Huskies Hope To Add To Clink Craziness

GAME: USC (4-1 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) at Washington (3-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12). WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.. PT, CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA. MEETING: 82nd (USC leads 49-28-4). COACHES: Lane Kiffin, USC; Steve Sarkisian, Washington. RANKINGS: USC 11 AP, 9 USA Today; UW not ranked. LINE: USC by 12. TV: FOX. RADIO: KJR-950 AM, 102.9 FM

Washington continues its daunting stretch against high-profile teams when the Huskies host No. 11 Southern California. Bounced from the national rankings this week after suffering a 55-21 hosing by No. 2 Oregon, UW has upset USC twice in the past three years, but sustained a 40-17 beatdown last year in Los Angeles.

Although USC has won eight of its past 10 against Washington, and nine of the last 12, the USC-UW series traditionally features close outcomes. Of the 82 games played between the schools (USC’s 2005 victory was vacated), 34 have been decided by a touchdown or less.

With a record of 18-17-4, the Trojans are just one game over .500 in Seattle, have lost eight of the last 14 and 10 of the last 17. Then there’s the Clink craziness factor.

Although every oddsmaker out there has USC winning easily, CenturyLink Field this season has already hosted the Seahawks’ bizarre win over the Packers, Washington’s upset of No. 8 Stanford, and 29-point underdog Washington State trailing No. 2 Oregon by only four at halftime. That makes Washington, which shocked USC twice in the Steve Sarkisian era, and USC must-see TV.

The Trojans showcase one of the Pac-12’s best quarterbacks, Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Barkley, who has never played in Seattle. Barkley completed 111 of 173 passes (64.2 percent) for 1,308 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. Barkley has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 36 of 41 career games, at least two TDs in 25 games, and three TDs in 16 games.

With 95 career touchdowns, Barkley is just four shy of the Pac-12 career record. Barkley already has 23 more touchdown passes than former USC quarterback Carson Palmer, a Heisman Trophy winner.

USC, which has outscored opponents by an average of 34.0 to 19.4, has not been shut out in its past 186 games, tying a school record first set between 1967-83. Washington snapped the streak, winning 24-0 in 1983. The Huskies are also the last team to blank the Trojans, 27-0 in 1997.

Husky fans should pray for rain Saturday (rain is in the forecast). USC is 21-22-2 in games in which it rained during a major portion of the contest.

SERIES: Dates to Oct. 20, 1923, when the Huskies scored a 22-0 victory in front of 21,000 in Seattle. Washington has won two of the past three meetings, but USC prevailed 40-17 last year as Trojan QB Matt Barkley ran for a TD and threw for another. Prior to Washington’s 16-13 upset of No. 3 USC in 2009, the Trojans took seven straight from the Huskies. In three of those games (2004, 2005, 2007), the Trojans were ranked No. 1 by The Associated Press.

UW HEAD COACH: Steve Sarkisian (22-21-0) is in his fourth season. After a 5-7 record in his first year (2009), Sarkisian guided the Huskies to a 7-6 record in 2010, which ended with a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. That marked Washington’s first postseason game since the 2002 Sun Bowl. Sarkisian coached the Huskies to another 7-6 record in 2011, including a berth opposite Baylor in the Alamo Bowl. Prior to joining the Huskies, Sarkisian served as a USC assistant under Pete Carroll (2001-03, 2005-08). He also worked as an Oakland Raiders assistant in 2004. Sarkisian played quarterback at Brigham Young University and later played in the Canadian Football League.

UW STATS / NOTES

• SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 3-2. Home: 3-0. Road: 0-2. Neutral: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12 North: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 2-1. Points For: 114 (22.8). Rushing Yards Per Game: 137.0. Passing Yards Per Game: 184.2. Total Offense Per Game: 321.2. Points Against: 131 (26.2). Opp. Rushing Yards Per Game: 178.2. Opp. Passing Yards Per Game: 173.8. Total Defense Per Game: 352.0.
• PAC-12 RANKS: Scoring Offense — 10th (22.8); Scoring Defense — 8th (26.2); Total Offense — 11th (321.2); Total Defense — 4th (352.0); Rushing Offense — 8th (137.0); Rushing Defense — 11th (178.2); Passing Offense — 12th (184.2); Pass Defense — 2nd (173.8); Passing Efficiency — 12th (110.3).
• Bishop Sankey ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with 86.6 rushing yards per game (two touchdowns). Sankey has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games.
• Quarterback Keith Price is 11th in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game, 176.4, and last in passing efficiency, 111.8.
• WR Kasen Williams is T7 in the Pac-12 in receptions per game at 6.2 and eighth in average receiving yards, 68.0.
• Jaydon Mickens is sixth in with a 22.6-yard average on kickoff returns.
• Washington has a combined record of 58-88-6 against the two L.A. schools, USC and UCLA.
• Washington’s game at Arizona Oct. 20 will get underway at 7 p.m.

HUSKIES OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Rushing

Player	G	Att.	Yards	TDs	Long	Y/G
Bishop Sankey	5	89	433	6	61	86.6
Erich Wilson	4	25	140	1	31	35.0
Dezden Petty	4	29	99	0	17	24.8
Kendyl Taylor	5	9	38	0	10	7.6
Total	5	184	685	7	61	137.0
Opponents	5	196	891	8	32	178.2

Passing

Player	G	Att.	Cmp.	Yards	TDs/INT	Effic.
Keith Price	5	158	94	882	5 /4	111.8
Total	4	133	78	776	5 /3	115.6
Opponents	4	109	58	671	3 /4	106.7

Receiving

Player	G	Rec.	Yards	TD	Long	Y/G
Kasen Williams	5	31	340	3	35	68.0
A. Seferian-Jenkins	5	24	254	1	40	50.8
Jaydon Mickens	5	7	46	0	16	9.2
Kevin Smith	4	6	68	0	22	17.0
D. Campbell	5	6	51	1	20	10.2
Bishop Sankey	5	6	39	0	15	7.8
Kendyl Taylor	5	5	34	0	11	6.8
Cody Bruns	5	3	17	0	8	3.4
M. Hartvigson	5	2	12	0	7	2.4
Totals	5	97	921	5	40	184.2
Opponents	5	73	869	7	70	173.8

HUSKIES DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Category	Skinny
Tackles	Tutogi 24.5, Parker 24.5, Feeney 23.5
Sacks	Hudson 2.0; five with one
Interceptions	Thompson, Glenn, Watson, Trufant, Peters, 1
Passes Defensed	Watson 5, Trufant 4, Peters 3, Glenn 2
Forced Fumbles	Parker, Feeney, Fuimaono, Shirley, 1
Fumbles Recovered	Tutogi, Glenn, Hudson, Shamberger, 1

Pac-12 Standings / North

Schools	Overall	Conf.	Next
Oregon	6-0	3-0	Oct. 18 at ASU, 6 p.m., ESPN
Oregon St.	4-0	3-0	Saturday at BYU, 12:30 p.m., ABC
Stanford	4-1	2-1	Sat. at Notre Dame, 12:30 p.m., NBC
Washington	3-2	1-1	Saturday vs. USC, 4 p.m., FOX
California	2-4	1-2	Saturday at WSU, 7:30 p.m., Pac-12
WSU	2-4	0-3	Saturday vs. WSU, 7:30 p.m., Pac-12

Pac-12 Standings / South

Schools	Overall	Conf.	Next
ASU	4-1	2-0	Oct. 18 vs. Oregon, 6 p.m., ESPN
USC	4-1	2-1	Saturday at Washington, 4 p.m., FOX
Colorado	1-4	1-1	Saturday vs. Utah, 12 p.m., FOX
UCLA	4-2	1-2	Saturday vs. Utah, 12 p.m., FOX
Utah	2-3	0-2	Saturday at UCLA, 12 p.m., FOX
Arizona	3-3	0-3	Oct. 20 vs. Washington, TBA

USC NOTES: The Trojans defeated Hawaii (49-10), Syracuse (42-29), California (27-9) and Utah (38-28), and lost to Stanford (21-14) . . . USC ranks 4th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense (34.0 points per game), 3rd in scoring defense (19.4), 6th in total offense (424.0), 2nd in total defense (338.0), 6th in rushing offense (158.0), 3rd in rushing defense (112.6), 6th in pass offense (266.0), 3rd in pass defense (225.4) and second in pass efficiency (150.7) . . . Silas Redd is USC’s leading rusher, averaging 83.0 yards per game with five touchdowns . . . Quarterback Matt Barkley is fourth in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game at 261.6 yards and third in passing efficiency at 150.5 . . . Marquise Lee leads the Pac-12 in receptions per game at 10.4 and in receiving yards per game at 129.8 . . . The USC roster includes two players from the state: PK Alex Wood (Mercer Island) and OT Zach Banner (Tacoma).

USC HEAD COACH: Lane Kiffin is in his third season. He led USC to an 8-5 record in 2010 and to a 10-2 mark and first-place finish in the Pac-12 South last season.  Prior to joining the Trojans, Kiffin served as head coach at the University of Tennessee (2009) and the Oakland Raiders (2007-08). From 2001-06, he worked as an assistant coach at USC.

COMING UP: The Huskies play at Arizona Oct. 20 before returning to CenturyLink Field to host Oregon State Oct. 27.

University of Washington 2012 Schedule/Results

Date	Opponent	UW Rnk	Opp Rnk	W/L	Score	Rec.
9/1/12	vs. SD State	—	—	W	21-12	1-0
9/8/12	at LSU	—	3	L	41-3	1-1
9/15/12	vs. Port. State	—	—	W	52-13	2-1
9/27/12	vs. Stanford	—	18	W	17-13	3-1
10/6/12	at Oregon	23	2	L	52-21	3-2
10/13/12	vs. USC	—	11	—	—	—
10/20/12	at Arizona	—	—	—	—	—
10/27/12	vs. OSU	—	10	—	—	—
11/2/12	at California	—	—	—	—	—
11/10/12	vs. Utah	—	—	—	—	—
11/17/12	at Colorado	—	—	—	—	—
11/23/12	at WSU	—	—	—	—	—

2012 RECAPS

UW 21, San Diego State 12 (Sept. 1): Keith Price completed 25 of 35 passes for 222 yards and an eight-yard TD to Kasen Williams, and Will Shamburger returned a fumble 44 yards to a touchdown as Washington defeated San Diego State in front of 53,742 at CenturyLink Field. The UW defense, maligned throughout the 2011 season, gave up 199 rushing yards but just 128 passing yards, recovered two fumbles, had three sacks and an interception.

LSU 41, Washington 3 (Sept. 8): No. 3 LSU sacked Keith Price four times, hit him an additional dozen times and romped easily to victory over Washington in the Huskies’ first trip to the Southeastern Conference since 1983. LSU outgained Washington 437 yards to 170 and held Price to 157 passing yards with one interception.

UW 52, Portland State 13 (Sept. 15): Keith Price threw three touchdown passes in the first 23 minutes, Bishop Sankey ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, Shaq Thompson blocked a field goal that Tre Watson returned 79 yards for a touchdown, and the Huskies massacred the Vikings at CenturyLink Field. It marked the Huskies’ biggest win since a 53-3 win over Idaho in 2001.

UW 17, Stanford 13 (Sept. 27): Keith Price threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kasen Williams late in the fourth quarter and Desmond Trufant made a game-sealing interception as Washington shocked No. 8 Stanford 17-13 at CenturyLink Field. One year after UW lost to Stanford by 44 points and a week after the Cardinal defeated national title contender USC, Washington used a stifling defense to upset Stanford, holding the Cardinal to just 235 yards and no offensive touchdowns. Bishop Sankey ran for 144 yards for UW and scored on a 61-yard run on the last play of the third quarter, sparking Washington’s stagnant offense.

Oregon 52, UW 21 (Oct. 6): Oregon freshman Marcus Mariota passed for four touchdowns and the No. 2 Ducks recorded their ninth consecutive victory over Washington, 52-21, in Eugene. The 23-ranked Huskies aided the Oregon cause with a series of mistakes, including three personal fouls. Quarterback Keith Price completed 19 of 31 for 145 yards and two interceptions. Bishop Sankey scored on a pair of short runs and Eric Wilson added a TD with 32 seconds to play.