USC overwhelms mistake-prone UW, 56-0

LOS ANGELES — Two conclusions stared observers in the face after USC's 56-0 win over the Washington Huskies on Saturday:

• Either Washington has packed it in after the news Monday that coach Tyrone Willingham won't be back next season.

• Or the sixth-ranked Trojans are simply that much better than the Huskies right now, giving further evidence as to why Monday's change was made in the first place.

Washington players tried to deny both notions afterward.

"I don't think that [Monday's news] affected us at all," said safety Tripper Johnson. "We just didn't perform."

So USC's simply that much ahead of the Huskies?

"Uh, no," said quarterback Ronnie Fouch. "We just made some mistakes, shot ourselves in the foot on drives. It could have been a different game if we hadn't made mistakes."

That seemed debatable after watching USC score touchdowns on its first six drives to take a 42-0 halftime lead, almost covering the 46-point spread — thought to be the largest in the history of the Pac-10 — with 33 minutes to play.

USC outgained UW 325-35 in the first half in handing the Huskies their 10th straight loss, tying a school record set in 1968-69.

Washington (0-8 overall, 0-5 in Pac-10) is also now the only winless team in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision after North Texas beat Western Kentucky.

The real reason for the fourth-worst defeat in UW football history is probably a mixture of both — Willingham's status and a team not ready for prime time.

That's the one Willingham favored.

"Obviously they are very good and played very well," he said of a USC team that has allowed just 20 points in its last five games. "But I think there are a lot of things surrounding our football team right now impacting how our team played."

Washington's first shutout since a 38-0 loss here in 2004 and only the second since 1981 likely caused some to wonder if it's worth Willingham sticking around for the rest of the season.

Willingham, however, said that isn't a question.

"I think we have already gone through that," he said in a postgame news conference that lasted just 2 minutes, 15 seconds.

Asked whether he believes he is still the right coach to motivate the team the rest of the season, he said, "I would say yes to that."

The players who spoke afterward agreed as well.

"It [Monday's news] gave us a lot more motivation to go out and play for him," said UW running back Brandon Johnson.

To be fair, the Huskies did commit penalties in key situations in three of USC's first four scoring drives, once after a third-down play the Trojans had failed to convert. But the Trojans moved so effortlessly that those UW gifts only speeded up the inevitable.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez was 15 of 17 in the first half for 167 yards and two TDs, and the Trojans rushed for 158 yards on 27 carries. Washington, meanwhile, didn't get its initial first down until 8:20 remained in the second quarter, and got past midfield only once.

Sanchez played just one series in the second half as the Trojans substituted liberally and attempted only three passes.

That allowed UW to finally make some headway, getting to the USC 25-yard line twice in the fourth quarter.

But after the Huskies eschewed a field goal from the 13-yard line — converting a fourth-and-one — Fouch threw an interception at the 1 with 12:20 remaining. On UW's next possession, he threw a pass that was picked off at the 12.

"We came into the game knowing we had to play basically perfect and be very aggressive and that we could not make the simple mistake," Willingham said. "And with penalties and different things, we didn't give ourselves a chance."

The game ended with USC at the Huskies' 2, passing up a chance to add embarrassment.

Afterward, Husky defensive coordinator Ed Donatell insisted the score didn't indicate the effort.

"I just know this is a tough year for these kids," he said. "It's a tough year for everybody, and it's not like you just click on a switch each week. It's nice when you have some rewards, a victory or something mixed in there, and they haven't been able to witness that. We've just got to keep working until we get our way out."

The Huskies will have four more chances to avoid the first winless season since 1890 — when they tied the only game they played — beginning next Saturday at home against Arizona State.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com