Washington Huskies

What did we learn in Week 7? Read on.

Arizona State will be Oregon's toughest test: Sure, the Sun Devils haven't played anyone, much less anyone nearly the equal of second-ranked Oregon. But the way the Sun Devils have looked against that schedule suggests strongly that they will be able to challenge the Ducks, particularly playing at home. Arizona State's defense is aggressive and gets good penetration, while the high-tempo offense has nice balance, and Taylor Kelly is playing better than any quarterback in the conference, including Ducks counterpart Marcus Mariota. And there is the issue of Mariota struggling in his only road start this season.

Oregon State can maintain with QB Cody Vaz: Vaz, a redshirt junior making his first start since high school, completed 20 of 32 passes for 332 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Beavers' 42-24 victory at BYU. That was pretty much the equal of what Sean Mannion, out with a knee injury, has done this year. Actually, Vaz's efficiency mark (180.6) would rank No. 1 in the Pac-12. Further, the Beavers were able to run the ball fairly well against the nation's No. 1 run defense, while the defense grabbed three interceptions. The Beavers are 5-0 for the first time since 1939. The magic continues.

Home Stanford, good. Road Stanford, bad: The Stanford Cardinal are a completely different team when you get them away from the friendly confines of Stanford Stadium. In two road games this year, they have failed to score an offensive touchdown (the two they've had have come from the defense, one against Washington, one against Notre Dame). Quarterback Josh Nunes has struggled away from home. In his two road games, he's a combined 30-of-62 (48 percent) for 295 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. His teammates have dropped 11 balls on the road (five against Washington, six against Notre Dame). Stanford is on the road again next week for the Big Game against a Cal team that has won two straight.

USC just isn't going to be as pretty as expected: USC quarterback Matt Barkley, the preseason Heisman Trophy front-runner, completed 10 of 20 passes for 167 yards in the 24-14 win over Washington. He threw a touchdown pass. He threw a pick. It was his third game with fewer than 200 yards passing this year. His numbers aren't terrible, but they seem more like something he'd have done four years ago when he was the freshman starter for the nation's premier college football program, which never started true freshmen at QB. Barkley and receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee have fallen well short of high expectations, and maybe it's time to let those go. The preseason expectations for this team aren't being met. Still, the Trojans are 5-1. They are still in the national title hunt, if on the outside. It's just that the Trojans looked like a team that would make you gasp over the playmaking in the preseason. Hasn't been the case. This is a team that is conservative, often sloppy and good on defense. You know: SEC-ish.

California, Tedford aren't dead: With a 31-17 victory over Washington State, California improved to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play. Is that a good record? No. But the Bears have won two in a row and will host Stanford on Saturday in an unusual midseason Big Game. Cal needs three wins to earn bowl eligibility, and the remaining schedule is far from easy. Coach Jeff Tedford remains on the hot seat, and it's difficult to imagine a losing record will leave folks in Berkeley happy. So the pressure remains. But two weeks ago, Cal seemed dead. Now it's off life support. If it can trip a Stanford squad coming off a dispiriting loss at Notre Dame, the hope may blossom into genuine opportunity.

Here's our quick reaction to USC's 24-14 win over Washington.

It was over when: USC defensive back Josh Shaw grabbed a tipped interception near midfield from Huskies QB Keith Price on fourth-and-8 with 4:20 left in the fourth quarter and the Trojans up 10. The Huskies dominated the second half, but their first-half deficit was just too much.

Gameball goes to: The USC defense. The Trojans were supposed to be all about the offense -- QB Matt Barkley and his scintillating corps of receivers. That hasn't proven true, but the defense has been better than expected. It forced four Washington turnovers, and that proved the difference in the game. It held the Huskies to 299 yards.

Stat of the game: Barkley was 10-of-20 for 167 yards with a touchdown. If you had told me during the preseason that would be his stat line for any game, I would have laughed at the delusion.

Unsung hero of the game: While the Trojans passing game was struggling, Penn State transfer Silas Redd rushed for 155 yards on 26 carries. Of course, much of that came on a 57-yard run on USC's first possession, which only led to a field goal.

What USC learned: It learned that the Trojans' passing game is oddly mediocre and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I have no idea why it's not better.

What Washington learned: It learned that it weathered a brutal first-half schedule with a 3-3 mark. That's not too bad, as it went 1-3 in games in which it was a significant underdog. Bowl hopes are firmly alive.

What it means: It means USC inches forward. It won't move up much in the national rankings with this performance, but it won't move down. With dates against Oregon and Notre Dame ahead, the Trojans still have a chance to get into the national title picture if it becomes a beauty contest with one-loss teams.

SEATTLE -- There were plenty of positives for Washington to hold onto heading into Saturday’s matchup with No. 11 USC. The Huskies had won 10 of 11 at home and two of the three matchups against the Trojans under coach Steve Sarkisian.

Even after falling behind early, there was still reason to remain optimistic Saturday, since the Huskies trailed 10-0 in 2009 before coming back to beat USC, 16-13.

If Washington wants a repeat performance, the Huskies have work to do. They head into the half trailing 24-7 at CenturyLink Field.

Stat of the half: USC holds a sizable advantage in total offense heading into the half, outgaining the Huskies by 146 yards. Washington finished the first two quarters with 87 yards and, outside of their one scoring drive, really struggled to move the ball.

Player of the half: Cornerback Marcus Peters. With Washington trailing 10-0, the redshirt freshman sparked the Huskies, picking off a Matt Barkley pass that resulted in the Huskies’ only scoring drive of the half.

Peters had six total tackles in the first quarter, including one for loss when he dropped running back Silas Redd in the Trojans’ backfield. He had seven total tackles in the first half.

What’s working for Washington: While Keith Price started 0 for 3 with an interception, the junior quarterback seemed to find the fun in football again late in the first quarter.

He had a 14-yard carry on the second play of the Huskies’ fourth drive. Then he rushed for 5 yards on the next play. He followed that a few plays later with a falling flip to Bishop Sankey for 15 yards and capped Washington’s scoring drive with a 17-yard touchdown strike to Kasen Williams in the corner of the end zone.

Price was smiling and the Huskies were marching, trying to work out of an early hole.

What’s not working for Washington: A special teams miscue costs Washington again. With the Huskies already facing a big first-half hole, they allowed a touchdown on special teams when USC’s Anthony Brown blocked a punt he scooped up and ran into the end zone.

With several of the nation's top football recruits taking both official and unofficial visits last week, our experts at RecruitingNation made some major tweaks to our top 10 recruiting battles with five new entrants in the fold. The top two remain the same, however, as Robert Nkemdiche and Laremy Tunsil maintain their spots as the two most impactful players on the recruiting scene.

For the latest edition of #BlueChipBattles, click here.