Lane Kiffin has instructions for his team every time they prepare to go on the road. He tells them to pack their defense and their running game.
So, for the fourth time in the first six games this season, the Trojans will be packing up their defense and their running game.
Destination, rainy Seattle and CenturyLink Field for No. 11 USC (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12 South) to visit Washington (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12 North).
The Huskies are no stranger to defeating visitors that just happen to be ranked opponents. Earlier this season, Stanford fell to the Huskies in Seattle.
“Playing them at home,” USC head coach Lane Kiffin said is his biggest concern about the Huskies. “You go up there and the crowd and the stadium’s extremely loud that they’re in. They play better at home.”
USC certainly knows what it’s like to play on the road. In their previous three road games, they’ve seen and put themselves through a lot.
Despite the six touchdown passes thrown by Matt Barkley, the game against Syracuse was a game in which they unpacked their running game on the MetLife Stadium turf, rushing for 258 yards.
At Stanford, they were beat up physically on the offensive line, which made it tough to run or throw. That remains the black eye for the Trojans this season, thus far.
“We played and coached one really bad game on one side of the ball and then the other games we won them all by double digits,” Kiffin said.
The last of those double digit wins came on a Thursday night in Utah. USC had to overcome a horrendous start, in which they dug themselves a quick 14-0 hole. In hindsight, it was good to go through. In reality, it wasn’t the plan.
“You don’t ever want that to happen unless you know you’re going to win but now that we won the game, it was good to have,” Kiffin said. “It was good to see those guys in that environment and see them respond. We talked so much after the Stanford game how we could’ve handled that better in that game when things weren’t going really well and to see our guys do that this time around was really good.”
Playing at CenturyLink Field --the home of the Seahawks while Husky Stadium is being renovated --is going to be a first for all of the Trojans.
Playing in Seattle will be a first for Matt Barkley. The last two times these teams met have been in Los Angeles. In 2009, Barkley made the trip to the Pacific Northwest but didn’t play because of a shoulder injury. In his place was Aaron Corp and the then-No. 3 Trojans were upset in Seattle 16-13. Corp was 13-of-22 for 110 yards and an interception.
All Barkley could do was watch.
“It was sickening,” Barkley reflects. “That’s what it was. I was sick to my stomach.
“I always have that mentality (that I can play) so it was pretty disappointing to find out I couldn’t go.”
For Barkley and his offensive cohorts the key will be remaining composed and handling the expected tough Washington crowd, according to Kiffin.
On the defensive side of the ball, it’s handling quarterback Keith Price.
“He makes so many plays by running around (and making) out of rhythm plays,” Kiffin said.
Although nowadays Price isn’t nearly making plays at the rate he was at the beginning of last season when he was a darkhorse Heisman candidate.
Through five games in 2011, Price had 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. This season, five touchdowns and four interceptions. All five of his touchdown passes have come at home, including the three he threw in the Huskies’ win against Portland State.
Price has been hurt by a plethora of injuries around him, especially on the offensive line. On Saturday against USC, the Huskies may be without four potential starters.
Of course, that’s been an issue with the team all season, including in the win against Stanford. They were missing four would-be starters on the offensive line in that game as well. Price was seen frustrated at times because of the lack of protection. The root of Price's problems have been up front.
“I think that quarterbacks always get too much blame on all the levels,” Kiffin said. ”If the players around you aren’t in rhythm and aren’t doing things sometimes you suffer just like Matt went through at the beginning of last year with so many new pieces coming in at the beginning of the year.
“He was different at the end of the year. I think Price is suffering because of the injuries.”
After the trip to Washington, the Trojans will only have to leave Los Angeles once more during the regular season –a trip to Arizona in two weeks.
The storm of four of six games on the road to start the year comes to an end on Saturday. The Trojans can’t get caught looking ahead to the home cooking they’re set to enjoy to conclude the season.
“Ideally, obviously you wouldn’t want to schedule four of your first six on the road especially one on the east coast, but it is what it is,” Kiffin said. “We don’t control some of that, mostly with the conference play. Our guys have responded well.
“We got to make it through this thing. Come home with a win (and) get back home for five of the next six in L.A.”
