roars

The knives were already out. The boos were already ringing.

At the end of an already brutal week at USC, during which the nation was ready to dance on the graves of the Trojans and their coach, it seemed for much of Saturday that any last shreds of faith in coach Lincoln Riley might melt away in the beating Southern California sun. Not only had the aftermath of their Oregon loss gone as poorly as possible, but now the Trojans were tripping over themselves again, trailing Washington, a middling Big Ten team down to its fourth-string running back, and a chant began to rise above the fray, from the USC student section.

“FIRE LINCOLN!” they roared.

That refrain had only been heard in hushed tones until this past week. But Saturday, before the No. 18 Trojans pulled away with a 25-21 victory, it felt as if their embattled coach stood at the edge of a certain Rubicon, one he may not return from with one wrong step.

That tension still hung thick over the Coliseum until late in the third quarter, when linebacker Elijah Newby came roaring around the edge toward Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He swatted the ball out of his right hand, and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart scooped it up. He sprinted 48 yards on a sore foot for a go-ahead score — and joked afterward that he hit 22 mph on his scoring scamper.

Just two minutes earlier, the Trojans had been down 21-10, and it wasn’t hard to envision how their season could continue spiraling from there. One mistake, one missed opportunity, one penalty after another brought them to this point, despite the fact that the Huskies actually struggled to move the ball on USC’s defense throughout.

It looked, for most of Saturday, like that unit took a step forward after the past two weeks, when both Rutgers and Oregon marched on them. Through one half, USC held Washington to just 44 passing yards. Through three quarters, Washington was averaging fewer than six yards per play.

“The bounce back was huge for us,” freshman defensive end Luke Wafle said.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., left, tries to fend off USC linebacker Elijah Newby during the second quarter Saturday at the Coliseum.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

USC’s defense nearly came apart in the fourth quarter, though, at the worst possible time. Washington hadn’t converted a single third down until its final drive, when Williams converted a third-and-11 pass, then hit a fourth-and-two bomb for 43 yards. The Huskies got as close as the USC 12-yard line, before the Trojans finally shut the door.

“We had to dig deep for this one,” Riley said. “Especially as sloppy as we played.”

USC (5-1, 2-1) did try something a little different on defense, with defensive coordinator Gary Patterson calling the game from the press box instead of the sideline. Riley said the decision was akin to “trying to just move the chess pieces to get everyone in the right position.” He also added that Patterson’s former staff at Texas Christian had a lot more familiarity with Patterson’s scheme, and thus he handled things differently with that staff.

But the communication issues of past weeks appeared less of a problem on defense. The real concerns Saturday actually came on offense, where the Trojans uncharacteristically sputtered. Jayden Maiava was 21 of 34 for 245 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

Still, judging by the box score alone, you’d be hard-pressed to understand how USC could have nearly squandered a game in which they piled up far more yards (360 to 319) and had the ball for far longer (34:58 to 25:02) and dominated on third down.

“We’re gonna fix it,” Stewart said. “No team comes out perfect. It takes time.”

After a disappointing few weeks on the defensive end, USC actually opened the game by forcing Washington (3-2, 0-2) into back-to-back three and outs.

But the Trojans managed a measly three points from those stops. Their first drive, stalled in the red zone. The next one backed up USC to the one-yard line after wideout Terrell Anderson muffed a punt.

Washington took advantage of the field position on its next drive. Faced with a fourth and seven in USC territory, Williams slipped past pressure and scampered to a first down. It was the first sign of life from the Huskies’ offense, which found its way into the end zone four plays later.

Then, USC gave the ball right back. On the run, Maiava launched a pass off his back foot under heavy pressure. It fell well short of its target and was picked off.

USC’s defense held strong, forcing a third three and out in the Huskies’ first four drives. And its offense finally held up its end of the bargain, with Waymond Jordan punching in an eight-yard touchdown.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava scrambles during the first half against Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Washington continued to struggle moving the ball, but mistakes from USC helped its cause. An illegal formation penalty wiped away a deep Trojan touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Then on the ensuing possession, Wafle grabbed Williams’ face mask as he pulled him down for a sack.

USC had more penalty yards (50) than Washington had passing yards (44) in the first half. And those penalties gave the Huskies life at the end of the half, as they drove the length of the field and scored again.

“We felt like we were outplaying them,” Riley said. “We just couldn’t get out of our own way a little bit. That’s probably going to be a defining thing for this team going forward, how much we can do that.”

With a chance to regroup, the Trojans tripped over themselves out of the half too. An unsportsmanlike penalty killed their opening drive. Then, Washington tight end Decker DeGraaf caught a pass and took off down the sideline, running through two feeble-arm tackles on the way to an inexplicable 42-yard touchdown.

After that, the Riley chants rang out from the student section. But the Trojans’ offense mounted a 13-play scoring drive in response. Tanook Hines tore the ball away from a Washington defender in the end zone.

USC coach Lincoln Riley walks back to the sideline after speaking with his players during a timeout in the first half Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Less than two minutes later, Stewart scooped up the fumble and took off. His 48-yard return completed a 12-point swing for the Trojans.

“To overcome all that and still win shows me some of the guts and toughness and culture in this room right here,” Riley said. “We could’ve folded.”

Still, USC couldn’t put Washington away. Down to their last drive, the Huskies converted a third and 11 and two fourth downs to drive deep into Trojan territory late.

But Kameryn Crawford pulled Williams down for a sack — the Trojans’ fifth of the game — and the defense held. And USC, at the end of a long, brutal week, breathed a sigh of relief.