No. 4 Washington became the second top four-team to lose on Saturday, following up Clemson's loss to Pittsburgh with a 26-13 loss to No. 20 USC in Seattle.

Huskies quarterback Jake Browning had his worst game of the season, completing only 17-of-36 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Washington didn't find any success on the ground either as it was only able to run for 17 yards on 27 carries for an average of 0.6 yards per touch.

USC, on the other hand, played very well, continuing a trend that has seen the Trojans get better as the season has progressed. Sam Darnold threw two interceptions, though one came after his receiver tripped and fell down. He finished 22 for 32 for 287 yards.

The real story of the game was the USC defense. Adoree Jackson had two interceptions, Porter Gustin registered two sacks, and the Trojans also blocked a Washington field goal. They suffocated a Huskies offense that came into the game averaging 48.3 points per game. Washington only managed 13 points and 4.3 yards per play.

Here's what else you need to know about this game and these two teams going forward.

1. This loss doesn't kill Washington's playoff hopes: Don't get me wrong, winning a game is a lot better than losing a game when it comes to the College Football Playoff. I mean, this is the same Washington team that was ranked behind a one-loss Texas A&M for a week, so it's hard to know how much of an impact this loss will have on its standing with the CFP Selection Committee, but it's certainly not a death blow. It's important to remember that the one thing the committee prefers over everything else is not just good teams, but good teams who are conference champions.

Well, even with this loss, Washington is still in control of its Pac-12 fate. If it wins its next two games, it will win the Pac-12 North and head to the Pac-12 Championship. Should it win that game -- which could end up being a rematch with USC -- then the Huskies would be a 12-1 Pac-12 champion. I have a hard time believing a 12-1 conference champ gets left out of the playoff, particularly when the best team in the Big 12, Oklahoma, already has two losses.

2. It could end up costing Jake Browning a trip to New York, though: There is nobody on the planet that deserves the Heisman Trophy more than Louisville's Lamar Jackson this year, and barring anything short of a prison sentence between now and next month, he's going to win the award. That being said, the race to be a Heisman finalist is still up for grabs.

And I think this performance may have sunk Browning's chances. It's unfortunate because he's had a fantastic season, but this was a spotlight game for Washington. A lot of Heisman voters who wouldn't normally be watching Washington had a chance to see this game on Saturday night, and they saw Browning have the worst game of his season. Even if he bounces back -- and he will -- he lost a lot of votes on Saturday night.

3. USC can still win the Pac-12: As I mentioned above, it's not impossible that USC and Washington will meet again this season. The Trojans improve to 6-2 in the Pac-12 with this win, moving them into second place in the South Division for now. They'd still need some help, however. First of all, USC would need to beat UCLA next week. Then it would need Colorado to lose one of its three remaining games against Arizona, Washington State or Utah. It would also need Utah to lose one of its final two conference games. If all that happens, USC wins the Pac-12 South and plays for a conference title. With three losses, of course, the odds of USC reaching the playoff are not good.

4. The USC defense is really good: The game plan for the Trojans was relatively simple. It wanted to take away Washington's rushing attack because it believed its defensive backs could match up with Washington's receivers. Well, as mentioned earlier, the Trojans held Washington to 0.6 yards per carry on Saturday night. This a week after holding Oregon to 2.8 yards per carry.

This is just a team that's gone a total transformation from the USC squad we saw in September. The offense has gotten attention for this because it's especially easy to see with the change to Darnold at quarterback, but the defense has done a complete 180 as well. It's always had the talent, and now it's executing as well.

If I'm Washington, this is not a team I want to see again.