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A moment after Southern California's Joe Houston clanged a field-goal attempt off the upright, Jake Locker practically bounced onto the Coliseum field, brimming with anticipation.
Washington's quarterback had just over 2 1/2 minutes left for a career-defining -- perhaps career-saving -- drive. Locker didn't want to waste a second of it. And as it turned out, the Huskies needed every instant to finish another landmark win over USC.
Locker engineered a long drive to set up Erik Folk's 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Washington upset the 18th-ranked Trojans 32-31 on Saturday night, beating USC on a last-minute field goal for the second straight season.
''It feels awesome to have the team compete like that for four quarters and then win it in the end,'' said Locker, who hadn't yet done much to remember this fall after skipping the NFL Draft to stay in school. ''The reason I stuck around was to play for this team and these guys.''
Folk's kick set off a celebration of the Huskies' first win at the Coliseum since 1996 with their impressive cheering section of fans in the southeast end. Such celebrations are becoming a familiar scene at the formerly imposing stadium, where the Trojans had won 47 of 48 games before losing three of their last five.
Locker made the purple people party possible, throwing for 310 yards and rushing for 110 more as the Huskies (2-2, 1-0 Pac-10) racked up 537 yards of offense in their second straight win over the Trojans (4-1, 1-1).
''What a performance by No. 10,'' Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said. ''Legendary. That's where legends are made. He showed how big his heart is, that's for sure.''
Washington's 16-13 win over USC at Husky Stadium last September was the signature moment of Sarkisian's first season in Seattle -- and this one was every bit as impressive. The Huskies had a better finishing touch in the first meeting between USC coach Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian, who ran the Trojans' offense together as assistant coaches.
''Unfortunately for us, we had so many opportunities to finish the game out,'' Kiffin said. ''If you're going to be a championship team, you have to finish people off when you have the ball. You can't go and kick field goals.''
USC took the lead on Houston's 27-yard field goal with 10 minutes left, and Washington's next drive ended on downs near midfield. After Houston missed his 40-yard attempt, Locker converted a fourth-and-11 from the Washington 24 on a long pass to D'Andre Goodwin, and Chris Polk rumbled 26 yards to the USC 33 on the next play.
The Huskies moved into position for Folk, who made a 22-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in last season's win over USC.
''I knew if I hit it well, it would go through,'' said Folk, who waited through three consecutive timeouts before his kick. ''I wasn't thinking about the situation. I've been in it before.''
Polk rushed for 92 yards and Devin Aguilar caught a TD pass for the Huskies, who bounced back from a 56-21 thrashing by No. 6 Nebraska two weeks ago with a spectacular offensive performance that required just one punt. Locker, who went 4 for 20 against the Huskers, reminded everybody why he was arguably the nation's top NFL prospect before his unimpressive September.
Allen Bradford rushed for a career-high 223 yards and two touchdowns, and Marc Tyler scored two more TDs for the Trojans, who managed 484 yards of offense, but couldn't reach the end zone in the fourth quarter.
''Those last two drives where we didn't put six (points) on the board, when it came down to it, (that) really hurt us,'' said Matt Barkley, who passed for 186 yards. ''Don't bug Joe, because when it comes down to it, it's offense that's supposed to put points on the board. I think I was too focused on not throwing interceptions in some of those clutch drives. We didn't convert on some of those third downs.''
Locker went 24 for 40 and nearly scored another touchdown on a long run in the second quarter, but USC's Shareece Wright came from behind to punch the ball out of Locker's hands and through the end zone for a touchback.
Locker was forced out of the game for one play early in the fourth quarter after getting hit in the head and getting his breath knocked out on the same play. Backup Keith Price immediately threw a 1-yard TD pass to Chris Izbicki to put the Huskies ahead 29-28 with 13:52 to go.
Price thought he might have to finish the game, but Locker wasn't about to sit out.
''He took a shot, and he was kind of woozy, but he battled back just like a leader should,'' Polk said.
