Husky Stadium

SEATTLE -- The light rain that fell throughout most of the game did not seem to bother or slow down USC. But an unexpected storm of penalties, injuries and turnovers swept the top-ranked Trojans to the brink of a mighty fall that might have drowned their hopes for a run at the national title. During a weekend of upsets across the country, however, USC weathered its mistakes on Saturday and narrowly escaped with a 27-24 victory over Washington before 68,654 at Husky Stadium. "We almost beat ourselves tonight," Coach Pete Carroll said.

When UCLA plays Washington on Saturday, the Huskies will have 17 players from the Los Angeles area on their roster. But none of the players -- including the four expected to start -- has established himself as a dominant force for the Huskies. That's a far cry from the days when powerful Washington teams were led by Southern California players such as running backs Beno Bryant (Los Angeles Dorsey) and Napoleon Kaufman (Lompoc), linebackers Jaime Fields (Lynwood) and Joe Kelly (L.A.

Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said last week that Washington could be the best team that has ever played in the Pacific 10 Conference. Nothing he saw Saturday in Arizona's 54-0 loss to the third-ranked Huskies changed his mind, but Tomey backed down a bit, saying that it would be impossible to say for sure that Washington was the best ever. "The '91 Huskies can't play (former teams)," Tomey said. Maybe it's just as well.

As if Nebraska hadn't suffered enough Saturday night at Husky Stadium, some Washington wise guy decided to put the school's 1991 national championship trophy directly behind the Cornhusker bench. Of course, if Nebraska's 29-14 loss to the Huskies is any indication of things to come, it will be about as close as the Cornhuskers get to postseason hardware. Nebraska did what it could, but this was an evening when No. 2-ranked Washington decided to reassert itself.

In case you're wondering--and you might have been after watching Saturday's somber pregame tribute--former Washington coach Don James is actually alive and doing quite well. He's riding yachts, lining up tee times, signing new radio deals and generally acting like someone glad to be done with football or, if nothing else, the Pacific 10 Conference.

It has come to that time when the season will tip one way or the other, and USC and Washington know it. Exactly which way it will go could be decided today at the Coliseum when the Trojans try to shake the effects of their loss to Oregon, the season's second aching disappointment, while the Huskies try to turn a three-game winning streak into four.

UCLA quarterback Ben Olson felt the momentum shift, again and again. It was about as subtle as the crushing sack Washington's Tahj Bomar laid on him from behind on third and 10 from the Huskies' 14-yard line in the fourth quarter. And sometimes it was as sudden as when Dan Howell picked off a bad pass by Olson and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point lead with six minutes to play. UCLA was seemingly cruising to a blowout victory in the first half Saturday.

Greg Lewis sat motionless, his face fixed in a blank expression, then started listing everything the Washington Huskies had just lost on a gray, windy Saturday. He could have used a calculator. "It really hurts," Lewis said, but he wasn't talking about his sore left knee, the one covered with an ice bag. "We did lose, but I still feel we are one of the best teams in the country. We just didn't play like it today." The Huskies, the No.

Deep into the fourth quarter Saturday against Michigan, Washington cornerback Omare Lowe was suffering the fate of many a Pacific Northwest salmon. He was getting smoked. But Lowe's day--and Washington's game--turned around in less than a minute after Lowe made two tremendous plays to help give the 15th-ranked Huskies a 23-18 come-from-behind victory over No. 11 Michigan and a swell of momentum heading into a game against No. 1 Miami.

Craig Rutledge was explaining for the fifth time what happened. He was telling how it was. He was sitting on a bench in a corner of the locker room and quietly telling it so that maybe it would begin to make sense to him. Then, even though Rutledge had showered and changed into a suit, UCLA's strong safety began to sweat again. And the circle of reporters moved in closer.