Washington makes life tough for USC’S third-string QB
Elijah Molden dropped into open space near the goal line and went unnoticed. When the pass went his direction, Washington’s young cornerback finally grabbed his first interception. Two plays later, Salvon Ahmed ran into open space. When he found it, the speedy running back broke off the longest run play for Washington in 25 years.
They were two plays a matter of seconds apart that broke the game open and helped No. 17 Washington beat No. 21 USC 28-14 on Saturday in Seattle.
“I thought that was game-changing, that sequence right there. That’s a 14-point swing,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said.
Washington’s talented secondary forced Matt Fink into three interceptions, shut down the pass game for most of the afternoon and caused headaches for the former thirdstringer thrust into his first college start.
Meanwhile, the Huskies received a career day from Ahmed, who rushed for 153 yards, including his 89-yard TD run in the third quarter and gave Washington a 21-point lead. Ahmed missed last week’s win at BYU with a leg injury. But he was back in a big way against the Trojans with the longest run play for Washington (4-1, 1-1 Pac12) play since a 91-yard TD run by Napoleon Kaufman in 1994 against San Jose State.
With USC (3-2, 2-1) trailing 20-7 and driving, Fink failed to see Molden and had a pass intercepted at the Washington 1 as he tried to hit Michael Pittman Jr.
Each of Fink’s first two interceptions led to Washington touchdowns, and his final one — the second of the day for freshman safety Cameron Williams — came in the closing seconds. But it was Molden’s pick that stung most.
“It was just a bad read. Should have handed the ball off, and that’s on me,” Fink said. Fink finished 19 of 31 for 163 yards and had a 3-yard TD run. SNEED’S 5 TD PASSES LIFT MONTANA OVER UC DAVIS >> Dalton Sneed threw five touchdown passes, and Montana took advantage of two turnovers early in the second half to pull away for a 45-20 win at UC Davis in a battle of top 25 FCS teams. Sneed finished 22 of 33 for 268 yards and rushed for another 81 yards as the 18th-ranked Grizzlies (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky Conference) finished with 528 yards of total offense against the fifthranked Aggies (2-3, 0-1). ONE PLAY, 2 INJURED FOR PURDUE >> A pair of key Purdue offensive players were injured on the same play in the 38-31 loss to Min- nesota. Quarterback Elijah Sindelar went down with a shoulder injury after being sacked from behind by Minnesota defensive lineman Tai’yon Devers, while sophomore wide receiver Rondale Moore was injured when his leg buckled on a pass route. Both had to be helped off the field, and Moore was eventually carted off the sideline to the locker room.
EX-USC WR WILLIAMS NOW HEADING TO OREGON >> Wide receiver Devon Williams is transferring to Oregon — not Oregon State as that school announced Thursday — after an apparent change of heart. Williams, who left the USC program two games into the season, made the announcement on Twitter on Friday.