No. 20 USC gets the big plays it needs to defeat No. 4 Washington

Momentum had begun shifting Washington’s way in the second half of USC’s game on Saturday. The Trojans were leading, but the Huskies had gotten two stops to start the half. They just needed a big play.

One began to materialize on the first play of Washington’s next drive. Receiver John Ross gained two steps on USC cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. But the pass hung up a fraction too long. That is not tolerated against Jackson. A sprinter by trade, he caught up and batted the pass away. Both players retreated to their huddles.

When they emerged, Ross made sure to leave no doubt. He stuttered, dropping Jackson to the turf. No one was within 20 yards of Ross when Jake Browning’s pass dropped into his arms. The 70-yard touchdown pass was Washington’s longest of the season.

Ross and Jackson are arguably the two most incendiary athletes in the Pac-12. Ross entered the game with 16 touchdowns as a receiver, runner or returner. Jackson has played mostly at cornerback and has shut down most opponents, outside of losing a shoe at a critical moment against Utah.

Their battle on Saturday was the game’s most entertaining.

Ross took the first play of the game, a screen, for 23 yards, making three USC defenders miss in the process and nearly breaking free of everyone.

Jackson intercepted a Browning pass — just Browning’s fourth of the season — in the second quarter.

Ross hesitated on an early kickoff return, then still ran it out. He almost got stopped near the 10-yard line, but he eluded everyone, slalomed around and made it to the 25, preciously close to finding open field.

Jackson converted a critical third down for USC on his first play on offense in the third quarter.

The final tally: Ross finished with eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.

He seemed to win the matchup. Then, late in the fourth quarter, Jackson undercut Chico McClatcher on a deep curl. His teammates mobbed. The interception had effectively given USC the win and Jackson, in his battle with Ross, a draw.

“This guy was superman with two huge picks,” USC Coach Clay Helton said of Jackson.

Davis limited

Justin Davis trotted onto the field for the first time before USC’s first possession of the second quarter.

Davis, the starting running back at the beginning of the season, did not play at all in the first 15 minutes in his first game back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for more than a month. Instead, Ronald Jones II shouldered most of the burden.

Jones carried the ball 23 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. Davis took just five carries for four yards.

Davis had approached Helton during the week and asked him not to sacrifice Jones’ carries in an attempt to re-spark Davis. Davis said his ankle felt “great” but he didn’t yet have the full trust in his ankle he had before the injury. And Jones, Davis said, had been coming off several “fantastic games.”

Davis’ first rushes were not promising. His cuts weren’t as sharp as they had been earlier in the season. So USC shifted his carries to Jones.

Back in ‘Bhebhe’s arms

Daniel Imatorbhebhe’s streak of three straight games with a touchdown ended last week. He made up for it Saturday.

A touchdown reception in the fourth quarter was his fourth of the season, and he also enjoyed the best game of his career: five catches for 78 yards.

Rogers is clutch

Receiver Darreus Rogers has had a knack for making difficult catches when USC has needed them most. Against Colorado, he bailed out a would-be interception by plucking the ball over a defender, saving the game for USC.

On Saturday, midway through the fourth quarter, Sam Darnold hurled another pass his way on a third-down curl. After tussling with the defender, who’d be flagged for interference, Rogers ripped the ball away and ran 27 yards.

Penalties linger

Asked this week whether USC could defeat Washington while committing 13 penalties, as the Trojans had done for two straight games, Helton was blunt.

“No sir,” he said. “We cannot.”

He was correct. But Saturday represented only a mild improvement. USC committed six penalties for 40 yards, including one on guard Damien Mama that negated a USC touchdown. But USC bailed him out by scoring later that drive.

Quick hits

Defensive tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, who had been nursing a knee injury, was not limited during the game. … The announced attendance of 72,362 was the largest since Husky Stadium was renovated in 2013.

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand