USC vs. Washington: View from Seattle

Oct 13, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies wide receiver Kevin Smith (8) is hit by USC Trojans safety Josh Shaw (26) while carrying the ball after making a reception during the 2nd half at CenturyLink Field. Southern California defeated Washington 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

The Washington Huskies gave a valiant effort to knock off USC on Saturday in Seattle, ultimately coming up short 24-14. Here’s what they saying in Seattle about the Huskies’ performance.

As well as Washington played for much of the second half of this loss, this program should be past the stage of moral victories. This was a game that Washington could have won, maybe even should have won. If the Huskies had competed for the full 60 minutes the way they did for the final 30 they could have beaten the Trojans.

“I can’t turn the ball over,” a visibly upset Price said Saturday night after losing two fumbles and throwing two interceptions as USC defeated Washington 24-14 at CenturyLink Field. “I just can’t. … There were plays where I just tried to do too much and it cost my team, and it cost my team a loss.”

Sometimes, it’s hard to know what to make of the Huskies. They’re as stable as a bridge made of Popsicle sticks. Their uneven performance before 66,202 at CenturyLink Field was indicative of why the 3-3 Huskies are one of the most unreliable bowl contenders in college football. They’re talented enough to play with most teams, but they still suffered blowout losses to Oregon and LSU. Just when you wanted to consider them a lost cause, they beat Stanford. And then they do everything wrong for a half against USC, only to show what’s right about them in the second half. But they don’t complete the comeback because, well, they wouldn’t be mysterious then, would they? Actually, they’re just young and erratic.

Another Washington lost defined by an inability to take care of the football, as four turnovers cost the Huskies dearly in a game that was reasonably close all the way to the end. I personally expected UW to step up and perform well after such a disheartening lost to Oregon last week, but there was no Stanford-game magic on Saturday.

Keith Price played maybe his best passing game of the season. Not to say he played great, but he surpassed my expectations. He made some good throws down the field. Again, he didn’t pass perfectly but had himself a decent game and improved as the game went along. Mostly he did better when the throws were made to Austin Seferian-Jenkins. I am in the camp that believes his last interception was an attempt to Cody Bruns that Seferian-Jenkins made an unsuccessful leaping attempt to grab. Keith: hold on to the darn football!