GAME NOTES: The top-ranked USC Trojans invade the Pacific Northwest this weekend, as they take on the Washington Huskies in their first Pac-10 road contest of the season. The five-time Pac-10 champion Trojans opened up league play last weekend in spectacular fashion, routing Washington State, 47-14. Pete Carroll's squad will take on a Washington team in need of a break. The Huskies have yet to enjoy a bye week, but will get one following this game. Ty Willingham's team will be playing its third ranked opponent this year in USC. The Huskies opened 2007 with back-to-back wins over Syracuse (42-12) and then 22nd-ranked Boise State (24-10), but have since dropped consecutive games to then 10th-ranked Ohio State (33-14) and finally last week to UCLA (44-31). This is the 78th all-time meeting between these two programs dating back to 1923. The Trojans hold a 47-26-4 all-time advantage, but it has been a lot tighter of late, with the last 15 meetings resulting in a 7-7-1 mark.

The Trojans broke out another of their many offensive weapons last week, as QB John David Booty hooked up with TE Fred Davis for two TDs against Washington State. Booty threw four TD passes in all, as USC made light work of the Cougars. Despite serious losses on this side of the ball over the last few seasons, the talent level is still way above the norm, as the offense is netting 462.0 yards per game, with a great balance between the run (244.7 ypg) and the pass (217.3 ypg). Booty is certainly the orchestrator of the unit, having completed a healthy 70.1 percent of his passes, for 629 yards, with nine TDs and just two interceptions. The receiving corps was hit hardest last season with mass defections, allowing Davis (14 receptions, for 211 yards and two TDs) to take a more vital role in the vertical game. The ground game is still churning out huge gains, thanks to youngsters Stafon Johnson (8.0 ypc, three TDs) and C.J. Gable (11.0 ypc), as well as veteran Chauncey Washington (5.5 ypc, three TDs).

Defensively, the Trojans have given up lots of yardage through the air (242.3 ypg), but that is due to the team's ability to jump out to huge leads and also the fact that foes are struggling to move the ball on the ground (64.3 ypg, 2.2 ypc). The linebacking unit has spearheaded the strong effort thus far, thanks to standouts Keith Rivers (team-high 30 tackles) and Rey Maualuga (16 tackles). Up front, the defense relies on stalwarts Lawrence Jackson (11 tackles, three sacks) on the outside and Sedrick Ellis (10 tackles, one sack) in the middle. Over the coarse of the first three games, USC has recorded just four takeaways (three INTs and one fumble recovery), but has registered 20 TFLs and six sacks.

Other than a poor offensive showing at Ohio State a couple of weeks ago, the Washington offense has proved to be a formidable unit that can move the ball both via the rush (175.2 ypg) and the pass (192.8 ypg). The ground game has been the driving force, thanks to the rushing exploits of quarterback Jake Locker and tailback Louis Rankin. Locker has proved himself to be one of the top duel threats in the Pac-10 this year, leading the team in rushing (361 yards and three TDs), on a steady 6.6 ypc and 90.2 ypg. Rankin is much more than a viable second option, as he is chugging along for 4.5 ypc. He is netting almost 70 yards per game and has scored a team-high four TDs. Locker has played to mixed reviews as a passer thus far, completing 53.1 percent of his passes, for 704 yards, with six TDs and the same number of INTs. Senior WRs Anthony Russo (18 receptions, for 240 yards and three TDs) and Marcel Reece (17 receptions, for 279 yards and two TDs) are obviously Locker's top targets downfield.

While the Washington offense has clearly been a strength this season, the same cannot be said of the defense. The Huskies are yielding 24.1 ppg thus far, while allowing opponents to move the chains both on the ground (175.0 ypg) and through the air (228.2 ypg). The squad has done a decent job in the red zone though, with foes scoring just 38 percent of the time (5-of-13). The unit has forced seven turnovers and collected 10 sacks in the first four games. Junior linebacker E.J. Savannah has been all over the field so far, leading the team with 42 tackles, including four TFLs. Senior CB Roy Lewis has been terrific as well, recording 31 tackles, with one INT. Junior rush end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (14 total tackles) has been the top threat in terms of the pass rush, leading the team with three sacks.

The Huskies are just 1-8-1 all-time against top-ranked teams and it doesn't look like they will break into the win column again in this one. The Trojans are clearly the better team on both sides of the ball and should be able to open up a sizeable lead in the second half, en route to a rather easy win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: USC 34, Washington 17