USC Rallies from 11 Down to Edge Washington 25-21
Jahkeem Stewart scooped up a Washington fumble and ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown at 4:40 of the third quarter, and that one play flipped the game. USC had been down 21-10 earlier in the quarter. Less than two minutes after it trailed 21-16, it was up 22-21, and it never gave the lead back.
USC beat Washington 25-21, and they did it after trailing by as many as 11. Washington scored three times, twice in the first half and once more 90 seconds into the third: Dezmen Roebuck to Baron Naone from 5 yards, Kade Eldridge from a yard out, and then a 42-yard Demond Williams Jr. pass to Decker DeGraaf. USC got a field goal, a Waymond Jordan 8-yard run, and then Tanook Hines caught a 10-yard touchdown from Jayden Maiava to make it 21-16. That was the last Washington lead, about two minutes before the fumble return.
Washington did not score again after Williams hit DeGraaf, and Caden Chittenden's 39-yard field goal at 9:36 of the fourth made it a four-point game that stayed a four-point game. Now the arithmetic: take away the fumble return and USC is at 19, Washington is at 21, and Washington wins. Washington lost exactly one fumble all day. Funny how that works.
The team lines were close. USC had 362 total yards to Washington's 319, threw one interception, and sacked the other side's quarterbacks five times. Maiava went 21 of 34 for 245 yards. USC is 5-1 and Washington drops to 3-2.
For fantasy, this was a low-scoring game and the top three scorers combined for 48.1 points. Take the wins where you find them.