USC defends the belt, 38–0, at home over Washington.
AP poll, week 9: Washington unranked at USC No. 1 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
USC came in 296 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with 6 defenses already behind it; this was its 7th defense. USC went on to defend it 18 more times before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.
For Washington this was its 20th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 10 times before.
It was the 7th of 9 belt games between the two; going in, USC led the belt series 4–2; all-time USC leads 6–3. Every meeting →
Recap
USC's defense dominated Washington from the opening kickoff, forcing three turnovers while the Trojans' offense methodically built a lead. After a scoreless first quarter marred by missed field goals from both sides, USC struck first with Ryan Killeen's 29-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Trojans then scored touchdowns on consecutive drives: Reggie Bush caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Matt Leinart, and LenDale White added a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Washington's offense was completely stymied, managing just 113 total yards and failing to convert a single third down (0-14), while USC controlled the game with 453 yards and 8 third-down conversions. USC piled on two more White rushing touchdowns and a 22-yard touchdown pass to John Walker in the fourth quarter to seal a dominant 38-0 shutout victory and retain the belt.
- Reggie Bush's 15-yard touchdown reception in Q2 gave USC its first score and momentum
- Washington's 0-14 third-down performance epitomized their complete offensive failure
- LenDale White's three rushing touchdowns (3 yards in Q3, 2 yards in Q3, 28 yards in Q4) showed USC's dominance in the trenches
- Three Washington turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) gave USC excellent field position throughout the game
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 10:55 | USC | +49 yd | 49 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good. |
| Q1 8:11 | USC | +8 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side intercepted by C.J. Wallace (UW). Returned for 8 yards. |
| Q1 7:02 | Washington | +46 yd | 46 yard field goal by Michael Braunstein (UW) is no good. |
| Q2 14:12 | Washington | +12 yd | Huskies fumble by Isaiah Stanback (UW), recovered by Lofa Tatupu (USC), 12 yard return. |
| Q2 12:00 | USC | +29 yd | 29 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q2 6:35 | USC | +15 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 15 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 6:35 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q2 5:08 | Washington | +30 yd | Punt by Sean Douglas (UW) returned 30 yards by Reggie Bush (USC) to the Trojans 40. |
| Q2 0:30 | USC | +0 yd | Trojans fumble by LenDale White (USC), recovered by Scott White (UW), returned for no gain. |
| Q2 0:30 | USC | +23 yd | LenDale White (USC) rushed left side for 23 yards. |
| Q2 0:04 | Washington | +47 yd | 47 yard field goal by Michael Braunstein (UW) is no good. |
| Q3 15:00 | Washington | +0 yd | Huskies fumble by Kenny James (UW), recovered by Frostee Rucker (USC), returned for no gain. |
| Q3 13:42 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 13:42 | USC | +3 yd | LenDale White (USC) rushed up the middle for a 3 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 11:29 | USC | +29 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Jason Mitchell (USC) for a 29 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 11:22 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 1:38 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 1:55 | USC | +2 yd | LenDale White (USC) rushed up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 9:45 | Washington | +22 yd | Casey Paus (UW) pass left side intercepted by Keith Rivers (USC). Returned for 22 yards. |
| Q4 1:57 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q4 4:32 | USC | +22 yd | Matt Cassel (USC) pass left side complete to John Walker (USC) for 22 yards. |
| Q4 2:20 | USC | +28 yd | Desmond Reed (USC) rushed right side for a 28 yard touchdown. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
USC
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Leinart | 24/43 | 217 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 26.6 |
| Matt Cassel | 4/5 | 39 | 7.8 | 0 | 0 | 33.1 |
Washington
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Paus | 4/12 | 36 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 1.2 |
| Isaiah Stanback | 3/16 | 27 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 |
Rushing
USC
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LenDale White | 17 | 93 | 5.5 | 2 | 23 |
| Reggie Bush | 13 | 55 | 4.2 | 0 | 15 |
| Desmond Reed | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 1 | 28 |
| Matt Cassel | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Hershel Dennis | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 0 | 9 |
| John Griffin | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Matt Leinart | 3 | -12 | -4.0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelton Sampson | 11 | 37 | 3.4 | 0 | 11 |
| Kenny James | 7 | 18 | 2.6 | 0 | 18 |
| Isaiah Stanback | 9 | -5 | -0.6 | 0 | 8 |
Receiving
USC
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominique Byrd | 5 | 57 | 11.4 | 0 | 16 |
| Reggie Bush | 6 | 41 | 6.8 | 1 | 15 |
| Dwayne Jarrett | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 0 | 11 |
| Jason Mitchell | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 1 | 29 |
| Chris McFoy | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 0 | 18 |
| John Walker | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 | 22 |
| LenDale White | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Jody Adewale | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 16 |
| David Kirtman | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Fred Davis | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Desmond Reed | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| William Buchanon | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Holmes | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Whithorne | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Joe Toledo | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Anthony Russo | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Robert Lewis | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jon Lyon | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
USC
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Rivers | 1 | 22 | 0 |
Washington
No recorded stats in this category.
Kicking
USC
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Killeen | 1/2 | 50.0 | 29 | 5/5 | 8 |
Washington
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Braunstein | 0/2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0 |
Punt Returns
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie Bush | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 30 | 0 |
| Greig Carlson | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0 |
Washington
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Russo | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Malone | 3 | 145 | 48.3 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
Washington
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Douglas | 10 | 429 | 42.9 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 242970030) · This game in the downloadable dataset