This was a pretty big win. That loud rumble in the distance you heard after the game came from lukewarm Husky fans jumping back on the bandwagon. Any doubt that Sark can't call a great game vanished into thin air last night.
Quarterback
Jake Locker redeemed himself this week with a career defining performance against the Trojans. He was the best player on the field last night. This was the Jake Locker on whom Mel Kiper developed the man-crush last year. Locker hit eight different targets during the game demonstrating his progressions are improving. Grade A
Running Backs
Chris Polk didn't have as many carries as usual, but still rushed for 92 yards. Chris carries people with him when he runs and most importantly didn't turn it over last night. Jesse Callier continues to impress and was used mostly on fly sweep plays last night. He has a real nice burst, which challenged the USC ends. Grade A
Wide Receivers
Way too many drops for this group to get an "A" this week, but they out performed the USC receivers all evening. Locker kept delivering exactly where it needed to be in the second half and these guys kept inexplicably dropping it. Grade B
Offensive Line
USC couldn't stop the Washington offense the entire evening. The Huskies got some good push while running the ball and gave Jake the time to create plays when he was passing the ball. 527 yards of offense on the road gives these guys their best grade of the season. Grade A
Defensive Line
These guys were pushed around the entire evening but stalled the Trojan offense enough in the fourth quarter to give Washington a chance to win the game. The front four as a whole simply isn't strong enough--with the exception of Ta'amu--to get things done against a quality opponent. Grade C
Linebackers
It helps to have Cort Dennison back in the line up. Victor Aiyewa was uneven most of the game but came up with some big stops in the fourth quarter. Mason Foster was everywhere playing clean up because the line in front of them wasn't making stops. Grade B
Secondary
Matt Barkley was 14-20 for 186 yards so he wasn't exactly shut down. The Trojans concentrated on the run for good reason because Washington couldn't stop it most of the night. The story of the night for this group was missed tackles. The most notable being a whiffed sack on a corner blitz by Quinton Richardson. Grade C
Special Teams
Erik Folk was the hero of the game hitting three field goals and the game winner for the second year in a row. Kickoff coverage was dramatically improved even though they gave up a couple of long runs. Kevin Smith served notice that he is the man when it comes to returning kicks. Grade B
Coaching
Sark called a brilliant game. It may have been the best game he's called during his tenure at UW. He went back to basics during the bye week and returned to concentrating on what the Huskies do well, rather than continuing to over complicate things. He owned Lane Kiffin last night.
Nick Holt has a lot of work ahead of him with this defense. The majority of these guys aren't fundamentally sound. Way too many missed tackles and sack opportunities. Special teams play dramatically improved over the bye week. The young guys are starting to settle in. Give overall kudo's to the staff for getting these kids ready to compete after the Nebraska debacle,a hard loss to recover from. Grade A