Matt Leinart once had his way with University of Washington football teams, quarterbacking Pete Carroll-coached USC Trojans to a series of consecutive lopsided victories over the Huskies, 43-23 in 2003, 38-0 in 2004 and 51-24 in 2005.
USC's dominance was part of what would become the darkest era for the Montlake program, which went through nine seasons without anything resembling a winning record.
However today, the Huskies behind the lead of Kalen DeBoer are enjoying a true football renaissance. They've won 19 of 21 games overseen by this coach, who has firmly established himself as one of the more successful FBS leaders, are unbeaten at 8-0 and fifth-ranked in the country.
That said, Leinart, who provides college football analysis on the Big Noon Kickoff on FOX Sports, is siding with his alma mater when he looks at Saturday's UW-USC matchup, which is one of the better games across college football this weekend.
"The schedule is brutal," Leinart said. "They've got a big one this weekend. It's going to be tough. To me, this weekend is interesting against Washington, which has struggled as of late. It's a game where USC can actually win that game and pull off an upset."
Leinart lately has been somewhat critical of the Trojans following their consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Utah, suggesting a few changes be made.
In speaking with Sports Illustrated's Claudette Pattison, another USC alum but the daughter of former UW and NFL wide receiver Mark Pattison, Leinart covered a number of subjects that might rile Husky fans.
He called Oregon one of the two or three best football teams in the country right now.
He said Deion Sanders was as good as it gets as the Colorado football coach, that the Buffaloes leader is so well known he can get into any recruit's living room these days.
He mentioned Ducks quarterback Bo Nix, not Michael Penix Jr., as a serious Heisman Trophy contender.
To hear his full interview with Pattison, click on the video above.
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