Dillon Johnson rushed for career highs of 256 yards and four touchdowns, Michael Penix Jr. passed for two scores, and No. 5 Washington remained undefeated with a 52-42 road defeat of No. 20 Southern Cal on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Johnson’s standout performance concluded when he scored his fourth touchdown with 2:20 remaining, giving Washington the first and only two-score advantage either team held in a shootout.
The Huskies (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12) broke the back-and-forth stalemate when, after a 43-yard Grady Gross field goal put Washington ahead 45-42, the defense forced USC to punt for the first time since late in the first quarter.
Voi Tunuufi sacked Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams for a 12-yard loss that pushed USC out of field-goal range, setting the scene for Washington to deliver the decisive blow with its eighth scoring drive of the night.
Johnson broke a 53-yard run on the first play, carried for another 11 yards down to the goal line, then punched in the touchdown.
Johnson also scored on a 52-yard carry in the second quarter and a pair of goal-line rushes in the first half — the second of which gave Washington its first lead of the game.
Zion Tupuola-Fetui’s strip of Williams deep in USC territory with 67 seconds remaining in the first half led to a Johnson goal-line touchdown carry.
With Washington taking possession to start the second half, the Huskies had an opportunity to open up a two-score lead. They drove to the USC 21-yard line before Eric Gentry’s deflection of a Penix pass turned into a Christian Roland-Wallace interception in the end zone.
USC (7-3, 5-2) forced ties in the second half on Williams’ touchdown passes of 25 yards to Brenden Rice and 20 yards to Mario Williams.
Williams also threw a 41-yard touchdown to Tahj Washington in the first half. Williams finished 27-of-35 passing for 312 yards with the three passing scores and a fourth touchdown rushing. Darwin Barlow and Raleek Brown each ran for a score for the Trojans.
Penix ended the night 22-of-30 passing for 256 yards, with his touchdown throws going 4 yards to Ja’Lynn Polk and 22 yards to Devin Culp. Penix also rushed for a TD.
Rome Odunze led Washington with 82 yards on five receptions.
Washington paced USC with 122 yards on eight catches. Austin Jones rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries in the loss.
–Field Level Media