SEATTLE (AP) – While the celebration was underway on the far corner of the field, Washington was already starting the process of regrouping.
There’s no more wiggle room for any slipups by the Huskies after seeing Sam Darnold and Southern California expose them in a way no one else has this season.
“I just think it’s hard when you lose and you put so much into it, but we’ll regroup,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “We’ll be back. These kids are going to be resilient and we’ll reload and see what we’ve got.”
The Huskies (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12) dropped three spots to No. 7 in the latest AP Top 25 after their 26-13 loss to USC on Saturday night. The bigger question is where Washington will land when the College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday and whether there remains a viable path for the Huskies to find their way into the top four without major upsets.
But the playoff positioning was secondary for the Huskies in the aftermath of the loss to the Trojans. Washington’s defense – which had been regarded as maybe the best in the Pac-12 – was exposed by USC because Darnold was rarely pressured, and it suffered another big loss with linebacker Azeem Victor expected out for the season after a leg injury.