Lincoln Riley gives initial impressions of Washington matchup

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are gearing up for a tough Pac-12 showdown with the Washington Huskies this weekend.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for USC over recent weeks, but a win over the Huskies could put them right back on track. Ahead of the clash in Week 10, Riley elaborated on his initial thoughts on Washington going into the game.

“Good football team,” Riley started, via Trojans Live. “They’ve done a great job this year. Quarterback’s obviously played at a high level, and does a great job of distributing to their play-makers, which they’ve got a really good group of play-makers. Runs the offense really, really well. You could tell, obviously he has a lot of experience with Kalen and his system, and you can tell. It shows up. Playing at a high level.

“They’ve got some really, really good players defensively as well. It’s a very, very talented roster. You’ve got a number of guys that are projected pretty high NFL draft picks. You know a couple on both sides of the ball. So a good group. A good group. A good challenge. I mean, like it should be here at the end. Two good football teams going at it. It’s going to be great.”

Alas, both Washington and USC were able to pick up hard-fought road victories in Week 9. First off, the Huskies were able to take down the upset-minded Stanford Cardinal 42-33. 

Stanford gave Washington all they could handle as their starting quarterback, sophomore Ashton Daniels, was able to go toe to toe with Heisman Trophy candidate, Michael Penix Jr.

Daniels finished the game completing 31-50 pass attempts for 367 yards and a touchdown and another two on the ground, but his play was no match for Penix Jr. in the end, who ended the game completing 21-38 for 369 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and the victory.

On the other hand, USC narrowly escaped going on a three-game losing streak as they barely beat the California Golden Bears 50-49. The Trojans’ offense found their rhythm on Saturday behind reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, who completed 23-of-40 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns. 

Unfortunately, some of USC‘s defensive lapses returned against Cal. The Trojans’ defense allowed the Golden Bears to put up 527 yards of total offense. However, their one saving grace in the game was their ability to force turnovers. USC won the turnover battle 4-1, forcing three fumbles and one interception.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Washington opens as a 4.5-point favorite over USC. The over/under is set at 71.5 points. We’ll see who gets the victory in what should be an awesome battle on Saturday.

On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this article.