November 4, 2023 Week 10 · Regular Season Belt defended

Washington defends the belt, 52–42, on the road at USC.

Home · Challenger

USCAP No. 24 42

Away · Defending Holder

WashingtonAP No. 5 52

AP poll, week 10: Washington No. 5 at USC No. 24 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Washington came in 357 days into reign #321, which began with a win over Oregon, with 11 defenses already behind it; this was its 12th defense. Washington went on to defend it 5 more times before Michigan took it on January 8, 2024, 422 days after the reign began.

For USC this was its 18th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 13 times before.

It was the 9th of 9 belt games between the two; going in, USC led the belt series 6–2; all-time USC leads 6–3. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Washington's defense held firm when it mattered most, preserving the belt with a 42-52 victory at USC in a high-scoring shootout. The Huskies dominated time of possession (34:40 to 25:20) and converted third downs at a higher rate, with Michael Penix Jr. orchestrating multiple scoring drives behind an effective ground game led by Dillon Johnson, who broke off a crucial 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. USC's Caleb Williams kept the Trojans in contention with big plays downfield, including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Tahj Washington and a 25-yard score to Brenden Rice, but Washington's balanced offensive attack and clock management ultimately sealed the belt retention.

Dillon Johnson's 52-yard touchdown run in Q2 (6:44) extended Washington's lead and showcased the dominant ground game that controlled the game
Washington's back-to-back touchdown drives at the end of Q2 (Ja'Lynn Polk 4-yard pass, then Johnson 1-yard run) put the Huskies up decisively heading into halftime
Michael Penix Jr.'s 1-yard touchdown run in Q3 (4:21) extended Washington's lead and proved to be the difference-maker in the final margin
Washington's 7-10 third-down conversion rate versus USC's 4-9 allowed the Huskies to sustain drives and control tempo throughout the contest

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

USCWashington

Total yards515572

Rushing yards203316

Passing yards312256

First downs2427

3rd down conv.4/97/10

Turnovers11

Penalties–yards6–656–52

Time of possession25:2034:40

Full 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.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 8:56	USC	+2 yd	Raleek Brown 2 Yd Run (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q1 3:38	Washington	+2 yd	Dillon Johnson 2 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q1 1:24	Washington	+0 yd	TEAM punt blocked by Duce Robinson. TEAM punt 0 yards to the WASHINGTON18, recovered by USC Tabaracci, Carson
Q1 0:35	USC	+1 yd	Caleb Williams 1 Yd Run (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q1 0:35	USC	+21 yd	Denis Lynch kickoff for 65 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 21 yds to the WASH 21
Q2 11:37	Washington	+22 yd	Devin Culp 22 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Q2 10:43	USC	+31 yd	Austin Jones run for 31 yds to the WASH 44 for a 1ST down
Q2 9:50	USC	+43 yd	Darwin Barlow run for 43 yds to the WASH 1 for a 1ST down
Q2 9:31	USC	+1 yd	Darwin Barlow 1 Yd Run (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q2 9:31	USC	+24 yd	Denis Lynch kickoff for 64 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 24 yds to the WASH 25
Q2 6:44	Washington	+52 yd	Dillon Johnson 52 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q2 4:04	USC	+41 yd	Tahj Washington 41 Yd pass from Caleb Williams (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q2 3:33	Washington	+32 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 32 yds to the USC 38 for a 1ST down
Q2 2:00	Washington	+26 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 26 yds to the USC 8 for a 1ST down
Q2 1:14	Washington	+4 yd	Ja'Lynn Polk 4 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Q2 0:20	Washington	+1 yd	Dillon Johnson 1 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q3 15:00	USC	+29 yd	Denis Lynch kickoff for 65 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 29 yds to the WASH 29
Q3 11:29	Washington	+0 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass intercepted, touchback. Christian Roland-Wallace return for no gain
Q3 10:44	USC	+34 yd	Caleb Williams pass complete to Tahj Washington for 34 yds to the WASH 46 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:00	USC	+25 yd	Brenden Rice 25 Yd pass from Caleb Williams (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q3 7:18	Washington	+33 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 33 yds to the USC 35 for a 1ST down
Q3 4:21	Washington	+1 yd	Michael Penix Jr. run for 1 yd for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q3 4:09	USC	+33 yd	Caleb Williams pass complete to Duce Robinson for 43 yds to the WASH 40 for a 1ST down USC Penalty, Offensive Holding (-10 Yards) to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q3 1:41	USC	+20 yd	Mario Williams 20 Yd pass from Caleb Williams (Denis Lynch Kick)
Q3 1:41	USC	+22 yd	Denis Lynch kickoff for 59 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 22 yds to the WASH 28
Q4 14:26	Washington	+20 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 20 yds to the USC 20 for a 1ST down
Q4 12:25	Washington	+43 yd	Grady Gross 43 yd FG GOOD
Q4 10:30	USC	+25 yd	Austin Jones run for 25 yds to the WASH 27 for a 1ST down
Q4 7:32	Washington	+53 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 53 yds to the USC 38 for a 1ST down
Q4 2:20	Washington	+1 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 1 yd for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q4 2:20	Washington	+22 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 65 yds , Zachariah Branch return for 22 yds to the USC 22

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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

USC

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Caleb Williams	27/35	312	8.9	3	0	89.1
Team	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	--

Washington

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Michael Penix Jr.	22/30	256	8.5	2	1	90.5

Rushing

USC

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Austin Jones	11	127	11.5	0	31
Darwin Barlow	2	44	22.0	1	43
Raleek Brown	3	16	5.3	1	14
Caleb Williams	10	16	1.6	1	14
Team	1	0	0.0	0	0

Washington

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Dillon Johnson	26	256	9.8	4	53
Will Nixon	4	24	6.0	0	11
Tybo Rogers	5	21	4.2	0	8
Germie Bernard	1	15	15.0	0	15
Ja'Lynn Polk	1	7	7.0	0	7
Team	2	-3	-1.5	0	0
Michael Penix Jr.	3	-4	-1.3	1	2

Receiving

USC

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Tahj Washington	8	122	15.3	1	41
Brenden Rice	2	44	22.0	1	25
Duce Robinson	1	43	43.0	0	43
Mario Williams	4	42	10.5	1	20
Lake McRee	4	22	5.5	0	9
Zachariah Branch	3	16	5.3	0	8
Kyron Ware-Hudson	2	10	5.0	0	7
Dorian Singer	1	9	9.0	0	9
Raleek Brown	2	4	2.0	0	3

Washington

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rome Odunze	5	82	16.4	0	26
Ja'Lynn Polk	5	52	10.4	1	32
Devin Culp	2	27	13.5	1	22
Josh Cuevas	1	19	19.0	0	19
Giles Jackson	3	19	6.3	0	7
Tybo Rogers	1	15	15.0	0	15
Germie Bernard	1	14	14.0	0	14
Jack Westover	1	11	11.0	0	11
Dillon Johnson	2	11	5.5	0	15
Will Nixon	1	6	6.0	0	6

Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

USC

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Calen Bullock	9	7	0	0	0	0
Eric Gentry	8	5	1	1	1	0
Mason Cobb	8	4	0	0	0	0
Bear Alexander	6	3	0	1	0	0
Domani Jackson	5	2	0	0	0	0
Bryson Shaw	4	3	0	0	0	0
Jamil Muhammad	4	3	0	0	0	0
Braylan Shelby	4	3	0	0	0	0
Max Williams	3	3	0	0	0	0
Tre'Quon Fegans	3	3	0	0	0	0
Christian Roland-Wallace	3	2	0	0	1	0
Solomon Byrd	3	1	0	0	0	0
Shane Lee	2	1	0	0	0	0
Chris Thompson Jr.	2	0	0	0	0	0
Kyon Barrs	2	0	0	0	0	0
Stanley Ta'ufo'ou	1	1	0	0	0	0
Austin Jones	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jaylin Smith	1	1	0	0	1	0
Tackett Curtis	1	1	0	1	0	0
De'jon Benton	0	0	0	0	0	1

Washington

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Dominique Hampton	10	8	0	0	0	0
Thaddeus Dixon	6	4	0	0	0	0
Mishael Powell	5	5	0	0	0	0
Carson Bruener	5	3	0	0	0	0
Zion Tupuola-Fetui	4	2	1.5	1.5	0	0
Jabbar Muhammad	3	3	0	0	0	0
Alphonzo Tuputala	3	2	0	0	0	0
Elijah Jackson	3	2	0	0	1	0
Ralen Goforth	2	2	0	0	0	0
Jaivion Green	2	2	0	0	0	0
Edefuan Ulofoshio	2	1	0	0	0	0
Bralen Trice	2	1	0.5	0.5	0	1
Voi Tunuufi	1	1	1	1	0	0
Kamren Fabiculanan	1	1	0	0	0	0
Drew Fowler	1	1	0	0	0	0
Vincent Nunley	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tybo Rogers	1	1	0	0	0	0
Leroy Bryant	1	1	0	0	0	0
Faatui Tuitele	1	0	0	0	0	0
Tristan Dunn	1	0	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

USC

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Caleb Williams	1	1	0

Washington

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Bralen Trice	0	0	1

Interceptions

USC

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Christian Roland-Wallace	1	0	0

Washington

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Zachariah Branch	3	43	14.3	22	0

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Daniyel Ngata	5	112	22.4	29	0

Kicking

USC

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Denis Lynch	0/0	0.0	0	6/6	6

Washington

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Grady Gross	1/1	100.0	43	7/7	10

Punt Returns

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Duce Robinson	1	10	10.0	10	0

Washington

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Eddie Czaplicki	2	67	33.5	0	1	34

Washington

No recorded stats in this category.

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 401524048) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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