Allen Wagner

The Daily

Victory over USC has never been easy for the Huskies. In the 80-plus years of history between the two teams, the Dawgs have come out victorious only 26 of 76 times.

Most people probably don't think "rivalry" when they think of USC vs. UW, especially considering the poor record the Huskies have against the Trojans. Nevertheless, the two teams have battled for Pac-10 supremacy since the 1920s and have a combined 51 Pac-10 championships under their belts.

The first win came in the inaugural game between the two, when the Huskies beat the Trojans 22-0 in 1923. Since then, victories have been a bit scarce, with the last one coming in 2001 when then-Husky football coach, Rick Neuheisel, led the team to a 27-24 victory over the Trojans. Despite the close score, the Dawgs dominated offensively, out-gunning the Trojans with 441 yards total offense to USC's 286 yards.

Since then, the Dawgs have fallen on hard times, losing each meeting with USC by at least 20 points. The lone exception being last season's game when the Huskies almost upset the then-No. 3 team in the nation in a 20-26 loss at the Coliseum.

Although the overall match-up hasn't been a rosy situation for the Dawgs, they do fare better at home, with a 16-17-4 record against the Trojans at Husky Stadium. Also something of note is the fact that the Huskies have shutout USC twice in the past two decades at home. The No. 7 ranked Husky team beat USC 27-0 at home in 1997 and in 1990, the No. 21 ranked Huskies upset the No. 5 ranked USC 31-0 at home.

There is a lot of history between the two teams and although USC has taken the overall match-up, both have won the Pac-10 championship more than any other team, except UCLA, who has only two more W's than the Dawgs.

Considering it a battle between the Pac-10 champs isn't too much of a stretch. There was a period between 1976 and 1981 when USC and Washington each won the title three times.

This time though, USC is looking to take their sixth straight Pac-10 title, but they will have to make a stop at Husky Stadium to face the Dawgs.

This Saturday, the rivalry will continue, when quarterback John David Booty and his USC offense will try to flex their muscle against the Dawgs at Husky Stadium. So far this year, Booty has thrown for 629 yards in three games with 68 completions in 97 attempts.

USC is second in the Pac-10 this year in scoring and rushing yards. The rush is something the Husky defense will have to stop if they want to stay in the game. The Trojans have two explosive running backs in Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable who are averaging eight and 11 yards per carry, respectively.

Booty has several talented receivers to go to on third-down, but tight end Fred Davis has been Booty's big play man this year, with 14 receptions for 211 yards.

USC is also solid defensively, holding opponents to an average of only 64.3 rushing yards per game. This is an important statistic for the Husky offense, which likes to use the option offense to keep the defense on their heels.

The loud nature of Husky Stadium could pose a challenge for the USC defense Saturday, and any false start penalties would be welcome to the Husky offense.

Every little advantage will count in this game, especially since the Dawgs only lost by six at USC last year.

[Reach reporter Allen Wagner at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]