Huskies look to last year for confidence vs. USC

Published 11:06 pm Monday, September 24, 2007

SEATTLE — Washington’s last game against Southern California ended with frustration and thoughts of what could have been.

This week, the Huskies are hoping to turn that disappointing finish into a positive.

Washington nearly came away with their biggest win in years at the Los Angeles Coliseum last October. At 4-1 but unranked, very few thought the Huskies had a chance against No. 3 USC, but the Huskies kept the game close, and trailing by six, drove deep into USC territory before running out of time fifteen yards from victory.

While a moral victory did nothing to help Washington’s 2006 bowl chances, it does give the team hope this season that they can compete with the juggernaut that is USC.

“I think that’s a big confidence boost,” said receiver Anthony Russo. “The fact that we could have beaten these guys last year given a couple seconds. But they’re still the No. 1 team in the nation and they’re definitely a good team and on a roll, so we’ve got to work.”

Washington’s near upset wasn’t a fluke, at least not in the eyes of the man in charge of the Trojans.

“I don’t think we had a letdown,” said USC coach Pete Carroll. “I think Washington played really good against us last year and we had our hands full. We played really hard in that game, but we struggled to get points on the board and we struggled to get any separation in the game. They played really well and they’re better this year, so it’s going to be a very difficult game for us, particularly up there.”

The stats show a fairly even game last year as well. USC out-gained Washington by just 32 yards. If the Huskies had another couple of seconds to get off a final play, they might have pulled off a huge upset, improved to 5-1, and been ranked for the first time since 2003.

“I hope it gives us a sense of confidence that we can go out and play,” said Tyrone Willingham. “But the whole key is how you gear up for this week. How well you prepare and how you actually go after our gameplan and how you can execute it, those are the things that really count right now.”

So does a near-win a year ago mean the Huskies match up well with USC?

“I don’t think anybody really matches up really well with them,” Willingham said. “I think they were pretty good last year and they’re pretty good this year … I’m not sure anybody has a great match up against them.”

And despite the added confidence last year’s game might give the Huskies, they’re trying not to look too much at the past when preparing for Saturday’s game.

“It gives us a little bit of confidence, but at the same time, every year is new,” said linebacker Dan Howell. “We’ve got a new attitude, a new spirit to this team. The team you saw out there last year, we’re completely different team. We’re trying to make strides upward and not do too much reminiscing on what we did in the past.”