Anthony Brown blocked a punt and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown, Jawanza Starling forced a key fourth-quarter fumble, and No. 11 USC used big plays from its defense and special teams to overcome an inconsistent offense in a 24-14 win over Washington on Saturday night.

Silas Redd rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown in the first half and Matt Barkley added an 18-yard TD pass to Xavier Grimble as the Trojans continued rebuilding their resume following last month's loss to Stanford that appeared to end their national championship hopes.

The Trojans (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) were held scoreless in the second half and got needed help from a defense that sacked Washington QB Keith Price five times and forced four turnovers to give USC its third straight win.

Barkley finished 10 of 20 for 167 yards, while Redd had 155 yards on 26 carries, his second-best game since transferring from Penn State. Curtis McNeal added another 58 yards on 11 attempts as the Trojans finished with 204 yards on the ground. The 10 completions for Barkley were his fewest since 2010 at Oregon State when he hit just 10 of 19 passes.

Barkley didn't care about the uncharacteristically low numbers that including hitting on just 3-of-10 passes in the second half.

"I wouldn't say frustrating. Obviously I want to pass the ball, but I'm happy with the win," Barkley said. "It wasn't a glamorous win, but if we're scoring and winning then I'm happy with that. Our ground game came today. Our defense was on fire forcing turnovers. It was a team win."

This was USC's first trip north to Seattle since 2009, when the Trojans were upset by the Huskies across town at Husky Stadium in coach Steve Sarkisian's first year of rebuilding at Washington. For most of the first half, it appeared the Trojans would coast and get a little revenge for their last trip here. USC scored on three of its first four drives and went up 17-7, the only stop coming when Barkley was intercepted by Marcus Peters.

Defensively, the Trojans held Washington to 6 total yards in the second quarter and didn't give the Huskies (3-3, 1-2) a first down between the end of the first quarter and midway through the third quarter.

Brown then added the capper to a nearly flawless first half. USC was close on two previous punt attempts before Travis Coons went back to kick following a fourth three-and-out with 5 minutes left in the half. Brown blew through the personal protectors in front of Coons and blocked the kick, then picked up the ball in the scrum and went the final 7 yards to give the Trojans a 24-7 lead.