Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland (analyst) and former UW basketball player Elise Woodward (sidelines) on the call. Radio coverage begins four hours before kickoff on the network's flagship station – Seattle's SportsRadio KJR 93.3 FM – with "Husky Gameday" live from The Zone for Husky home games. Statewide coverage on the 17-station Washington Sports Network begins two hours before kickoff. The entire broadcast is available worldwide on the Huskies Gameday mobile app and the Varsity app. The UW broadcast of this game will also air on Sirius/XM channel 83. ESPN Radio will also carry a national, syndicated broadcast with Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer and Ian Fitzsimmons on the call.

HUSKIES vs. TROJANS HISTORY: Washington and USC have played one another 86 times since the series began in 1923. The Trojans hold a 52-30-4 series advantage.

Washington won its first-ever meeting against the Trojans, beating USC, 22-0, in Seattle in 1923. When the series re-started in 1927, USC handed the Huskies six straight defeats before Washington reeled off five in a row. The longest streak either way in the series began in 1965, when the Trojans beat Washington for the first time of 10 straight wins.

Due to the way the Pac-12 schedule works (UW plays either UCLA or USC in two-year stretches, and never both in the same year) and due to the 2020 season (UW played just four games), the Huskies and Trojans haven't met on the football field since 2019, and haven't played in the Coliseum since 2015.

In that most recent meeting, in Seattle in 2019, the Huskies led throughout in a 28-14 victory. An 89-yard run in the third quarter from UW running back Salvon Ahmed was the big play of the day.

In Seattle in 2016, was one of the most high-profile games in recent years, with ESPN's College Gameday on campus and the No. 4 Huskies hosting a Trojans squad that had won five in a row. USC won that game, 26-13, holding the Huskies to just 17 rushing yards, perhaps the key stat of the game. The Huskies' lone TD was a 70-yard pass from Jake Browning to John Ross.

The year before (2015) in L.A, the Huskies scored a 17-12 win at then-No. 17 USC in a Thursday night game at the Coliseum. Myles Gaskin rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown while Sidney Jones and Darren Gardenhire notched crucial interceptions.

In the most recent meeting prior to 2015 (UW and USC didn't play one another in 2013 and 2014), in 2012 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, the Trojans won 24-14, thwarting several late chances for the Huskies to make it close by forcing three fourth-quarter turnovers.

A year prior in L.A., the Trojans broke the UW's two-game win streak in the series with a convincing 40-17 victory. In 2010, Washington posted its second straight victory via late field goal as Erik Folk connected from 32 yards to beat USC, 32-31, on the final play of the game. In 2009 in Seattle, Washington handed No. 3 USC a 16-13 loss as Folk connected on a 22-yard field goal with three seconds left to cap the game-winning drive.

SPECIAL TEAMS EXCELLENCE: Through eight games, Washington is No. 3 in the nation in punt return defense, having allowed minus-1 yards in returns over the season. UW is also No. 10 in FBS in kick return defense (14.9 yds. per return), and No. 21 in net punting (41.5).

EXPERIENCE AND YOUTH: Washington's current roster includes a total of 34 players – 17 each on offense and defense – who have started at least one game for the Huskies prior to 2023. Entering the year, the 17 offensive players had totaled 145 starts in the Purple & Gold, while the 17 defensive players (which includes former offensive line starter Ulumoo Ale) had 156 starts between them. Tight end Devin Culp entered the 2023 season with the highest total of starts under is belt among offensive players, with 18, while safety zx0Asa Turner, with 23 career starts entering 2023, led the defensive side. The list of Dawgs with starting experience doesn't take into account the 10 current Huskies who transferred to UW after having started at another four-year college, nor does it account for starting "specialists." Washington 119-man roster entering the year included just 15 players in their final year of eligibility, along with 29 true freshmen, 15 redshirt freshmen, 35 sophomores and 25 juniors. Potentially, 104 current Huskies could return for 2024, while 79 enter the 2023 season with three or more years of eligibility remaining.

GRADUATED DAWGS: The 2023 Washington football roster includes 23 players who have earned their bachelor's degree. Here are those 23, alphabetically: Ulomoo Ale, Jacob Bandes, Julius Buelow, Devin Culp, Troy Fautanu, Drew Fowler, Ralen Goforth, Dominique Hampton, Antonio Hill, Giles Jackson, Tuli Letuligasenoa, Matteo Mele, Quentin Moore, Dylan Morris, Jabbar Muhammad, Richard Newton, Michael Penix Jr., Faatui Tuitele, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Alphonzo Tuputala, Asa Turner, Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Jack Westover.

LONG PLAYS: Washington has notched 56 scrimmage plays of 20 or more yards over its first eight games, the third-highest total in the nation. UW is also No. 5 in the nation with 27 plays of 30 yards or more. Those totals include 48 passes of 20 or more yards, and 22 of 30 or more, from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Both of those total are No. 2 in the nation. Penix also leads FBS with 116 completions of 10 yards or more, 12 more than the next closest QB. Additionally, Rome Odunze is tied for first in the nation with 40 receptions of 10-plus and is second with 17 of 20-plus yards, while Ja'Lynn Polk has 14 20-plus yard receptions (sixth in the nation). Meanwhile, UW's defense has allowed just 28 plays of 20 or more yards this season, 28 fewer than the Husky offense has had. UW has allowed just one rushing play of 20-plus yards (only one team has allowed none).

Last year, Washington finished the season with 62 passing plays for 20 or more yards, tied for eighth-most in the nation (five teams that ranked higher played more games than UW's 13). Washington led the nation last year with 193 pass plays for 10 or more yards.

8-0 START: Washington is 8-0 for just the sixth time in school history. Here are the five previous seasons that the Huskies started 8-0:

                  1923 (lost game 9, finished 10-1-1)
                  1984 (lost game 10; finished 11-1-0)
                  1991 (finished 12-0-0)
                  1992 (lost game 9, finished 9-3-0)
                  2016 (lost game 10, finished 12-2).

TWO 100-YARD RECEIVERS IN A GAME: Prior to the start of this season, Washington had had just eight games in its history with two players finishing with 100 or more receiving yards (including two such games last year). So far this season, UW has had two players with 100 receiving yards in five of eight games:

                  vs. Boise State: Rome Oduzne (132) & Ja'Lynn Polk (101)
                  vs. Tulsa: Jalen McMillan (120) & Odunze (107)
                  at Michigan State: Odunze (180) & Polk (118)
                  vs. California: Polk (127) & Odunze (125)
                  vs. Oregon: Odunze (128) & Polk (118)

Additionally, last year, Odunze was the first Husky ever to record four straight 100-yard games. In the first four games of 2023, he matched that streak.

CONFERENCE MOVES: Along with USC, UCLA and Oregon, the Huskies will move to the Big Ten Conference after this coming academic year (2023-24) and will play a Big Ten schedule in 2024. Four other current Pac-12 programs – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah – will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25; while Stanford and California will join the ACC. Washington has been a member of what is now the Pac-12 since the inception of the league, in 1915. Only the UW and California have/had been members in every year since. The UW football team has won a league title in every decade since the 1910s, other than the 2020s – the Dawgs will have one last chance to extend that streak this year.