USC vs. Washington Predictions

After a big-win over Arizona State 12 days ago and a bye week, USC is back in action as they will face off against Washington tonight. The Conquest Chronicles staff gives their predictions for tonight.

Game Prediction:

Trajuan Briggs: 28-17 USC.

Saman Djabbari: This will be the best opponent Washington has faced so far this year and it continues a tough 4 game stretch after the loss to Cal in Week 4. After the battle with the Trojans, the Huskies then get Oregon at home and go to Stanford. It's hard to see Washington coming up with a win in any of these games, especially Thursday night at the Coliseum with their freshman QB's first Pac-12 road game. The run game both offensively and defensively are strengths for the Huskies. Look for the Trojans to take a similar offensive approach as they did against ASU where when the run wasn't working they focused on shorter pass plays with their playmakers in space as a version of the run game. The spread is currently -17 and I'll go ahead and say the Trojans beat it by winning 42-20.

Julian Lopez: I expect USC to come out firing on all cylinders and have a double digit lead by the end of the first quarter. The Kessler-Smith-Schuster connection is so dangerous and the duo should do heavy damage. We saw the Trojans defense pressure ASU and with a young quarterback at the helm at Washington with Jake Browning, Justin Wilcox should bring the blitz early and often. USC wins, 38-14.

Nick Dempsey: The Trojans rebounded after a tough loss with a big win in the desert followed by a bye week. Washington is in a rebuilding year and simply does not have the talent to keep up with a surging USC. In the next three weeks USC has trips to Notre Dame and Cal in addition to hosting Utah. With a tough October on the horizon, how well the Trojans play tonight and how much they have improved should be of greater concern than just the margin of victory.

Bold Prediction:

Briggs: Offensive line will lead Trojan running backs to over 175 yards. They allow only 1 sack.

Djabbari: Trojans win 42-20

Lopez: Ronald Jones II runs for over 100 yards and the defense comes away with a pick-six.

Dempsey: Trojans win by 3 scores but will still need to clean up certain areas.