USC at Washington

Last week was a stiff challenge for USC heading into the tough environment at Ohio State with a freshman QB. They came away proving once again that they are an extremely tough team, regardless of the situation. Matt Barkley may be a freshman but he is a senior when it comes to raw talent and leadership. He proved this by taking the Trojans down the field for the winning TD on their last drive. The problem this week is that he isn't likely to play. If he does, he's going to be hobbled with his shoulder injury and coming off very little if any practice. Without him, the Trojans head to Washington, a bad team that is down and out. While USC wins the big games, these are the games in which they struggle. Coming off a big emotional win in a huge game, this is the perfect spot for a let down. A look at the Pete Carroll-era shows the no-show Trojans just 1-5 ATS as a conference road favorite of 14+ and when taking to the road for the second straight week, they are just 2-7 ATS. In their last seven Pac-10 road openers, they are 1-6 ATS. While the Trojans have the talent to easily out-point the Huskies, history shows us that talent takes a snooze when the challenge and resistence is minimal. I'm taking the points here and going with Washington.