Pointless in Seattle, USC Sinks Lower

It has been a zero of a season for USC, and it was finally written in lights Saturday at Husky Stadium: Washington 27, USC 0.

Seven years have passed since USC has been shut out, with the last time coming on the same field in a 31-0 loss to the Huskies in 1990.

This time, not one of the trio of Trojan quarterbacks who tried--from Mike Van Raaphorst to John Fox to Quincy Woods--could get USC inside Washington’s 35-yard line.

The only end to this struggle may come simply because the season will dwindle to its end--along with Coach John Robinson’s career, it seems more and more likely.

Robinson didn’t bother with a mea culpa or “We choked” soliloquy this time, and Athletic Director Mike Garrett spoke the appropriate words in a sideline interview with almost four minutes still left in the game. Like everyone else, he knows that at this rate Robinson’s vow to resign if the Trojans don’t turn things around could take care of itself.

Garrett said it’s “premature” to discuss such things, but said, “We’re struggling right now. It’s very obvious.”

And though he later said he didn’t, he used the word “embarrassed.”

It was hardly a stretch.

The fact that the Trojans were 17-point underdogs seemed “ludicrous” even to Washington quarterback Brock Huard before the game. After it, the seventh-ranked Huskies (7-1, 5-0) had beaten the Trojans (4-4, 2-3) by 27 points and held them to 157 yards in offense.

“Washington’s a very good team, but they’re not 27 points better than us,” receiver Billy Miller said.

Said Robinson: “We just lost the game, by how much doesn’t matter. . . . We just played a lousy game today and got beat.”

USC held Washington to 31 yards rushing, but the Huskies were led by a corps of receivers who stomped on USC’s vaunted secondary. Jerome Pathon caught eight passes, including a 41-yarder, for 120 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Cam Cleeland and receiver Fred Coleman did their part too, with Coleman making a spectacular catch over Daylon McCutcheon for a 35-yard TD.

The only dents USC put in Washington’s Rose Bowl hopes was a knee injury to tailback Rashaan Shehee, who is probably out for the rest of the regular season, and a sprained ankle by Huard.

Eight games into the season, USC’s future is more uncertain than ever, with no clear starter at quarterback or tailback.

Robinson and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson made a switch at quarterback this week. But Van Raaphorst, a redshirt freshman, lasted one half in his first start, and Fox could do no better in the second half. It didn’t help that USC’s receivers had hands of stone all day--including R. Jay Soward, who was held without a reception. Two of USC’s 10 completions went to McCutcheon, a cornerback moonlighting as a receiver.

As for who the starting quarterback is now, Robinson said, “I’d rather not address that.”

Jackson, who called the game one of the worst performances he has ever been around, said the quarterback’s job will be evaluated during the week again.

“I don’t think our problems are one place. Our problems are everywhere,” he said.

Van Raaphorst looked good at times but threw two interceptions in the first half, one particularly glaring and the other off Miller’s chest. He completed five of 18 passes for 46 yards.

“We probably asked too much of Mike Van Raaphorst,” Robinson said, attributing a stretch of three false starts on the first possession in part to Washington’s last-moment defensive shifts. “Mike Van Raaphorst did everything he could. He didn’t have much help from his receivers, with dropped balls.”

Van Raaphorst kept his composure despite being replaced.

“It’s tough, but it’s the coaches’ decision. You live with those,” he said.

With Washington blitzing heavily, Robinson said he went to Fox in the second half because of his mobility and because he’d told him he would play. Fox completed four of seven passes for 37 yards.

“It was hard [standing of the sideline],” Fox said. “Harder than third and 18. I just tried to be involved in the game and be ready at any time.”

The tailback rotation is just as uncertain. Fullback Rodney Sermons’ 30 yards led the Trojans. Delon Washington, who started at tailback, finished with 26 yards in nine carries and freshman Malaefou MacKenzie had 20 yards in nine carries. Startlingly, Woods came in at quarterback on the Trojans’ second possession, but it proved only to be to run the ball on a keeper from the USC 13-yard line, picking up 12 yards and coming out, not to return until late in the game.

USC’s best chance to score came late in the second quarter, when the Trojans trailed, 10-0.

Coleman had just made his touchdown reception, but Soward returned the kickoff 37 yards and USC picked up another 15 yards on a late-hit penalty, giving the Trojans a first down at Washington’s 35.

But Van Raaphorst--who took a timeout before the first play--was sacked on first down, threw out of bounds under pressure on second down, and saw a third-and-16 pass go off Miller’s hands.

Then Washington’s Jabari Issa blocked Jim Wren’s punt, and Washington took over on the USC 35. Four plays later, Huard hit Pathon for a 21-yard touchdown pass as Pathon beat cornerback Brian Kelly. With the extra point, Washington’s lead was 17-0--there’s that 17-point line--with 1:41 still to play in the first half.

A fourth-quarter USC possession got as far as the Washington 36 before MacKenzie was dropped for a one-yard loss and Fox was sacked on third down.

“Right now, we’re not functioning on offense, and you can’t win that way,” Robinson said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NEXT FOR USC

WHO: Stanford

WHERE: Coliseum

WHEN: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 7

RADIO: KLSX-FM (97.1)