Oftentimes the best way to neutralize a top quarterback is to keep him off the field. Saturday's game between No. 5 Washington and No. 24 USC was the offensive explosion it was expected to be with 94 combined points scored at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Only, for the Huskies the points came from an unexpected place.

UW relied on its running game to keep possession of the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer than the Trojans including a back-breaking 5:22 drive, the Huskies longest of the game, in the fourth quarter that ended with Dillon Johnson's fourth rushing touchdown of the game.

That score sealed a 52-42 victory for Washington (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12) to help keep its hopes of a Pac-12 championship and College Football Playoff berth alive.

"We finished, that’s the big thing, 10-0 in the fourth quarter," UW head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game. "That’s the difference in the game. Got a couple of big stops. One at the end of the half, which gained the short field and took advantage of that, and then the stop on third down to force them to punt and great drive. The guys stayed with it, as far as the run game and seeing DJ do what we knew he is capable of doing.

"Special teams even just with Grady (Gross) kicking a big field goal there to give us the lead, and just a lot of guys stepping up and in the biggest moments. I feel like that’s what we do best, is when the lights are brightest our guys are ready to play."

Johnson's performance was the highlight for a team that has relied mostly on its passing game throughout the season. DeBoer and his staff made it a point to try and exploit a weakness of the Trojans' defense by having balance while keeping Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC (7-3, 5-2) offense on the sideline for a big portion of the night.

The end result was 316 yards rushing for the Huskies and five touchdowns on the ground in the victory. Johnson finished his night with 256 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a career performance.

It marked the best rushing performance for a UW running back since 2017.

"It's not even close," Johnson said when asked if it was his best game after Saturday's win. "Yeah, it absolutely was. It was a special game man. I don't even know how to even put it into words. It was just God's plan, God's timing. We were struggling in the running game the past two weeks and the whole goal this week was the establish the run game, and that's what we did."

The performance on the ground by Johnson allowed the Huskies to lean less on their passing attack led by Michael Penix, Jr. in a top quarterback battle between the UW signal caller and Williams.

Penix threw an interception but still managed to complete 73% of his passes (22 for 30) for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Huskies had received criticism in recent weeks after lackluster performances against Stanford and Arizona State, which ended with single-digit victories. The UW defense has also received criticism throughout the season. Saturday night, DeBoer was excited his team was able to make a statement in a challenging road contest.

"A lot of guys stepped up in the biggest moments," he said. "I feel like that's what we do best. Excited about how we bounced back especially knowing how people were thinking about us the last two weeks. We continue to win."

Passing

Michael Penix, Jr. – 22/30, 256 yards, 2 touchdowns

Rushing

Dillon Johnson – 26 carries, 256 yards, 4 touchdowns

Will Nixon – 4 carries, 24 yards

Tybo Rogers – 5 carries, 21 yards

Michael Penix, Jr. – 3 carries, -4 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving

Rome Odunze – 5 catches, 82 yards

Ja'Lynn Polk – 5 catches, 52 yards, 1 touchdown

Giles Jackson – 3 catches, 19 yards

Devin Culp – 2 catches, 27, 1 touchdown

Defense

Dominque Hampton – 10 tackles (8 solo)

Thaddeus Dixon – 6 tackles (4 solo)

Mishael Powell – 5 tackles (5 solo)

Carson Bruener – 5 tackles (3 solo)

Zion Tupuola-Fetui – 4 tackles (2 solo), 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble