UW And USC Set For 88th Meeting Saturday In Seattle

Saturday, November 2

Husky Stadium

4:30 PM

University of Washington

USC

Tickets

Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures

October 28, 2024 | Football

Full UW Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME: After nearly a month away from home, the Washington football team (4-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) returns to Husky Stadium to take on old foe USC (4-4, 2-3) Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff for the UW's Homecoming game is 4:30 p.m. and the contest will air on Big Ten Network. The Huskies and Trojans will be meeting on the gridiron for the 88th time, in a series that dates back 101 years, to the first meeting in 1923, which was perhaps UW's first "big win" at Husky Stadium. Washington closes out the regular-season schedule with three of ts last four games vs. former Pac-12 foes. After the USC game, the Dawgs travel to Penn State before closing out the schedule Fri., Nov. 15, in Seattle vs. UCLA, and Nov. 30, at Oregon.

QUICK HITTERS: Washington ranks No. 1 in FBS in passing yards allowed, No. 3 in pass efficiency defense, No. 6 in total defense, and No. 23 in scoring defense ... UW opponents are averaging 4.88 yards per pass attempt and 4.43 per play, No. 3 and No. 5 in FBS, respectively ... among active FBS players, UW QB Will Rogers III ranks No. 1 in career attempts (2,114) and completions (1,472); and No. 2 in passing yards (14,337), TDs (107) and completion percentage (.697) ... Rogers is just the 14th player in FBS history to pass for 14,000-plus yards ... UW RB Jonah Coleman is No. 2 in FBS with 30 rushing plays of 10 yards or longer, and sixth with 37 scrimmage plays of 10-plus yards ... WR Denzel Boston leads the Big Ten and is No. 4 in FBS with nine touchdown receptions ... nine receiving TDs is tied for 8th-most in UW single-season history ... Washington has won 18 consecutive home games, longest in modern school history (the longest, 45 games, was from 1908-1917, part of UW's NCAA-record 64-game unbeaten streak) ... 34 players made their Husky debut in the Weber State game, including nine true freshmen ... four more players saw their first UW action vs. EMU ... not counting the four-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in five of the last seven seasons ... the current UW roster includes players who list hometowns from 19 different states, as well as in Germany and Canada ... UW's 109-man roster entering the year includes 25 true freshmen, 20 redshirt freshmen, 16 sophomores, 27 juniors, and 21 seniors ... the Husky roster includes five players in their sixth season at UW: DL Jacob Bandes, RB Cameron Davis, S Kamren Fabiculanan, LB Drew Fowler, and LB Alphonzo Tuputala ... those five are playing for their fourth different head coach in 2024.

TELEVISION: The Washington-USC game will air on Big Ten Network, with Jeff Levering, Jake Butt, and Brooke Fletcher calling the action. For more information on how to watch, go to btn.com/watch-live/.

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 16-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 139 or 195. Additionally, the Husky Football Coach's Show airs each Monday during the season at 6:00 p.m. PT.

B1G TIME: As has been well documented over the last year-plus, Washington has officially joined the Big Ten Conference ahead of the 2024-25 school year, effective on Aug. 2, 2024. The Huskies are joined be fellow former Pac-12 programs Oregon, UCLA and USC in making the move to the B1G, which now includes 18 schools. Washington was one of four founding members of the Pacific Coast Conference (along with Cal, Oregon and Oregon State), and, along with Cal, was one of just two teams that were a part of that league (which changed names to the AAWU, Pac-8, Pac-10 and Pac-12) for the entirety of its full-fledged existence from 1915 to 2024.

FUTURE SCHEDULES: Last October, the Big Ten revealed 18 football teams' home and away, conference opponents for the next for the next five seasons (2024-28). Here are the UW's home and road, Big Ten games, for the coming four years:
2025: home – Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Rutgers; road – Maryland, Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin
2026: home – Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State; road – Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Purdue, USC
2027: home – Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, USC; road – Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers
2028: home – Michigan, Northwestern, UCLA, Wisconsin; road – Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Oregon

HUSKIES vs. TROJANS HISTORY: Washington and USC have played one another 87 times since the series began in 1923. The Trojans hold a 52-31-4 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), prior to last seaosn, the Huskies and Trojans haven't met on the football field since 2019, and hadn't played in the Coliseum since 2015. Last year

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.

HOME vs. BOTH USC AND UCLA IN SAME SEASON: Since the Pac-10 expanded to the Pac-12 prior to the 2011 season, Washington has not played both USC and UCLA in the same season. The Pac-12 divisional structure, and the retention of USC and UCLA's traditional, annual games with Cal and Stanford, meant that the other four Northern Division teams (UW, WSU, Oregon, OSU) never played both L.A. schools in a given season during the Pac-12 era. So, it's been since the 2010 season that both USC and UCLA have even been on the Husky football schedule in the same season, much less both at home, as they are this year. Washington first began playing football vs. USC in 1923, and UCLA in 1932. Since then, on just two occasions have the Huskies played both L.A. schools in Seattle in the same season: 1985 and 1990. In' 85, the Huskies swept the two games, beating the Bruins, 21-14, in week four (Pac-10 opener) and USC, 20-17, in the next-to-last game of the season. In 1990, Washington routed the Trojans, 31-0, in week three (also a Pac-10 opener … the "All I Saw Was Purple" game), but were tripped up by UCLA, 25-22, in the next-to-last game of the year, possibly costing Washington the national title in 1990 (the Huskies were ranked No. 2 prior to that loss).

ROSTER TURNOVER: One main storyline for the 2024 UW football team has been about the amount of change that has occurred since the end of the 2023 season. In fact, UW has just two returning, regular starters back from '23 (LB Alphonzo Tuputala and CB Elijah Jackson), and the Huskies lost 41 letterwinners off of last year's team, while adding 59 new players to the roster since the end of last season. On the depth chart for the season-opener in 2023, 44 players were listed on offense and defense. Just 11 of those 44 are still on the Husky roster (and just two of those 11 are on offense). In the season-opener vs. Weber State, a total of 34 players saw their first action in a Washington uniform. Nine of those 34 were true freshman.

GRADUATES: A total of 21 Huskies head into the 2024 season already having earned their undergraduate degree. Here's the list: RB Sam Adams II, S Cameron Broussard, DL Jacob Bandes, LB Carson Bruener, TE Owen Coutts, RB Cameron Davis, S Makell Esteen, S Kamren Fabiculanan, LB Drew Fowler, S Justin Harrington, WR Jeremiah Hunter, WR Giles Jackson, DL Deshawn Lynch, OL Gaard Memmelaar, TE Quentin Moore, QB Will Rogers, DL Logan Sagapolu, WR Camden Sirmon, OL D'Angalo Titialii, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, OL Enokk Vimahi.

MORE LONG PLAYS: Over the last several years, Washington has been one of the top teams in the nation in terms of long scrimmage plays. And, while the players and coaches have largely changed, that's no different in 2024. Through seven games, UW has 138 plays of 10 yards or longer (6th-most in FBS). UW running back Jonah Coleman is tied for second in FBS with 30 rushing plays of 10 or more yards, and is sixth in the country with 37 scrimmage plays of 10-plus yards.

NFL CONNECTIONS: Much has been made of the UW coaching staff's NFL connections, including that coordinators Steve Belichick (Bill) and Brennan Carroll (Pete), as well as analyst Luke Del Rio (Jack) and GA Jake Lynch (John), are all sons of prominent NFL coaches and GMs. Three other staff members – Scottie Graham, Vinnie Sunseri and quality control analyst Caleb Wilson – played in the NFL. Also, graduate assistant Dom Caldwell's uncle, David, is a longtime NFL executive, having served as the Jaguars general manager, among other roles. UW's player roster also includes a number of sons of former NFL players: Sam Adams II (Sam), Carson Bruener (Mark), Roice Cleeland (Cam), Quentin Moore (Mark), Russell Davis II (Russell), Dyson McCutcheon (Daylon; plus grandfather, Lawrence), and Justice Williams (Roland). Lastly, Daniyel Ngata (Joseph), Ryan Otton (Cade), and Keleki Latu (Laiatu) each have older brothers who are active NFL players.

ALASKA AIRLINES FIELD AT HUSKY STADIUM: The Oregon game on Nov. 5, 2011, marked the final game in Husky Stadium prior to major renovations that were completed in summer, 2013. The Huskies re-opened their home field with a 38-6 win over then-No. 19 Boise State on Aug. 31, 2013. The 2024 season marks the 104th season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. UW's all-time record in Husky Stadium stands at 417-185-21 (.686). Washington is 61-16 in home games since the stadium re-opened in 2013.