By Kshell
When the Washington Huskies(1-0) travel down to take on #3 LSU Tigers(1-0) this Saturday it will bring back some memories of the 2009 season. This is Steve Sarkisian's fourth season with the Huskies but back in 2009 he was taking over a program that had just gone 0-12. He was taking over a program that had gone 12-47 the previous five seasons which is a tough task in itself. To begin his career he was taking on the 11th ranked LSU Tigers who had won a national championship just two years prior and would play in the national championship game two years later. This was a big game on ESPN as Sarkisian was looking to start his Huskies career off with a bang by upsetting the Tigers. In a game which nobody gave the Huskies a chance including Husky fans they almost pulled off the upset. By the end of the game the Huskies would lose 31-23 despite out gaining the Tigers. The Huskies out played the Tigers and Sarkisian received a standing ovation despite losing this game. In this following post I'll flash back to when the Sarkisian era had began.
#11 LSU Tigers at Washington Huskies- September 5th, 2009:
The Huskies eager to begin a new era had an electric atmosphere at Husky Stadium. Several former players were on the sidelines taking in the atmosphere as the Huskies received the opening kickoff. The Steve Sarkisian era would start off on their own 15 yard line with junior quarterback Jake Locker who missed eight games the previous season a large part in going 0-12.
Facing a second and 10 from the 15 yard line medical redshirt freshman Chris Polk had a gain of 10 yards to the 25 yard line. On second and 10 Polk would rush for nine yards to the 34 yard line. Locker on the third and one would rush for two yards to the 36 yard line. Facing a third and 12 Locker would complete his first pass in the Sarkisian era as he would hit Johri Fogerson on the screen pass and Fogerson would run for 51 yards down the Tigers 15 yard line. After a five yard penalty then a Polk run of three yards setting up a second and 12 from the 17 yard line Locker hit then true freshman James Johnson on the right sideline. Johnson made his man missed then ran to the outside as he crossed the end zone for the touchdown. The place went wild as the true freshman made quite the splash with his first career catch.
The Tigers would quickly settle down the excitement as they would march to the Huskies three yard line where they had a first and goal. I remember the Huskies crowd really got into it as the Huskies defense held the Tigers to a field goal. The Tigers had gone on a 12 play 62 yard drive cutting the score to 7-3 as the Huskies had upset on their mind. On the second drive of the Sarkisian era it was a complete disaster as on the first play from their own 25 yard line Locker was picked off by linebacker Jacob Cutrera who ran it back for the 25 yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead.
The Huskies proving they weren't like the 0-12 team before them didn't quit. Starting from their own 27 yard line Chris Polk would bust a run for 33 yards to the Tigers 40 yard line. On third and 14 from the 44 yard line Locker would hit sophomore Devin Aguilar for a gain of 17 yards down to the Tigers 27 yard line. After a Locker completion to Johnson to move the chains to the 16 yard line the Huskies were in business. From the 17 yard line Polk would rush for 12 yards down the Tigers five yard line setting up a first and goal. On the ensuing play Polk would fumble as Patrick Peterson would recover the fumble.
After a quick three and out and a Fogerson 18 yard punt return to the Tigers 24 yard line the Huskies were back in business. After gaining only eight yards the Huskies had to settle for an Erik Folk 34 yard field goal to tie the game up at 10-10 in the second quarter. LSU would drive to the Huskies 19 yard line before junior linebacker Mason Foster forced the fumble then recovered the fumble ending the drive. The Huskies offense would then drive to the Tigers 40 yard line before stalling out.
The Tigers offense would finally respond with a drive of their own. They would go on a 7 play drive spanning 75 yards. Starting from their own 25 yard line the Tigers would rush for two yards. Then quarterback Jordan Jefferson would rush for seven yards. Charles Scott would rush for four yards on a key third and one to their own 38 yard line. Jefferson completed an eight yard pass after a nine yard run by Kevin Williams. On second and 10 from the Huskies 45 yard line Jefferson hit Terrance Toliver for a 45 yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 17-10 lead with a 1:07 left in the half.
The Huskies due to a penalty started on their own 8 yard line. Polk would begin the drive with a 12 yard run to the 20 yard line. Locker ran for six yards to their own 26 yard line as the Tigers took a timeout. Fogerson ran for three yards to the 29 yard line as the Tigers again took a timeout. With a third and one with 40 seconds left Fogerson would rush for five yards to move the chains. On the following play Locker would connect deep to Aguilar for a gain of 46 yards to the Tigers 20 yard line. On the following play on a wheel route Locker would hit Fogerson for a touchdown only Fogerson couldn't hang on. The Huskies would have to settle for a Folk 37 yard field goal as time expired. The Tigers led at halftime 17-13 as the Huskies offense was moving the ball pretty easily against the SEC defense.
In the second half after both teams traded punts the Tigers look to finally put away the upset minded Huskies. Starting from their own 14 yard line the Tigers would go on a nine play 86 yard drive capped by a touchdown. On second and seven from the 17 yard line Jefferson would hit Brandon LaFell for a gain of 12 yards to their own 29 yard line. On third and one from the 38 yard line Scott would rush for eight yards 46. Jefferson would rush for eight yards on the following play to the Huskies 46. Facing a third and one from the 45 Jefferson would keep it on a quarterback sneak for the one yard to advance the chains. After a Huskies offsides penalty the Tigers would take advantage. Jefferson would hit Toliver once again for the score as Toliver would go in from 39 yards out to give the Tigers a commanding 24-13 lead over the Huskies with 5:43 left in the third quarter. The Huskies offense would stall on the 39 yard line. Failing to put the game away though the Huskies defense would three and out the Tigers as they took over down 24-13 to start the fourth quarter.
With the ball on their own 36 yard line Locker would complete a seven yard pass to Fogerson to the 43 yard line. Polk would rush for five yards for the first down to the 48 yard line. Polk would rush for three yards then Locker for three more setting up a third and four from the 46 yard line. Locker would rush for five yards picking up the key first down to the Tigers 41 yard line. After a penalty the Huskies offense would once again stall in the red zone having to settle for a 42 yard field goal attempt by Folk which he missed. Huskies defense would force a three an out as their offense would take over once again.
Starting from their own 42 with 9:44 left to play the Huskies if they had any chance of winning this game had to score on this drive. Facing a third and 11 Locker would complete a 10 yard pass to D'Andre Goodwin to the LSU 49 yard line. Sarkisian would go for it from 4th and one as Locker would rush for five yards to the Tigers 44 yard line. Polk would rush for four yards setting up a third and six from the 40 yard line. Once again it was Locker's legs who came through as he ran for 24 yards to the 16 yard line Facing a third and eight from the 14 Goodwin and Locker had a communication problem as the pass fell incomplete. For the the fifth time in the red zone the Huskies couldn't score a touchdown as they settled for a 42 yard field goal by Folk. More importantly with a little over five minutes left it cut the Tigers lead to 24-16 making it a one possession game.
After playing tough all game long the defense finally had a poor defensive drive. This was perhaps the easiest drive of the game for the Tigers. Starting from their own 33 yard line Williams would begin the drive with a nine yard rush to the 42 yard line. Jefferson would move the chains with a four yard completion to the 46 yard line. Williams would rush for seven yards to the Huskies 47 yard line. Once again the Jefferson to Toliver combo would burn the Huskies as they would connect for 25 yards to the Huskies 22 yard line. Williams would rush for 16 yards to the Tigers six yard line. Jefferson would cap the six play 67 yard drive with a six yard touchdown pass to LaFell which gave the Tigers a commanding 31-16 lead with 1:54 left.
For Jefferson that was his third and final touchdown pass of the game. For the Tigers this appeared to be the game clincher as they had a square from a team who had gone winless the year before. The Tigers had to earn this victory but the Huskies proved although out of the game they still had plenty of fight in them as they wouldn't go away so easily.
The Huskies would finish the game on a 10 play drive going 81 yards as Locker would hit tight end Kavario Middleton for the nine yard touchdown with no time left. After Folk made the extra point the Tigers would win the game 31-23. For Locker on that drive he was 7-10 passing for 86 yards with a touchdown. Locker hit Polk on back to back passes for 17 yards each on that drive. For the Huskies losing is always disappointing but there was something special about this one as the program finally gave the fans something to be excited about for the first time in well ever.
For the Tigers who won the game they saw a star emerge in quarterback Jordan Jefferson who two years later would lead the Tigers to the national championship game. Jefferson finished the game 11-19 passing for 172 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His main targets were Terrance Toliver who caught four passes for 117 yards with two touchdowns. Brandon LaFell caught four passes for 34 yards with a touchdown. Charles Scott carried the ball 12 times for 52 yards good for a 4.3 YPC average. His backup Kevin Williams carried the ball seven times for 51 yards good for a 7.3 YPC average. Jefferson the young quarterback also ran the ball eight times for 42 yards which was good for 5.4 YPC average. The Tigers were close to being upset but showed that the Huskies program still wasn't ready to be knocking off ranked opponents with regularity.
For the Huskies this was a tough loss because they outplayed the #11 LSU Tigers. The Huskies outgained the Tigers 478 yards to 321. The Huskies had more first downs 25-17. The Huskies also won the time of possession war 36:52-23:08. The problem for the Huskies was five times they had the ball in the red zone and scored only nine points as they fumbled and had to settle for field goals on the rest.
They were led by Jake Locker who was 25-45 passing for 321 yards with two touchdowns and a costly interception that was ran back. An emerging start came out of that game in freshman wide out James Johnson who caught six passes for 63 yards with a touchdown. Tight end Kavario Middleton who was supposed to be what Austin Seferian-Jenkins is now had five receptions for 45 yards with a touchdown. Devin Aguilar caught four passes for 76 yards. In the run game Chris Polk ran for 90 yards on 21 carries good for 4.3 YPC while adding two receptions for 34 yards. Locker ran 12 times for 51 yards good for 4.2 YPC. Fogerson had 11 yards rushing with two receptions for 58 yards. Mason Foster on defense had eight tackles with a forced fumble. While new kicker Erik Folk made three for four from field goals.
This was a weird game in that most fans felt good despite the program losing their 15th game in a row. That streak would end the next week when the Huskies would defeat the bowl bound Idaho Vandals. Then the Huskies would upset #3 USC Trojans 16-13 and find themselves ranked. The Huskies would finish the year 5-7 a huge improvement from 0-12. I was confident in that Sarkisian was the guy after the first three games and I was certain that by the time the Huskies take on LSU in 2012 the Huskies would have a team that has a shot at winning. Fast forward and the Huskies are 23.5 point underdogs but are a bowl team. For Sarkisian this was a good debut despite the loss as he showed the nation that Husky football can be turned around quicker than most had thought. In only two years after going 0-12 the Huskies went to a bowl game as they upset the #18 Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the Holiday Bowl.
No matter what happens to Sarkisian as head coach I'll never forget the enthusiastic feeling I had for this program after this loss. Only time in my life I was feeling good after a Husky football loss as this team a year removed from 0-12 had just gone toe to toe with the #11 team in the nation and two weeks later defeat the #3 team in the nation. Just like in 2009 nobody is giving the Huskies a chance to keep this game close and maybe they are right. Hopefully like 2009 Sarkisian can unleash the passing attack which most SEC teams don't face much. Either way this was a special night for the Huskies and even though they lost they gave the program something to be proud of. The Huskies had nothing to be proud of the previous five seasons but they knew that day that the long days of suffering were about over. That day is when the Sarkisian era had finally began!
Showing posts with label Devin Aguilar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devin Aguilar. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Price scores seven touchdowns as Huskies lose Alamo Bowl 67-56 to Baylor
By Kshell
In a wild game that shattered most Alamo Bowl records the #12 Baylor Bears(10-3,6-3) outlasted the Washington Huskies(7-6,5-4) 67-56 in a game that set defenses back for decades. The Bears were led by running back Terrance Ganaway who rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns as the Bears overcame a 42-24 deficit to the Huskies. In the loss Huskies sophomore quarterback Keith Price shined throwing for 438 yards with four passing touchdowns while also rushing for 39 yards with three more rushing touchdowns. This was a fantastic game as both offenses couldn't be stopped. For Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian this season ended much different than last season as the Huskies closed last year out winning four games in a row. Instead the Huskies after starting off 5-1 ended the year losing five of their final seven ball games. In the process three defensive coaches including defensive coordinator Nick Holt were let go.
The Baylor Bears won the coin toss and chose to receive as it didn't take long for them to set the stage in this game. The Bears went on a 13 play 85 yard touchdown drive on their opening possession. After completing his first pass Griffin hit Tevin Reese down the middle for a gain of 25 yards to the Baylor 32 yard line. Facing a third and seven Griffin hit another 15 yard pass to the 50 yard line. Griffin would hit three more passes down to the Huskies 23 yard line. Facing a fourth and one the Bears decided to go four it and Terrance Ganaway rushed for three yards to the Huskies 11 yard line. That is when Griffin hit Kendall Wright for the 11 yard touchdown to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead. On the drive Griffin was eight for nine passing for 79 yards showing the heisman committee got the heisman vote right when choosing him. The Huskies offense would get a chance to even up the score as these teams went back and forth all night.
The Huskies wasted no time answering back starting off on their own 32 yard line Keith Price starting his first bowl game hit senior wide receiver Devin Aguilar for a gain of 42 yards to the Bears 26 yard line. Chris Polk would rush for two yards, on the following play Price would check it down to Polk who broke a few tackles to gain six yards setting up a third and two from the 18 yard line. Polk lining up at fullback would gain six yards to the Bears 12 yard line. After the Bears jumped offsides the Huskies had first and five from the seven yard line. Polk would rush for four yards down to the three yard line but then would be stuffed for a loss of two. Setting up a crucial third and three from the five yard line the Huskies had an empty backfield as Price took the snap in shotgun. Price who was healthy for the first time all year reminded fans of the quarterback he had taken over for in Jake Locker as he ran up the middle untouched for his first career college rushing touchdown from five yards out to even the game at 7-7. Price on the drive was two for two passing for 48 yards while also rushing a touchdown from five yards out.
On the next possession the Bears offense wasn't about to slow down on the Huskies defense who had struggled all season long against good teams. Starting from their own 37 yard line after a one yard run by Wright he lateraled the ball to Jarred Salubi for a gain of 17 more yards to the Huskies 45 yard line. Facing a third and 10 from the Huskies 45 yard line Griffin completed a nine yard pass to Terrance Williams setting up another fourth and short for the Bears offense. Facing a fourth and one from the 36 yard line the Bears decided to go for it once again against the Huskies defense. Salubi would bust the run to the house for 36 yards out for the touchdown giving the Bears a 14-7 lead over the Huskies. Defensively the Bears would then force a three and out on the Huskies offense trying to set up the route which other ranked teams have done to the Huskies this season. After a quality punt by the Huskies the Bears offense would start on their own 18 yard line looking to go up 21-7.
The Bears offense would go on a 13 play 82 yard touchdown drive for their third possession of the game. Starting from their own 18 yard line Griffin hit a six yard pass then ran the next two times for 10 yards including coverting a third down. Griffin completed a pass to Reese to the 50 as the Bears were marching once again. Ganaway ran three straight times for 16 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. After a penalty forcing them back to make it first and 20 from the 44 the Bears managed to make it third and two. After a short gain once again going for it on fourth and one from the Huskies 25 yard line Griffin ran for a yard to get the first down. On the following play Griffin had a play that they'll show when he is drafted. Griffin went back to pass the Huskies blitzed he made three Huskies miss then started to take off eventually making more Huskies miss in the process as he rushed for 24 yards for the touchdown to give the Bears a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Huskies were in danger of already letting this game get away before they took over for their third possession of the game starting on their own 27 yard line. Price hit Aguilar for a short gain of four yards followed up by Polk rushing for two more setting up a third and four from the 33 yard line. Price connected with senior wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for a gain of 13 yards to the 46 yard line. Facing a third and nine from the 47 yard line Price hit freshman sensation Kasen Williams for a gain of 16 yards to the Bears 37 yard line. After a short completion to Williams again and an incomplete pass the Huskies were facing a third and nine from the 36 yard line. Facing a blitz Sarkisian called a draw play to Polk who ran for 15 yards to the 21 yard line. Another penalty on the Bears moved the ball to the 13 yard line. After a short run by Polk on second and nine from the 12 yard line Price was scrambling out of the pocket instead of running for guaranteed yardage he found James Johnson dragging along in the back of the endzone for the touchdown pass. That touchdown pass gave Price 30 for the season becoming the first ever Husky quarterback to throw for over 30 touchdowns while cutting the score down to 21-14. Josh Shirley would record one of four sacks on the next drive on third down to force the first Bears punt of the game.
From their own 16 yard line the Huskies out of the spread formation play action to a streaking Jesse Callier up the seam for a gain of 28 yards to their own 44 yard line. On second down Price would hit freshman sensation Austian Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of eight yards to the Bears 40 yard line setting up a third and one. The Huskies attempted a play action bomb but the pass was incomplete setting up a fourth and one which Polk ran for two yards giving the Huskies a first down. Price would hit Kearse to the left wide open for a gain of 32 yards as he was pushed out of bounds at the six yard line. On second and goal from the six Polk would rush up the middle for five yards to the one yard line. The Bears anticipating a run stacked the box as Price play action threw to a wide open Aguilar who leaped over the defender for the one yard score which tied the game up at 21-21.
The Huskies defense would force the first turnover as freshman Andrew Hudson sacked Griffin forcing the fumble as another freshman John Timu recovered it for the Huskies. Taking over on their own 43 yard line Price began the drive with a gain of seven yards through the ground. Polk ran for five yards then another 14 to the Bears 31 yard line. Price hit his big tight end Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 16 yards to the Bears 15 yard line. After no gain by Polk is when Price made a highlight run. Price went back to pass started to take off and then at the 10 yard line despite being five yards past the line of scrimmage pumped fake like he was going to throw to get the defender into the air as he then dove into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game and fourth overall touchdown of the first half alone. Price went right then cut upfield towards the middle for the touchdown. More importantly in a game that seemed destined to be a blowout loss the Huskies had taken a 28-21 over the Bears.
After a nice kickoff return the Bears offense would start off on their own 41 yard line. Griffin would hit a 14 yard pass moving the ball to the Huskies 45 yard line. Facing a third and five from the 40 Shirley would sack Griffin again forcing the Bears to go for it again. This time it was fourth and nine from the Huskies 44 yard line with only 46 seconds left in the half. Griffin would throw an incomplete pass as momentum was wearing purple(or in this games case all white). On the ensuing play Polk who was contained all half busted the run 56 yards for the touchdown to give the Huskies a 35-21 lead having scored 28 unanswered points.
Starting from their own 33 yard like Griffin was able to march the Bears down for a field goal as he went three for five passing for 42 yards. The Huskies led at halftime 35-21. For the Bears they had 18 first downs while gaining 343 yards while going four for nine on third downs but went three for four on fourth downs. They were led by their heisman trophy quarterback Griffin who was 18-24 passing for 192 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 46 yards with another touchdown. The Huskies had 17 first downs while gaining 313 yards while going six for eight on third downs while converting their only fourth down. Price led the Huskies going 12-18 passing for 179 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 27 yards with two more touchdowns. Polk ran for 107 yards with a touchdown while catching a pass for six yards. Aguilar had three receptions for 47 yards with a touchdown while Kearse had two receptions for 45 yards. The first half had 59 combined points and the second half would feature even more scoring.
The Huskies began the second half with the ball and wasted little time in maintaining momentum. On the second play of the half Price scrambled left found a streaking Kearse for an 80 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 42-24 lead. The Huskies had just outscored the Bears 35-3 since the first quarter. The Bears offense would answer back though. Starting from their own 20 yard line Griffin completed a 13 yard pass to Wright to the 33 yard line. Wright ran for nine more yards to the 42 yard line. Ganaway would rush for eight yards on the next two carries as the Huskies would committ a 15 yard penalty putting the ball on the Huskies 35 yard line. Griffin completed a six yard pass then would rush for 15 yards on the next two plays to the Huskies 14 yard line. On third and one from the eight yard line Ganaway rushed for a yard to the seven. Salubi rushed it in from seven yards out to pull the game to within 42-31. The Bears then forced a three and out on the Huskies getting the ball back on their own 15 yard line.
The Huskies defense responded by forcing a three and out themselves. Punting from their own 10 yard line Kasen Williams almost broke it to the house on the punt return. Williams ran the punt back 46 yards to the Bears 16 yard line as the Huskies look to extend their lead to 18 again. Instead something happened that hadn't happened all season long. Polk fumbled the ball as the Bears recovered on their own 11 yard line. Just like what happened in the first half the Bears immediately took advantage like the Huskies did when they stopped the Bears on fourth down. Ganaway busted the run up the middle 89 yards for the touchdown. Griffin completed the pass for the two point conversation as the Bears cut the lead to 42-39 still in the third quarter.
With all momentum now on Baylor's side the Huskies took over on their own 27 yard line. For most sophomore quarterbacks facing basically a Baylor crowd this would rattle them but not Price who never seems to be rattled. Price delivered a 60 yard pass to Kearse who used his speed to go down to the Bears 13 yard line. Price still not done yet on the next play found Aguilar in the back of the endzone for the touchdown and Aguilar's second of the game. For Price that was his fourth and final touchdown pass of the game. This was also the fourth time during the season Price had thrown for four touchdown passes in a game more importantly the Huskies responded with a score of their own giving them a 49-39 lead over the Bears.
Starting on their own 26 yard line the Bears took over on offense. Reese their leading receiver ran for 23 yards to their own 49 yard line. Facing a third and seven from the Huskies 48 yard line Griffin completed a 23 yard pass to Levi Norwood down to the Huskies 25 yard line. Salubi rushed to the right for 24 yards down to the Huskies one yard line. Ganaway would rush for his second of many touchdowns from one yard out cutting the lead to 49-46 as this game was still in the third quarter.
After a kick went out of bounds the Huskies took over on their own 40 yard line. Polk ran for nine yards then Price hit Johnson for 24 yards down to the Bears 27 yard line. After Kearse ran the wrong route senior kicker Erik Folk would miss the 43 yard field goal that he normally would make. The Huskies had two possessions in the Bears Red Zone in the second half and came away with zero. After another Shirley sack Reese the receiver would bust it 78 yards down the Huskies two yard line. After Griffin was denied from one yard out Ganaway would rush for his third touchdown of the quarter from one yard out giving the Bears a 53-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A quarter which saw the Bears outscore the Huskies 29-7(overall 29-14) after falling behind by 18 after the Huskies opening possession.
Starting from their own 24 yard line the Huskies would amount a long scoring drive. The Huskies would go on a 13 play 76 yard drive. After a run of four yards by Polk then a Price pass to Polk for two yards the Huskies were facing a critical third and four from the 30 yard line. Price completed another pass to Kearse down the middle for 13 yards to the 43 yard line. Polk would rush for four yards, Price another four then Polk one yard setting up a fourth and one from the Bears 48 yard line. Polk like he did all game in short yardage got the first down with a gain of three yards. On the next play Price again making plays with his feet found Aguilar for 30 yards to the Bears 15 yard line. After a short run Price hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of nine yards down to the Bears four yard line. After an incomplete pass and a loss of four by Callier the Huskies were facing a third and goal from the eight yard line. Price rolled to his right saw nobody was open then went up the sideline and finally as he dove put the ball on the pylon for the touchdown from eight yards out. The Huskies took a 56-53 lead as Price rushed for his third touchdown of the game and seventh touchdown overall in the game.
Starting from their own 30 yard line after a short two yard gain is when the heisman put his foot forward. Griffin hit Wright for a gain of 48 yards to the Huskies 20 yard line. Griffin hit Wright again for seven yards to the 13 yard line. Ganaway rushed to the left for nine yards setting up a first and goal from the four yard line. Ganaway then scored the goahead touchdown from four yards out giving the Bears an incredible 60-56 lead over the Huskies with 8:40 left in the game. On that critical drive which lasted on five plays Griffin was two for two passing for 55 yards while also rushing for two yards. For Ganaway that was the fourth straight scoring drive for the Bears where he ended the drive scoring a touchdown. The Huskies offense who had punted just once all second half would take over on their own 22 yard line knowing they had to score considering their defense had just allowed 36 points in the second half.
Starting from their own 22 the Huskies pounded Polk hoping to go on a long game winning drive so the Bears wouldn't touch the ball again. Polk ran for two yards to their own 24 yard line. Polk rushed up the middle for six yards to the 30 yard line then ran for a yard. Facing a fourth and one from the 31 yard line with 7:15 left Sarkisian knowing his defense wasn't recording any stops decided to go for it. Polk would extend the drive with a two yard run. After a run of no gain by Callier, Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of nine yards setting up a third and one from their own 42 yard line. Price on play action would hit Seferian-Jenkins again for 17 yards to the Bears 41 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Polk would rush for two yards setting up a third and eight from the 39 yard line. Sarkisian out thinking himself called a shovel pass which the Bears defense had sniffed out so Price elected to ditch the play eventually the lateral to Johnson was ruled an incomplete pass setting up a fourth and eight. Facing a three man rush the pressure got to Price hitting him as he threw the ball intended for Williams out of bounds as the Bears offense took over.
The game although not over as the Huskies still had their timeouts that felt like the game. Making sure that was the game the Bears offense looked to put the Huskies pathetic defense away. Salubi ran for 11 yards to the 50 yard line. Ganaway would rush for seven yards to the 43 yard line. Ganaway put the game away after that busting a 43 yard run untouched up the middle for his fifth touchdown of the second half alone giving the Bears a 67-56 lead with 2:36 left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff Huskies true freshman Danny Shelton who is a defensive tackle took the kickoff 16 yards but finally fumbled the ball as the Bears recovered. The Bears would run out the clock as they would win their 10th game of the season. While the Huskies who scored 56 points were left wondering what exactly happened in this game.
For the Bears this is how they were winning games all season long. Led by Robert Griffin III who finished his college career completing 24-33(72.7%) of his passes for 295 yards(8.9 YPA) with a touchdown while rushing for 55 yards(73 if you don't include sacks) with another touchdown. His favorite receivers were Kendall Wright who had seven catches for 91 yards with a touchdown. Tevin Reese also had five for 66 yards. The Bears had three different guys go over 100 yards rushing led by Terrance Ganaway who ran for 200 yards on 21 carries(9.5 YPC) with five touchdowns. Reese had 101 yards rushing despite being a receiver. Jarred Salubi ran for 101 yards with two touchdowns. As a team the Bears had 33 first downs and 777 total yards of offense including 482 yards(9.3 YPC). The Huskies offense was terrific but the Bears offense was amazing.
For the Huskies despite the loss saw a breakout performace from their sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price completed 23-37(62.2%) of his passes for a career high 438 yards(11.8 YPA) with four touchdowns to zero interceptions. Price also ran for 39 yards and a career high three touchdowns giving him seven total for the game. His main targets were Jermaine Kearse who had five receptions for 198 yards with a touchdown in his final game as a Husky. Devin Aguilar playing in his final game also had five receptions for 90 yards with two touchdowns. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins had five receptions for 59 yards showing he has a bright future. James Johnson had two receptions for 36 yards with a touchdown. Kasen Williams added three receptions for 19 yards while having 53 yards in two punt returns. Also playing in his final game Chris Polk finished his Husky career with 147 yards rushing on 30 carries(4.9 YPC) with a touchdown while having two receptions for eight yards. The Huskies offense put up 26 first downs and 620 yards of offense.
All in all, offense sells tickets but defense wins championships. The offensive output for this game and for this season was incredible. Until the Huskies are playing good defense though they'll forever remain playing in second tier bowl games in the Sarkisian era. What a contrast from a year ago for Sarkisian who saw his team end the season winning four straight games then carried that momentum into this year with the 5-1 start. Now the Huskies ended the year losing five of their last seven(only two wins were against 4-8 Arizona and WSU) showing that progress is harder than many had hoped in year three. The Huskies this year went 7-1 against non ranked teams but were 0-5 against ranked opponents showing they are above the half nots but quite ready to join the halves company quite yet. When the Huskies start playing some defense it won't matter what their quarterback does as they'll be winning more ball games. What Sarkisian has going in Seattle is quite exciting but sometimes boring football like the SEC plays is better since that is winning football.
Observations:
- Keith Price exceeded all expectations for him this season. For this bowl game Price tied a school record last set in 1919 for most touchdowns in a game. Price in this game with his 438 yards passing was also tied for second all-time in passing yardage for a single game behind only Cody Pickett. Price who had been banged up all season long was mainly a pocket passer but today finally healthy he was moving around. Price was making plenty of plays with his legs and it showed with his three rushing touchdowns when prior to that he had zero rushing touchdowns in his career.
For his sophomore year Price finishes the year having thrown for over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. To be exact Price set the single season record for highest completion percentage completing 66.9% of his passes for 3,063 yards(8.5 YPA) with 33 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions while rushing for three touchdowns in the process. Price set single season records for QB rating, completion percentage and touchdowns thrown while having a 3:1 ratio in the process. Price is already fifth in Huskies history for most passing touchdowns and is only 18 away from Jake Lockers school record of 53. Locker overall had 80 touchdowns in his career while Price is already at 38 so he has a chance to surprass Locker's total touchdown record as well since he has two more years remaining. Price going into this year was thought to be the weakness while next year he'll have plenty of hype and must deal with teams game planning to stop just him.
- The two senior receivers who both made all-conference Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse left on a high note. Both had good games and neither one dropped any passes. For these two who arrived in 2008 and have been starting together since 2009 it will be strange next fall not seeing either in a Huskies uniform. For Aguilar he had a nice bounce back season finishing his career with five receptions for 90 and two touchdowns. Aguilar finished the year with 41 receptions for a career high 611 yards receiving with another career high six touchdown receptions.
For Jermaine Kearse who ranks in the top two in every major receiving category at Washington he finished his career with five receptions for 198 yards with a touchdown. He had a long 80 yard touchdown reception along with another 60 yard reception. Kearse was a big play receiver for the Huskies and that is how he should be remembered. He had a step back as he was clearly Locker's favorite receiver, due to more talent and Price spreading the ball around his numbers suffered a bit. For Kearse he finished the season leading the team with 47 receptions, leading the team with 699 yards and leading the team with seven touchdowns. This was the third straight year Kearse led the team in all three categories as he'll be missed. These two receivers came in when the program went 0-12 and now are leaving the program in good hands as they set the bar very high.
- The two guys to my right will be asked to carry the load in the passing game next season in tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams. Throw in James Johnson and Kevin Smith the program is in good hands far as the passing game goes. For Seferian-Jenkins he bounced back from his freshman wall that he had hit late in the season with five receptions for 59 yards. He earned honorable mention all pac-12 as a true freshman. Seferian-Jenkins was tied with Aguilar for second on the team in receptions with 41 while having 544 yards receiving. He was also tied with Aguilar and Williams for second on the team with six touchdown receptions.
Kasen Williams who only had three receptions for 19 yards dazzled all the fans with that long 46 yard punt return. Williams who started the season off slow finished the year terrific. He finished fourth on the team in receptions with 36, fourth in yards with 427 and tied for second with six touchdowns. These two five star recruits showed everyone why they were rated so high. As sophomores look for both guys to develope more consistency week in and week out as Price evolves as an even better passer.
- Kind of hard to brag about a defensive player having a breakout game when you allow 777 yards and 67 points. Well redshirt freshman defensive end Josh Shirley did just that with four sacks against Griffin. For the year Shirley finished with 8.5 sacks on the season not bad for being a freshman. The other freshman defensive end Andrew Hudson also had a sack while forcing a fumble against Griffin and he had 3.5 sacks for the season. Throw in Hau'oli Jamora who will be returning the Huskies will have enough talent on the edge to compete next year defensively. The Huskies were pretty young this year on defense starting more underclassman than everyone besides the Washington State Cougars. Now that Nick Holt has been fired hopefully with a new coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball they can finally get the most out of this defense which does feature some pretty talented players.
- Chris Polk announced today that he is going to the NFL. So this was Polk's last game in a Huskies uniform meaning he was 48 yards shy of Napoleon Kaufman's school rushing record putting him second place all-time. Polk finished his career rushing for over 100 yards for the 10th time this year while rushing for a career high 12th touchdown on the season. Polk this year showed he isn't just a power back that he is capable of busting long runs and being used as a receiver. Not a guy who catches checkdowns but a guy who can line up as a receiver and catch fade passes or seam routes for a touchdown on you.
For the year Polk finished with 1,488 yards(5.1 YPC) rushing with 12 rushing touchdowns. Polk also added 31 receptions for 332 yards with four touchdowns this season giving him over 1,800 total yards of offense with 16 touchdowns. For his Huskies career he finishes with 4,049 yards rushing(5.1 YPC) with 26 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 79 passes for for 683 yards with four touchdowns all in just 40 career games meaning he averaged over 100 yards rushing per game in his career. Polk will leave behind a strong legacy as he and Kaufman are the only backs to ever rush for over 1,000 yards three straight seasons. Jesse Callier and Bishop Sankey have bigger shoes to fill in Polk than Price did with Locker in my opinion. You just don't replace a guy of Polk's calibar who was the first Husky offensive player to be named first team all Pac-12 since Reggie Williams in 2003.
- The honeymoon period appears to be over for Sarkisian and the Huskies. When he took over the program was 0-12 and he immediately got the Huskies to 5-7 and within a game of a bowl game. He then brought in a ranked recruiting class which had the hype machine going. Last year after a 3-6 start Sarkisian saw his Huskies win four in a row including beat heavily favored Nebraska Cornhuskers in the rematch in the Holiday Bowl while bringing in another ranked recruiting class. Well this year as of now the Huskies aren't recruiting so hot losing out on home state kids Joshua Garnett(#1 offensive guard in the nation has eliminated UW recently) and on the same day as the Alamo Bowl Kavario Russell(four star running back from Mariner High School) committed to Notre Dame. You factor in the Huskies collapse for this season and just like that Sarkisian goes from a coach everyone in the nation wants to a coach even his own fan base is having second thoughts on.
Sarkisian is heading into a critical year four and he knows it. He just fired his friends Nick Holt, Mike Cox and Jeff Mills. Despite an offense that made great strides this season the defense regressed so poorly that the offense was overshadowed. Sarkisian hired two quality coaches today from Tennessee in Justin Wilcox(former Oregon Ducks player, Boise State and Tennesse Defensive Coordinator) showing he is serious about changing the culture of his defense. Sarkisian although not on the hot seat quite yet could find himself there if he were to have a disaster season and continue to get blown out mixed in with a loss to the wrong teams. The honeymoon period is over for Sarkisian and the Husky fans now is time to work on the marriage and in this case work on his coaching legacy at Washington.
In conclusion, this was a terrible way to end the season and a sad way to waste such an incredible performance by Keith Price. In a game that featured high draft picks in Robert Griffin III and Chris Polk it was Keith Price who was the best player on the field. Instead of this game being remembered as the Keith Price game this will be referred to as the Nick Holt game. This was the final straw in the Holt era at Washington as Sarkisian was left with no choice to make a change. The Huskies must find a way to play good defense. With an average defense this year the Huskies go 10-3 instead they remain at 7-6 which was rock bottom in the Rick Neuheisel and Jim Lambright days. The Huskies blew a great opportunity to make some noise against the 12th team in the nation on ESPN in a highly rated bowl game. Instead the defense like they have all season long let them down once again. Hopefully next year I'll be recapping some games where the defense is making strides and actually making some plays. For now the Huskies have to settle on being that exciting offense that has no defense. Basically the Huskies are the Texas Tech Red Raiders under Mike Leach which is okay for those on the other side of the mountains. That isn't okay for those on this side as the Huskies are sick of going 7-6, next year should be fun with Price having two more seasons left.
In a wild game that shattered most Alamo Bowl records the #12 Baylor Bears(10-3,6-3) outlasted the Washington Huskies(7-6,5-4) 67-56 in a game that set defenses back for decades. The Bears were led by running back Terrance Ganaway who rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns as the Bears overcame a 42-24 deficit to the Huskies. In the loss Huskies sophomore quarterback Keith Price shined throwing for 438 yards with four passing touchdowns while also rushing for 39 yards with three more rushing touchdowns. This was a fantastic game as both offenses couldn't be stopped. For Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian this season ended much different than last season as the Huskies closed last year out winning four games in a row. Instead the Huskies after starting off 5-1 ended the year losing five of their final seven ball games. In the process three defensive coaches including defensive coordinator Nick Holt were let go.
The Baylor Bears won the coin toss and chose to receive as it didn't take long for them to set the stage in this game. The Bears went on a 13 play 85 yard touchdown drive on their opening possession. After completing his first pass Griffin hit Tevin Reese down the middle for a gain of 25 yards to the Baylor 32 yard line. Facing a third and seven Griffin hit another 15 yard pass to the 50 yard line. Griffin would hit three more passes down to the Huskies 23 yard line. Facing a fourth and one the Bears decided to go four it and Terrance Ganaway rushed for three yards to the Huskies 11 yard line. That is when Griffin hit Kendall Wright for the 11 yard touchdown to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead. On the drive Griffin was eight for nine passing for 79 yards showing the heisman committee got the heisman vote right when choosing him. The Huskies offense would get a chance to even up the score as these teams went back and forth all night.
The Huskies wasted no time answering back starting off on their own 32 yard line Keith Price starting his first bowl game hit senior wide receiver Devin Aguilar for a gain of 42 yards to the Bears 26 yard line. Chris Polk would rush for two yards, on the following play Price would check it down to Polk who broke a few tackles to gain six yards setting up a third and two from the 18 yard line. Polk lining up at fullback would gain six yards to the Bears 12 yard line. After the Bears jumped offsides the Huskies had first and five from the seven yard line. Polk would rush for four yards down to the three yard line but then would be stuffed for a loss of two. Setting up a crucial third and three from the five yard line the Huskies had an empty backfield as Price took the snap in shotgun. Price who was healthy for the first time all year reminded fans of the quarterback he had taken over for in Jake Locker as he ran up the middle untouched for his first career college rushing touchdown from five yards out to even the game at 7-7. Price on the drive was two for two passing for 48 yards while also rushing a touchdown from five yards out.
On the next possession the Bears offense wasn't about to slow down on the Huskies defense who had struggled all season long against good teams. Starting from their own 37 yard line after a one yard run by Wright he lateraled the ball to Jarred Salubi for a gain of 17 more yards to the Huskies 45 yard line. Facing a third and 10 from the Huskies 45 yard line Griffin completed a nine yard pass to Terrance Williams setting up another fourth and short for the Bears offense. Facing a fourth and one from the 36 yard line the Bears decided to go for it once again against the Huskies defense. Salubi would bust the run to the house for 36 yards out for the touchdown giving the Bears a 14-7 lead over the Huskies. Defensively the Bears would then force a three and out on the Huskies offense trying to set up the route which other ranked teams have done to the Huskies this season. After a quality punt by the Huskies the Bears offense would start on their own 18 yard line looking to go up 21-7.
The Bears offense would go on a 13 play 82 yard touchdown drive for their third possession of the game. Starting from their own 18 yard line Griffin hit a six yard pass then ran the next two times for 10 yards including coverting a third down. Griffin completed a pass to Reese to the 50 as the Bears were marching once again. Ganaway ran three straight times for 16 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. After a penalty forcing them back to make it first and 20 from the 44 the Bears managed to make it third and two. After a short gain once again going for it on fourth and one from the Huskies 25 yard line Griffin ran for a yard to get the first down. On the following play Griffin had a play that they'll show when he is drafted. Griffin went back to pass the Huskies blitzed he made three Huskies miss then started to take off eventually making more Huskies miss in the process as he rushed for 24 yards for the touchdown to give the Bears a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Huskies were in danger of already letting this game get away before they took over for their third possession of the game starting on their own 27 yard line. Price hit Aguilar for a short gain of four yards followed up by Polk rushing for two more setting up a third and four from the 33 yard line. Price connected with senior wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for a gain of 13 yards to the 46 yard line. Facing a third and nine from the 47 yard line Price hit freshman sensation Kasen Williams for a gain of 16 yards to the Bears 37 yard line. After a short completion to Williams again and an incomplete pass the Huskies were facing a third and nine from the 36 yard line. Facing a blitz Sarkisian called a draw play to Polk who ran for 15 yards to the 21 yard line. Another penalty on the Bears moved the ball to the 13 yard line. After a short run by Polk on second and nine from the 12 yard line Price was scrambling out of the pocket instead of running for guaranteed yardage he found James Johnson dragging along in the back of the endzone for the touchdown pass. That touchdown pass gave Price 30 for the season becoming the first ever Husky quarterback to throw for over 30 touchdowns while cutting the score down to 21-14. Josh Shirley would record one of four sacks on the next drive on third down to force the first Bears punt of the game.
From their own 16 yard line the Huskies out of the spread formation play action to a streaking Jesse Callier up the seam for a gain of 28 yards to their own 44 yard line. On second down Price would hit freshman sensation Austian Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of eight yards to the Bears 40 yard line setting up a third and one. The Huskies attempted a play action bomb but the pass was incomplete setting up a fourth and one which Polk ran for two yards giving the Huskies a first down. Price would hit Kearse to the left wide open for a gain of 32 yards as he was pushed out of bounds at the six yard line. On second and goal from the six Polk would rush up the middle for five yards to the one yard line. The Bears anticipating a run stacked the box as Price play action threw to a wide open Aguilar who leaped over the defender for the one yard score which tied the game up at 21-21.
The Huskies defense would force the first turnover as freshman Andrew Hudson sacked Griffin forcing the fumble as another freshman John Timu recovered it for the Huskies. Taking over on their own 43 yard line Price began the drive with a gain of seven yards through the ground. Polk ran for five yards then another 14 to the Bears 31 yard line. Price hit his big tight end Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 16 yards to the Bears 15 yard line. After no gain by Polk is when Price made a highlight run. Price went back to pass started to take off and then at the 10 yard line despite being five yards past the line of scrimmage pumped fake like he was going to throw to get the defender into the air as he then dove into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game and fourth overall touchdown of the first half alone. Price went right then cut upfield towards the middle for the touchdown. More importantly in a game that seemed destined to be a blowout loss the Huskies had taken a 28-21 over the Bears.
After a nice kickoff return the Bears offense would start off on their own 41 yard line. Griffin would hit a 14 yard pass moving the ball to the Huskies 45 yard line. Facing a third and five from the 40 Shirley would sack Griffin again forcing the Bears to go for it again. This time it was fourth and nine from the Huskies 44 yard line with only 46 seconds left in the half. Griffin would throw an incomplete pass as momentum was wearing purple(or in this games case all white). On the ensuing play Polk who was contained all half busted the run 56 yards for the touchdown to give the Huskies a 35-21 lead having scored 28 unanswered points.
Starting from their own 33 yard like Griffin was able to march the Bears down for a field goal as he went three for five passing for 42 yards. The Huskies led at halftime 35-21. For the Bears they had 18 first downs while gaining 343 yards while going four for nine on third downs but went three for four on fourth downs. They were led by their heisman trophy quarterback Griffin who was 18-24 passing for 192 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 46 yards with another touchdown. The Huskies had 17 first downs while gaining 313 yards while going six for eight on third downs while converting their only fourth down. Price led the Huskies going 12-18 passing for 179 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 27 yards with two more touchdowns. Polk ran for 107 yards with a touchdown while catching a pass for six yards. Aguilar had three receptions for 47 yards with a touchdown while Kearse had two receptions for 45 yards. The first half had 59 combined points and the second half would feature even more scoring.
The Huskies began the second half with the ball and wasted little time in maintaining momentum. On the second play of the half Price scrambled left found a streaking Kearse for an 80 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 42-24 lead. The Huskies had just outscored the Bears 35-3 since the first quarter. The Bears offense would answer back though. Starting from their own 20 yard line Griffin completed a 13 yard pass to Wright to the 33 yard line. Wright ran for nine more yards to the 42 yard line. Ganaway would rush for eight yards on the next two carries as the Huskies would committ a 15 yard penalty putting the ball on the Huskies 35 yard line. Griffin completed a six yard pass then would rush for 15 yards on the next two plays to the Huskies 14 yard line. On third and one from the eight yard line Ganaway rushed for a yard to the seven. Salubi rushed it in from seven yards out to pull the game to within 42-31. The Bears then forced a three and out on the Huskies getting the ball back on their own 15 yard line.
The Huskies defense responded by forcing a three and out themselves. Punting from their own 10 yard line Kasen Williams almost broke it to the house on the punt return. Williams ran the punt back 46 yards to the Bears 16 yard line as the Huskies look to extend their lead to 18 again. Instead something happened that hadn't happened all season long. Polk fumbled the ball as the Bears recovered on their own 11 yard line. Just like what happened in the first half the Bears immediately took advantage like the Huskies did when they stopped the Bears on fourth down. Ganaway busted the run up the middle 89 yards for the touchdown. Griffin completed the pass for the two point conversation as the Bears cut the lead to 42-39 still in the third quarter.
With all momentum now on Baylor's side the Huskies took over on their own 27 yard line. For most sophomore quarterbacks facing basically a Baylor crowd this would rattle them but not Price who never seems to be rattled. Price delivered a 60 yard pass to Kearse who used his speed to go down to the Bears 13 yard line. Price still not done yet on the next play found Aguilar in the back of the endzone for the touchdown and Aguilar's second of the game. For Price that was his fourth and final touchdown pass of the game. This was also the fourth time during the season Price had thrown for four touchdown passes in a game more importantly the Huskies responded with a score of their own giving them a 49-39 lead over the Bears.
Starting on their own 26 yard line the Bears took over on offense. Reese their leading receiver ran for 23 yards to their own 49 yard line. Facing a third and seven from the Huskies 48 yard line Griffin completed a 23 yard pass to Levi Norwood down to the Huskies 25 yard line. Salubi rushed to the right for 24 yards down to the Huskies one yard line. Ganaway would rush for his second of many touchdowns from one yard out cutting the lead to 49-46 as this game was still in the third quarter.
After a kick went out of bounds the Huskies took over on their own 40 yard line. Polk ran for nine yards then Price hit Johnson for 24 yards down to the Bears 27 yard line. After Kearse ran the wrong route senior kicker Erik Folk would miss the 43 yard field goal that he normally would make. The Huskies had two possessions in the Bears Red Zone in the second half and came away with zero. After another Shirley sack Reese the receiver would bust it 78 yards down the Huskies two yard line. After Griffin was denied from one yard out Ganaway would rush for his third touchdown of the quarter from one yard out giving the Bears a 53-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A quarter which saw the Bears outscore the Huskies 29-7(overall 29-14) after falling behind by 18 after the Huskies opening possession.
Starting from their own 24 yard line the Huskies would amount a long scoring drive. The Huskies would go on a 13 play 76 yard drive. After a run of four yards by Polk then a Price pass to Polk for two yards the Huskies were facing a critical third and four from the 30 yard line. Price completed another pass to Kearse down the middle for 13 yards to the 43 yard line. Polk would rush for four yards, Price another four then Polk one yard setting up a fourth and one from the Bears 48 yard line. Polk like he did all game in short yardage got the first down with a gain of three yards. On the next play Price again making plays with his feet found Aguilar for 30 yards to the Bears 15 yard line. After a short run Price hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of nine yards down to the Bears four yard line. After an incomplete pass and a loss of four by Callier the Huskies were facing a third and goal from the eight yard line. Price rolled to his right saw nobody was open then went up the sideline and finally as he dove put the ball on the pylon for the touchdown from eight yards out. The Huskies took a 56-53 lead as Price rushed for his third touchdown of the game and seventh touchdown overall in the game.
Starting from their own 30 yard line after a short two yard gain is when the heisman put his foot forward. Griffin hit Wright for a gain of 48 yards to the Huskies 20 yard line. Griffin hit Wright again for seven yards to the 13 yard line. Ganaway rushed to the left for nine yards setting up a first and goal from the four yard line. Ganaway then scored the goahead touchdown from four yards out giving the Bears an incredible 60-56 lead over the Huskies with 8:40 left in the game. On that critical drive which lasted on five plays Griffin was two for two passing for 55 yards while also rushing for two yards. For Ganaway that was the fourth straight scoring drive for the Bears where he ended the drive scoring a touchdown. The Huskies offense who had punted just once all second half would take over on their own 22 yard line knowing they had to score considering their defense had just allowed 36 points in the second half.
Starting from their own 22 the Huskies pounded Polk hoping to go on a long game winning drive so the Bears wouldn't touch the ball again. Polk ran for two yards to their own 24 yard line. Polk rushed up the middle for six yards to the 30 yard line then ran for a yard. Facing a fourth and one from the 31 yard line with 7:15 left Sarkisian knowing his defense wasn't recording any stops decided to go for it. Polk would extend the drive with a two yard run. After a run of no gain by Callier, Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of nine yards setting up a third and one from their own 42 yard line. Price on play action would hit Seferian-Jenkins again for 17 yards to the Bears 41 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Polk would rush for two yards setting up a third and eight from the 39 yard line. Sarkisian out thinking himself called a shovel pass which the Bears defense had sniffed out so Price elected to ditch the play eventually the lateral to Johnson was ruled an incomplete pass setting up a fourth and eight. Facing a three man rush the pressure got to Price hitting him as he threw the ball intended for Williams out of bounds as the Bears offense took over.
The game although not over as the Huskies still had their timeouts that felt like the game. Making sure that was the game the Bears offense looked to put the Huskies pathetic defense away. Salubi ran for 11 yards to the 50 yard line. Ganaway would rush for seven yards to the 43 yard line. Ganaway put the game away after that busting a 43 yard run untouched up the middle for his fifth touchdown of the second half alone giving the Bears a 67-56 lead with 2:36 left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff Huskies true freshman Danny Shelton who is a defensive tackle took the kickoff 16 yards but finally fumbled the ball as the Bears recovered. The Bears would run out the clock as they would win their 10th game of the season. While the Huskies who scored 56 points were left wondering what exactly happened in this game.
For the Bears this is how they were winning games all season long. Led by Robert Griffin III who finished his college career completing 24-33(72.7%) of his passes for 295 yards(8.9 YPA) with a touchdown while rushing for 55 yards(73 if you don't include sacks) with another touchdown. His favorite receivers were Kendall Wright who had seven catches for 91 yards with a touchdown. Tevin Reese also had five for 66 yards. The Bears had three different guys go over 100 yards rushing led by Terrance Ganaway who ran for 200 yards on 21 carries(9.5 YPC) with five touchdowns. Reese had 101 yards rushing despite being a receiver. Jarred Salubi ran for 101 yards with two touchdowns. As a team the Bears had 33 first downs and 777 total yards of offense including 482 yards(9.3 YPC). The Huskies offense was terrific but the Bears offense was amazing.
For the Huskies despite the loss saw a breakout performace from their sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price completed 23-37(62.2%) of his passes for a career high 438 yards(11.8 YPA) with four touchdowns to zero interceptions. Price also ran for 39 yards and a career high three touchdowns giving him seven total for the game. His main targets were Jermaine Kearse who had five receptions for 198 yards with a touchdown in his final game as a Husky. Devin Aguilar playing in his final game also had five receptions for 90 yards with two touchdowns. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins had five receptions for 59 yards showing he has a bright future. James Johnson had two receptions for 36 yards with a touchdown. Kasen Williams added three receptions for 19 yards while having 53 yards in two punt returns. Also playing in his final game Chris Polk finished his Husky career with 147 yards rushing on 30 carries(4.9 YPC) with a touchdown while having two receptions for eight yards. The Huskies offense put up 26 first downs and 620 yards of offense.
All in all, offense sells tickets but defense wins championships. The offensive output for this game and for this season was incredible. Until the Huskies are playing good defense though they'll forever remain playing in second tier bowl games in the Sarkisian era. What a contrast from a year ago for Sarkisian who saw his team end the season winning four straight games then carried that momentum into this year with the 5-1 start. Now the Huskies ended the year losing five of their last seven(only two wins were against 4-8 Arizona and WSU) showing that progress is harder than many had hoped in year three. The Huskies this year went 7-1 against non ranked teams but were 0-5 against ranked opponents showing they are above the half nots but quite ready to join the halves company quite yet. When the Huskies start playing some defense it won't matter what their quarterback does as they'll be winning more ball games. What Sarkisian has going in Seattle is quite exciting but sometimes boring football like the SEC plays is better since that is winning football.
Observations:
- Keith Price exceeded all expectations for him this season. For this bowl game Price tied a school record last set in 1919 for most touchdowns in a game. Price in this game with his 438 yards passing was also tied for second all-time in passing yardage for a single game behind only Cody Pickett. Price who had been banged up all season long was mainly a pocket passer but today finally healthy he was moving around. Price was making plenty of plays with his legs and it showed with his three rushing touchdowns when prior to that he had zero rushing touchdowns in his career.
For his sophomore year Price finishes the year having thrown for over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. To be exact Price set the single season record for highest completion percentage completing 66.9% of his passes for 3,063 yards(8.5 YPA) with 33 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions while rushing for three touchdowns in the process. Price set single season records for QB rating, completion percentage and touchdowns thrown while having a 3:1 ratio in the process. Price is already fifth in Huskies history for most passing touchdowns and is only 18 away from Jake Lockers school record of 53. Locker overall had 80 touchdowns in his career while Price is already at 38 so he has a chance to surprass Locker's total touchdown record as well since he has two more years remaining. Price going into this year was thought to be the weakness while next year he'll have plenty of hype and must deal with teams game planning to stop just him.
- The two senior receivers who both made all-conference Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse left on a high note. Both had good games and neither one dropped any passes. For these two who arrived in 2008 and have been starting together since 2009 it will be strange next fall not seeing either in a Huskies uniform. For Aguilar he had a nice bounce back season finishing his career with five receptions for 90 and two touchdowns. Aguilar finished the year with 41 receptions for a career high 611 yards receiving with another career high six touchdown receptions.
For Jermaine Kearse who ranks in the top two in every major receiving category at Washington he finished his career with five receptions for 198 yards with a touchdown. He had a long 80 yard touchdown reception along with another 60 yard reception. Kearse was a big play receiver for the Huskies and that is how he should be remembered. He had a step back as he was clearly Locker's favorite receiver, due to more talent and Price spreading the ball around his numbers suffered a bit. For Kearse he finished the season leading the team with 47 receptions, leading the team with 699 yards and leading the team with seven touchdowns. This was the third straight year Kearse led the team in all three categories as he'll be missed. These two receivers came in when the program went 0-12 and now are leaving the program in good hands as they set the bar very high.
- The two guys to my right will be asked to carry the load in the passing game next season in tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams. Throw in James Johnson and Kevin Smith the program is in good hands far as the passing game goes. For Seferian-Jenkins he bounced back from his freshman wall that he had hit late in the season with five receptions for 59 yards. He earned honorable mention all pac-12 as a true freshman. Seferian-Jenkins was tied with Aguilar for second on the team in receptions with 41 while having 544 yards receiving. He was also tied with Aguilar and Williams for second on the team with six touchdown receptions.
Kasen Williams who only had three receptions for 19 yards dazzled all the fans with that long 46 yard punt return. Williams who started the season off slow finished the year terrific. He finished fourth on the team in receptions with 36, fourth in yards with 427 and tied for second with six touchdowns. These two five star recruits showed everyone why they were rated so high. As sophomores look for both guys to develope more consistency week in and week out as Price evolves as an even better passer.
- Kind of hard to brag about a defensive player having a breakout game when you allow 777 yards and 67 points. Well redshirt freshman defensive end Josh Shirley did just that with four sacks against Griffin. For the year Shirley finished with 8.5 sacks on the season not bad for being a freshman. The other freshman defensive end Andrew Hudson also had a sack while forcing a fumble against Griffin and he had 3.5 sacks for the season. Throw in Hau'oli Jamora who will be returning the Huskies will have enough talent on the edge to compete next year defensively. The Huskies were pretty young this year on defense starting more underclassman than everyone besides the Washington State Cougars. Now that Nick Holt has been fired hopefully with a new coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball they can finally get the most out of this defense which does feature some pretty talented players.
- Chris Polk announced today that he is going to the NFL. So this was Polk's last game in a Huskies uniform meaning he was 48 yards shy of Napoleon Kaufman's school rushing record putting him second place all-time. Polk finished his career rushing for over 100 yards for the 10th time this year while rushing for a career high 12th touchdown on the season. Polk this year showed he isn't just a power back that he is capable of busting long runs and being used as a receiver. Not a guy who catches checkdowns but a guy who can line up as a receiver and catch fade passes or seam routes for a touchdown on you.
For the year Polk finished with 1,488 yards(5.1 YPC) rushing with 12 rushing touchdowns. Polk also added 31 receptions for 332 yards with four touchdowns this season giving him over 1,800 total yards of offense with 16 touchdowns. For his Huskies career he finishes with 4,049 yards rushing(5.1 YPC) with 26 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 79 passes for for 683 yards with four touchdowns all in just 40 career games meaning he averaged over 100 yards rushing per game in his career. Polk will leave behind a strong legacy as he and Kaufman are the only backs to ever rush for over 1,000 yards three straight seasons. Jesse Callier and Bishop Sankey have bigger shoes to fill in Polk than Price did with Locker in my opinion. You just don't replace a guy of Polk's calibar who was the first Husky offensive player to be named first team all Pac-12 since Reggie Williams in 2003.
- The honeymoon period appears to be over for Sarkisian and the Huskies. When he took over the program was 0-12 and he immediately got the Huskies to 5-7 and within a game of a bowl game. He then brought in a ranked recruiting class which had the hype machine going. Last year after a 3-6 start Sarkisian saw his Huskies win four in a row including beat heavily favored Nebraska Cornhuskers in the rematch in the Holiday Bowl while bringing in another ranked recruiting class. Well this year as of now the Huskies aren't recruiting so hot losing out on home state kids Joshua Garnett(#1 offensive guard in the nation has eliminated UW recently) and on the same day as the Alamo Bowl Kavario Russell(four star running back from Mariner High School) committed to Notre Dame. You factor in the Huskies collapse for this season and just like that Sarkisian goes from a coach everyone in the nation wants to a coach even his own fan base is having second thoughts on.
Sarkisian is heading into a critical year four and he knows it. He just fired his friends Nick Holt, Mike Cox and Jeff Mills. Despite an offense that made great strides this season the defense regressed so poorly that the offense was overshadowed. Sarkisian hired two quality coaches today from Tennessee in Justin Wilcox(former Oregon Ducks player, Boise State and Tennesse Defensive Coordinator) showing he is serious about changing the culture of his defense. Sarkisian although not on the hot seat quite yet could find himself there if he were to have a disaster season and continue to get blown out mixed in with a loss to the wrong teams. The honeymoon period is over for Sarkisian and the Husky fans now is time to work on the marriage and in this case work on his coaching legacy at Washington.
In conclusion, this was a terrible way to end the season and a sad way to waste such an incredible performance by Keith Price. In a game that featured high draft picks in Robert Griffin III and Chris Polk it was Keith Price who was the best player on the field. Instead of this game being remembered as the Keith Price game this will be referred to as the Nick Holt game. This was the final straw in the Holt era at Washington as Sarkisian was left with no choice to make a change. The Huskies must find a way to play good defense. With an average defense this year the Huskies go 10-3 instead they remain at 7-6 which was rock bottom in the Rick Neuheisel and Jim Lambright days. The Huskies blew a great opportunity to make some noise against the 12th team in the nation on ESPN in a highly rated bowl game. Instead the defense like they have all season long let them down once again. Hopefully next year I'll be recapping some games where the defense is making strides and actually making some plays. For now the Huskies have to settle on being that exciting offense that has no defense. Basically the Huskies are the Texas Tech Red Raiders under Mike Leach which is okay for those on the other side of the mountains. That isn't okay for those on this side as the Huskies are sick of going 7-6, next year should be fun with Price having two more seasons left.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Alamo Bowl preview
By Kshell
The Washington Huskies(7-5,5-4) are set to take on the #12 Baylor Bears(9-3,6-3) in the Alamo Bowl set in San Antonio, Texas which is three hours from the Baylor campus. Both teams feature explosive offenses led by Baylor's Robert Griffin III who won the heisman trophy. The Baylor offense is averaging 43.5 points per game which is good for seventh in the entire nation. While the Huskies offense which is led by Chris Polk is averaging 31.5 point per game which is good for 36th in the nation. This should be a high scoring game with two quality offenses going up against two weak defenses. The Bears defense is allowing 35.7 points per game which ranks 109th in the country while the Huskies defense is allowing 33.3 points per game which ranks 99th in the country. For what has been a boring bowl season so far this game should generate plenty of excitement to the casual fans.
You can't talk about the Bears mighty offense without first talking about heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III who if he leaves for the NFL would be a top 10 pick in the draft. Griffin is trying to lead the Bears to a 10 win season which was once unthinkable. For the year he completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,998 yards(10.8 YPA). He threw for 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions during the season. His passing stats alone are terrific then you factor in his 644 yards rushing(4.0 YPC) with nine touchdowns and you can see why he won the heisman trophy. His favorite targets are Kendall Wright who hauled in 101 receptions for 1,572 yards(15.6 YPC) with 13 TD's. The second weapon for this passing offense which ranks fifth in the nation is Terrance Williams who caught 53 passes for 895 yards(16.9 YPC) with 11 touchdowns. The Bears have a third receiver who is having a fine season in Tevin Reese who has caught 46 passes for 811 yards(17.6) with seven touchdowns. The Bears can also run the ball as they feature Terrence Ganaway who rushed for 1,347(5.9 YPC) with 16 touchdowns. The Bears offense features plenty of weapons on offense and for the Huskies to win they must keep that offense on the sidelines.
The Huskies need to do what they did last year in the Holiday Bowl win. Last year Sarkisian fed Chris Polk the ball over and over again as the Nebraska offense sat on the sidelines. Polk on the year has rushed for 1,341 yards(5.1 YPC) with 11 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 29 passes for 324 yards(11.2 YPC) with four touchdowns. Which earned Polk first team all pac-12 selection. Polk currently trails Napoleon Kaufman by 200 yards for the all-time rushing lead in school history. Polk also has quality backup running backs if he needs a breather. Jesse Callier for the season has rushed for 264 yards(5.9 YPC) with a touchdown. He has also caught six passes. Remember last year in the Holiday Bowl Callier completed a 14 yard pass to Jake Locker to set up the first score. Bishop Sankey has ran for 187 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown and also has caught six passes. Sankey is pretty quick and can bust a long run everytime he touches the ball. The Bears defense allows 198 yards rushing per game so the Huskies should pound the ball on them. If the Bears decide to stack the box well the Huskies also have a good passing game too.
The Huskies passing offense is led by sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price who is filling in for Jake Locker who set plenty of records at Washington. For this year it was Price who set a record for most passing touchdowns in a single season. Price for the year completed 67.4% of his passes for 2,625 yards(8.1 YPA) with 29 touchdown passes(school record) to just 11 interceptions. Price has plenty of weapons to throw to as well as he spreads the ball around the field to multiple talented receivers. Price was selected to honorable mention all pac-12 and in a normal year could have been more but with Andrew Luch and Matt Barkley that makes it tough. His two leading receivers are both seniors and honorable all pac-12 receivers Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse. Aguilar caught 36 passes for 521 yards(14.5 YPC) with four touchdowns. Kearse caught 42 for 501(11.9) with six touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown as well. Freshman sensation Kasen Williams has emerged lately and has caught 33 passes for 408 yards(12.4 YPC) with six touchdowns. James Johnson added 26 receptions for 330 yards(12.7 YPC) with three touchdowns. The Huskies also feature honorable mention all pac-12 freshman tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who caught 36 passes for 479 yards(13.3 YPC) with six touchdowns. The Huskies also have plenty of offensive weapons to compete with the Bears. The key to this game will also be how the defense responds.
Last year when the Huskies won the Holiday Bowl all the attention was on the offense. When in reality the Huskies won 19-7 as the defense stepped up setting up the first score and eventually getting a safety. Mason Foster was the defensive MVP as he was all over the field. While Alameda Ta'amu just as easily could have been the MVP as well. He recovered the fumble that set up the first score, recorded two sacks and was also held which allowed the safety. Ta'amu who is a projected late first or early second round draft pick is playing his final game as a Husky. Ta'amu was honorable mention this year as he was injured throughout the season. Another Husky defender playing in his final game is Cort Dennison who led the Pac-12 in tackles and earned second team all pac-12 selection. The defense must step up if they expect to pull off this upset. Nobody is expecting them to shut down Baylor like they did last year with Nebraska but nobody will accept games where they allow over 40 like they did against Nebraska, Stanford, and USC. The defense must play tough in the redzone and hold the Bears to three points instead of seven points that could be the difference between winning and losing.
In conclusion, with Griffin winning the Heisman this will be the featured bowl game amongst the games not in the BCS. The Huskies have a great chance to impress the nation with a win against a quality opponent for the second straight year. For Sarkisian who is having a rough day losing out on an in-state recruit earlier today he can remove the doubt that he is the guy with a win today. With a win today Sarkisian will tie Jim Owens for second all-time in Huskies history for most bowl victories with two. With a win today the program will have made progress improving their win total each season under Sarkisian. With a win to day the Huskies will have won back to back bowl games for the first time in 20 years. This game is huge for the Huskies and their opponent for the second straight year is favored to destroy them. This is a huge test for the Huskies who failed so many throughout the year. Maybe tonight is the night the Huskies finally pass that final exam.
The Washington Huskies(7-5,5-4) are set to take on the #12 Baylor Bears(9-3,6-3) in the Alamo Bowl set in San Antonio, Texas which is three hours from the Baylor campus. Both teams feature explosive offenses led by Baylor's Robert Griffin III who won the heisman trophy. The Baylor offense is averaging 43.5 points per game which is good for seventh in the entire nation. While the Huskies offense which is led by Chris Polk is averaging 31.5 point per game which is good for 36th in the nation. This should be a high scoring game with two quality offenses going up against two weak defenses. The Bears defense is allowing 35.7 points per game which ranks 109th in the country while the Huskies defense is allowing 33.3 points per game which ranks 99th in the country. For what has been a boring bowl season so far this game should generate plenty of excitement to the casual fans.
You can't talk about the Bears mighty offense without first talking about heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III who if he leaves for the NFL would be a top 10 pick in the draft. Griffin is trying to lead the Bears to a 10 win season which was once unthinkable. For the year he completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,998 yards(10.8 YPA). He threw for 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions during the season. His passing stats alone are terrific then you factor in his 644 yards rushing(4.0 YPC) with nine touchdowns and you can see why he won the heisman trophy. His favorite targets are Kendall Wright who hauled in 101 receptions for 1,572 yards(15.6 YPC) with 13 TD's. The second weapon for this passing offense which ranks fifth in the nation is Terrance Williams who caught 53 passes for 895 yards(16.9 YPC) with 11 touchdowns. The Bears have a third receiver who is having a fine season in Tevin Reese who has caught 46 passes for 811 yards(17.6) with seven touchdowns. The Bears can also run the ball as they feature Terrence Ganaway who rushed for 1,347(5.9 YPC) with 16 touchdowns. The Bears offense features plenty of weapons on offense and for the Huskies to win they must keep that offense on the sidelines.
The Huskies need to do what they did last year in the Holiday Bowl win. Last year Sarkisian fed Chris Polk the ball over and over again as the Nebraska offense sat on the sidelines. Polk on the year has rushed for 1,341 yards(5.1 YPC) with 11 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 29 passes for 324 yards(11.2 YPC) with four touchdowns. Which earned Polk first team all pac-12 selection. Polk currently trails Napoleon Kaufman by 200 yards for the all-time rushing lead in school history. Polk also has quality backup running backs if he needs a breather. Jesse Callier for the season has rushed for 264 yards(5.9 YPC) with a touchdown. He has also caught six passes. Remember last year in the Holiday Bowl Callier completed a 14 yard pass to Jake Locker to set up the first score. Bishop Sankey has ran for 187 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown and also has caught six passes. Sankey is pretty quick and can bust a long run everytime he touches the ball. The Bears defense allows 198 yards rushing per game so the Huskies should pound the ball on them. If the Bears decide to stack the box well the Huskies also have a good passing game too.
The Huskies passing offense is led by sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price who is filling in for Jake Locker who set plenty of records at Washington. For this year it was Price who set a record for most passing touchdowns in a single season. Price for the year completed 67.4% of his passes for 2,625 yards(8.1 YPA) with 29 touchdown passes(school record) to just 11 interceptions. Price has plenty of weapons to throw to as well as he spreads the ball around the field to multiple talented receivers. Price was selected to honorable mention all pac-12 and in a normal year could have been more but with Andrew Luch and Matt Barkley that makes it tough. His two leading receivers are both seniors and honorable all pac-12 receivers Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse. Aguilar caught 36 passes for 521 yards(14.5 YPC) with four touchdowns. Kearse caught 42 for 501(11.9) with six touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown as well. Freshman sensation Kasen Williams has emerged lately and has caught 33 passes for 408 yards(12.4 YPC) with six touchdowns. James Johnson added 26 receptions for 330 yards(12.7 YPC) with three touchdowns. The Huskies also feature honorable mention all pac-12 freshman tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who caught 36 passes for 479 yards(13.3 YPC) with six touchdowns. The Huskies also have plenty of offensive weapons to compete with the Bears. The key to this game will also be how the defense responds.
Last year when the Huskies won the Holiday Bowl all the attention was on the offense. When in reality the Huskies won 19-7 as the defense stepped up setting up the first score and eventually getting a safety. Mason Foster was the defensive MVP as he was all over the field. While Alameda Ta'amu just as easily could have been the MVP as well. He recovered the fumble that set up the first score, recorded two sacks and was also held which allowed the safety. Ta'amu who is a projected late first or early second round draft pick is playing his final game as a Husky. Ta'amu was honorable mention this year as he was injured throughout the season. Another Husky defender playing in his final game is Cort Dennison who led the Pac-12 in tackles and earned second team all pac-12 selection. The defense must step up if they expect to pull off this upset. Nobody is expecting them to shut down Baylor like they did last year with Nebraska but nobody will accept games where they allow over 40 like they did against Nebraska, Stanford, and USC. The defense must play tough in the redzone and hold the Bears to three points instead of seven points that could be the difference between winning and losing.
In conclusion, with Griffin winning the Heisman this will be the featured bowl game amongst the games not in the BCS. The Huskies have a great chance to impress the nation with a win against a quality opponent for the second straight year. For Sarkisian who is having a rough day losing out on an in-state recruit earlier today he can remove the doubt that he is the guy with a win today. With a win today Sarkisian will tie Jim Owens for second all-time in Huskies history for most bowl victories with two. With a win today the program will have made progress improving their win total each season under Sarkisian. With a win to day the Huskies will have won back to back bowl games for the first time in 20 years. This game is huge for the Huskies and their opponent for the second straight year is favored to destroy them. This is a huge test for the Huskies who failed so many throughout the year. Maybe tonight is the night the Huskies finally pass that final exam.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
2011 Apple Cup preview!
By Kshell
That time of the year again where the two states biggest universities clash as the Washington State Cougars(4-7,2-6) travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies(6-5,4-4) in a battle for states bragging rights the apple cup. Both teams are limping into this contest as the Huskies have lost three games in a row and four of their last five games. While the Cougars have lost seven out of their past eight games and will not be going to a bowl game for the eighth straight season. The Huskies lead the all-time series 66-31-6 and have won the last two meetings. This game will be emotional for the Cougars seniors as this will be their final game they ever get to play in. Due to injury they will be starting Marshall Lobbestael at quarterback who is a senior. For the Huskies they feature plenty of seniors who are departing the program such as Alameda Ta'amu, Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar, Erik Folk and Cort Dennison. The Huskies will also see Keith Price start his first career apple cup game. The last quarterback to start his first career apple cup game and earn the victory was Carl Bonnell back in 2006(last time the Cougars didn't have a losing record). This should appears to feature plenty of offense as both offenses are pretty explosive in the passing game.
The Cougars are heading into this game led by their senior backup quarterback Marshall Lobbestael. For the year Lobbestael has completed 59.9% of his passes for 2,240 yards(7.5 YPA) with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Lobbestael this year has a 4-4 record in eight starts this season. For all the complaining about him the Cougars have yet to win a game that he hasn't start this season. His favorite receiver is Marquis Wilson who is having a monster season with 75 receptions for 1,280 yards(17.1 YPC) with 10 touchdowns. Their second leading receiver Isiah Barton who will miss this game has 49 receptions for 638 yards with five touchdowns. The Cougars also have Jared Karstetter who has 51 receptions for 618 yards with five touchdowns. The Cougars running game is pretty weak but they do use three different guys. The first guy is Ricky Galvin who has ran for 586 yards(5.5 YPC) with five rushing touchdowns. Next in line is Carl Winston who has ran for 422 yards(3.6 YPC) with four touchdowns. The third back they use is Logwone Mitz who has rushed for 135 yards(3.8 YPC) with a touchdown. Lobbestael will try to revenge the last time he faced the Huskies which ended with the Huskies winning 30-0 in Steve Sarkisian's first year. For the game Lobbestael was 9-22 for 71 yards passing as he was ineffective all game long. He is now a senior in year four of Paul Wulff's system so he'll have a much better day than he did on that day.
The Huskies offense is led by Chris Polk who is most likely playing in his final apple cup. Polk has torched the Cougars in his career. As a redshirt freshman Polk carried the ball 25 times for 130 yards(5.2 YPC) with a touchdown while adding two receptions for 16 yards. That is a really good game which the Huskies would take this Saturday. The thing is the next year Polk dominated the Cougars over in Pullman carrying the ball 29 times for the second highest total in Huskies history with 284 yards(9.8 YPC) with two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 18 yards as Polk in his career has ran for 414 yards with three touchdowns while having 34 yards receiving in just two games. Polk is enjoying his best season as a Husky as he has ran for 1,241 yards(5.1 YPC) with 10 rushing touchdowns. He has also caught 27 passes for 288 yards with three receiving touchdowns. Polk is licking his chops against the Cougars this Saturday especially with the return of Keith Price so he won't have to face eight man boxes.
The Huskies sophomore quarterback Keith Price returns from injury to start his first career apple cup game. Also important to note that Price is two touchdown passes away from tying Cody Pickett's single season record and three touchdown passes away from breaking it. For the year Price has completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,334(7.9 YPA) with 26 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Huskies have several different guys who make plays in the passing game. Starting with Devin Aguilar who has 34 receptions for 508 yards(14.9 YPC) with four touchdowns. Then you have Jermaine Kearse who leads the team in receptions with 37 for 439 yards(11.9 YPC) with six touchdown grabs. Kearse like Polk has had big apple cup moments. Last year he caught the game winning touchdown pass from Jake Locker. As a sophomore Kearse had four receptions for 94 yards with a touchdown. Then last year had six grabs for 178 yards with two touchdowns including a 66 yarder he busted on a slant then scored the game winner on a fade route. The Huskies will have two other guys playing in their first apple cup's in Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams. Seferian-Jenkins is having a fine freshman season with 32 receptions for 417 yards which ranks third on the team in both then is tied for team lead with six touchdown receptions. For Williams he has 28 receptions for 334 yards with four touchdowns. Williams has been coming on as of late in the last four games Williams has 16 receptions for 237 yards with two touchdowns. The future is bright for those two as they hope to shine in their first career apple cup.
This is an interesting apple cup due to the fact that this could be Washington State Cougars head football coach Paul Wulff's last game as Cougars coach. In four seasons with the Cougars Wulff is currently 9-39(4-31 in conference). For most programs who value winning he would be fired but this is the Cougars who value moral victories. Rumors circling around that Wulff can save his job with a win or even a close defeat to the Huskies. His counterpart Steve Sarkisian is 2-0 in the Apple Cup looking to join Don James and Rick Neuheisel as coaches who began their career 3-0 against the Cougars. In fact dating back to his USC days Sarkisian has won seven games in a row against the Cougars. For Sarkisian he is leading his Huskies to a bowl game in back to back years while Wulff still hasn't won 10 games in four seasons.
In conclusion, this rivalry has been one sided throughout history. Both programs are vastly different the fact that a 9-39 coach is even considered to be brought back is an embarassment. These teams both feature strong offenses and weak defenses. If you're a casual fan and like to see scoring this is the game as you'll see plenty of playmakers like Polk for the Huskies and Wilson for the Cougars have huge mismatches against the other teams defense. This game will also be played at Century Link Field where the Seahawks play which should add a new wrinkle to this rivalry. This should be a fun game as the Huskies hope to build some momentum heading into their bowl game. For the Cougars they are fighting to save their coaches job.
That time of the year again where the two states biggest universities clash as the Washington State Cougars(4-7,2-6) travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies(6-5,4-4) in a battle for states bragging rights the apple cup. Both teams are limping into this contest as the Huskies have lost three games in a row and four of their last five games. While the Cougars have lost seven out of their past eight games and will not be going to a bowl game for the eighth straight season. The Huskies lead the all-time series 66-31-6 and have won the last two meetings. This game will be emotional for the Cougars seniors as this will be their final game they ever get to play in. Due to injury they will be starting Marshall Lobbestael at quarterback who is a senior. For the Huskies they feature plenty of seniors who are departing the program such as Alameda Ta'amu, Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar, Erik Folk and Cort Dennison. The Huskies will also see Keith Price start his first career apple cup game. The last quarterback to start his first career apple cup game and earn the victory was Carl Bonnell back in 2006(last time the Cougars didn't have a losing record). This should appears to feature plenty of offense as both offenses are pretty explosive in the passing game.
The Cougars are heading into this game led by their senior backup quarterback Marshall Lobbestael. For the year Lobbestael has completed 59.9% of his passes for 2,240 yards(7.5 YPA) with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Lobbestael this year has a 4-4 record in eight starts this season. For all the complaining about him the Cougars have yet to win a game that he hasn't start this season. His favorite receiver is Marquis Wilson who is having a monster season with 75 receptions for 1,280 yards(17.1 YPC) with 10 touchdowns. Their second leading receiver Isiah Barton who will miss this game has 49 receptions for 638 yards with five touchdowns. The Cougars also have Jared Karstetter who has 51 receptions for 618 yards with five touchdowns. The Cougars running game is pretty weak but they do use three different guys. The first guy is Ricky Galvin who has ran for 586 yards(5.5 YPC) with five rushing touchdowns. Next in line is Carl Winston who has ran for 422 yards(3.6 YPC) with four touchdowns. The third back they use is Logwone Mitz who has rushed for 135 yards(3.8 YPC) with a touchdown. Lobbestael will try to revenge the last time he faced the Huskies which ended with the Huskies winning 30-0 in Steve Sarkisian's first year. For the game Lobbestael was 9-22 for 71 yards passing as he was ineffective all game long. He is now a senior in year four of Paul Wulff's system so he'll have a much better day than he did on that day.The Huskies offense is led by Chris Polk who is most likely playing in his final apple cup. Polk has torched the Cougars in his career. As a redshirt freshman Polk carried the ball 25 times for 130 yards(5.2 YPC) with a touchdown while adding two receptions for 16 yards. That is a really good game which the Huskies would take this Saturday. The thing is the next year Polk dominated the Cougars over in Pullman carrying the ball 29 times for the second highest total in Huskies history with 284 yards(9.8 YPC) with two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 18 yards as Polk in his career has ran for 414 yards with three touchdowns while having 34 yards receiving in just two games. Polk is enjoying his best season as a Husky as he has ran for 1,241 yards(5.1 YPC) with 10 rushing touchdowns. He has also caught 27 passes for 288 yards with three receiving touchdowns. Polk is licking his chops against the Cougars this Saturday especially with the return of Keith Price so he won't have to face eight man boxes.
The Huskies sophomore quarterback Keith Price returns from injury to start his first career apple cup game. Also important to note that Price is two touchdown passes away from tying Cody Pickett's single season record and three touchdown passes away from breaking it. For the year Price has completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,334(7.9 YPA) with 26 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Huskies have several different guys who make plays in the passing game. Starting with Devin Aguilar who has 34 receptions for 508 yards(14.9 YPC) with four touchdowns. Then you have Jermaine Kearse who leads the team in receptions with 37 for 439 yards(11.9 YPC) with six touchdown grabs. Kearse like Polk has had big apple cup moments. Last year he caught the game winning touchdown pass from Jake Locker. As a sophomore Kearse had four receptions for 94 yards with a touchdown. Then last year had six grabs for 178 yards with two touchdowns including a 66 yarder he busted on a slant then scored the game winner on a fade route. The Huskies will have two other guys playing in their first apple cup's in Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams. Seferian-Jenkins is having a fine freshman season with 32 receptions for 417 yards which ranks third on the team in both then is tied for team lead with six touchdown receptions. For Williams he has 28 receptions for 334 yards with four touchdowns. Williams has been coming on as of late in the last four games Williams has 16 receptions for 237 yards with two touchdowns. The future is bright for those two as they hope to shine in their first career apple cup.
This is an interesting apple cup due to the fact that this could be Washington State Cougars head football coach Paul Wulff's last game as Cougars coach. In four seasons with the Cougars Wulff is currently 9-39(4-31 in conference). For most programs who value winning he would be fired but this is the Cougars who value moral victories. Rumors circling around that Wulff can save his job with a win or even a close defeat to the Huskies. His counterpart Steve Sarkisian is 2-0 in the Apple Cup looking to join Don James and Rick Neuheisel as coaches who began their career 3-0 against the Cougars. In fact dating back to his USC days Sarkisian has won seven games in a row against the Cougars. For Sarkisian he is leading his Huskies to a bowl game in back to back years while Wulff still hasn't won 10 games in four seasons.
In conclusion, this rivalry has been one sided throughout history. Both programs are vastly different the fact that a 9-39 coach is even considered to be brought back is an embarassment. These teams both feature strong offenses and weak defenses. If you're a casual fan and like to see scoring this is the game as you'll see plenty of playmakers like Polk for the Huskies and Wilson for the Cougars have huge mismatches against the other teams defense. This game will also be played at Century Link Field where the Seahawks play which should add a new wrinkle to this rivalry. This should be a fun game as the Huskies hope to build some momentum heading into their bowl game. For the Cougars they are fighting to save their coaches job.
Beavers hand Huskies third straight loss 38-21
By Kshell
The Oregon State Beavers(3-8,3-5) delivered the Washington Huskies(6-5,4-4) a smack of reality check with a 38-21 victory on senior night. The Huskies who started freshman quarterback Nick Montana struggled on offense, defense and special teams. Steve Sarkisian for the third straight year has seen his team drop three games in a row late in the season and now must regroup his team to take on the Washington State Cougars in the apple cup. For the Beavers who were led by freshman quarterback Sean Mannion throwing for 339 yards and a rushing attack which gained 145 yards on the ground this was a good win in an otherwise trying season for Mike Riley. The Huskies now must face reality that their once promising season of 5-1 and then 6-2 is headed towards disaster after losing three in a row. The Huskies will have finished this year 1-4 on the road and will look to win their seventh regular season game for the first time since 2002 this Saturday against the Washington State Cougars.
The Huskies began the game off with a very Don James esque type of drive as Sarkisian tried to ease Montana in his first career start. With the Huskies having the ball first on their own 30 yard line after a run of no gain for Chris Polk that is when Polk started to dominate the Beavers. Polk busted an 18 yard run to their own 48 yard line. Then Montana on a play action boot leg completed a 12 yard pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the Beavers 40 yard line. Polk would rush for three yards and to be tackled was face masked for 15 more yards to the Beavers 22 yard line. After two Polk runs of eight yards the Huskies facing a third and two just gave it to Polk in the wild cat for a gain of seven yards down to the Beavers seven yard line. Polk would rush up the middle for a gain of three yards setting up a second and goal from the four yard. Sarkisian once again called a play action boot where Montana found the open Seferian-Jenkins for a four yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead. On that drive Polk carried the ball seven times for 39 yards as the Huskies appeared to be headed towards a good game.
The Oregon State Beavers would respond to the Huskies score with a nice drive of their own. Starting from their own 29 yard line facing a second down Terron Ward rushed for 29 yards to the Huskies 42 yard line. Sean Mannion completed a nine yard pass to the Huskies 33 yard which he followed up by hitting James Rodgers for a gain of 25 yards to the Huskies eight yard line. The Beavers started to go backwards first with a rush attempt that went backwards for two yards, then Mannion completed a pass for four yards but could have been picked off had Cort Dennison played the ball instead of the man. Facing a third and goal from the six Mannion hit Rodgers underneath as he ran by two Husky defenders for the touchdown to tie up the score at 7-7. The Huskies moved the ball to the Beavers 44 yard line but facing a third and 13 Montana threw an interception as the Beavers took over.
The Beavers began their drive after a 15 yard penalty on their own 23 yard line. Mannion began the drive by hitting Rodgers for a gain of 15 yards to their own 38 yard line. Markus Wheaton took the fly sweep 56 yards down to the Huskies six yard line. The Huskies defense would get tough and stop the Beavers for no gain on back to back plays. Once again the Huskies couldn't record that key third down stop as Mannion hit Micah Hattfield for a gain of six yards for the touchdown to give the Beavers a 14-7 lead over the Huskies. The Beavers had made their first two drives look pretty easy against a Huskies defense which has struggled all season long. The Huskies had allowed the Beavers to rush for 83 yards despite not rushing over 70 yards the prior three games while being able to do so in the first quarter. The Huskies with a freshman quarterback making his first career start knew they were in trouble as the defense wasn't going to be stopping anyone anytime soon.
The Huskies now trailing 14-7 started off on their own 20 yard line. After a short run by Polk, Montana completed a 12 yard pass to Polk to their own 33 yard line. Montana would scramble for six yards to the 39 yard line, using the wildcat Jessie Callier would rush for nine yards to their own 48 yard line. After a short run by Polk to the 50 yard line, Montana would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of seven yards to the Beavers 43 yard line setting up a third and one. Polk would rush for three yards to extend the drive out to the Beavers 40 yard line. Callier again in the wildcat would rush for nine yards to the Beavers 31 yard line. Facing second and one, Montana would complete another pass to Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of three yards to the 28 yard line for the first down. Polk would rush for six yards to the 22 yard line then Bishop Sankey would rush for 11 more to the 11 yard line. After an offsides penalty which gave the Huskies the ball on the six yard line first and goal Polk would rush for a yard. Facing a third and goal Montana threw the ball into coverage as Seferian-Jenkins used his big body for his second touchdown of the game to tie up the score at 14-14.
The Huskies offense would end the half going three and out as Montana had a costly intentional grounding. Which allowed the Beavers to have the ball on the Huskies 26 yard line with three minutes left. The Huskies would stop the Beavers holding them to a field goal as the Beavers led at halftime over the Huskies 17-14. The third quarter featured plenty of missed opportunities for both teams as neither team could score. The Beavers were driving for a touchdown but Sean Parker made a great diving interception for the Huskies. Meanwhile Seferian-Jenkins dropped a wide open pass from Montana that nobody was around him then Erik Folk missed a 39 yard field goal that would have tied it up. The game remained 17-14 heading into the fourth.
The Beavers clinging to a 17-14 lead had the ball on their own 21 yard line. Mannion completed an eight yard pass which was fumbled out of bounds. Facing a third and one from their own 30 yard line Mannion completed a three yard pass for the first down. On a crucial third and four from their own 39 yard line completed a 58 yard pass to Obum Gwacham down to the Huskies three yard line. On the next play Jovan Stevenson ran it in from three yards out giving the Beavers a 24-14 lead. On the Huskies first play from their own 22 yard line Nick Montana fumbled the ball as the Beavers regained possession on the Huskies 15 yard line. After an incomplete pass Stevenson once again ran it in from 15 yards out giving hte Beavers a commanding 31-14 lead over the Huskies. After that is when Sarkisian made the decision to end Montana's day and put in injured quarterback Keith Price as the Huskies were on the verge of getting blown out. The Huskies still had 11 minutes left in the game but were facing a 17 point deficit as the game was in danger of getting away from the Huskies.
From their own 15 yard line Price completed a nine yard pass to Seferian-Jenkins to the 24 yard line. Polk rushed for two yards to pick up the first down. That is when Price hit Kasen Williams for 36 yards to the Beavers 38 yard line. Polk would rush for seven yards setting up a third and three from the Beavers 31 yard line as Price would hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of 10 yards for the first down. Facing a fourth and nine from the 20 yard line despite being down 17(two touchdowns and a field goal) Sarkisian elected to go for it as Price hit Devin Aguilar for the 20 yard touchdown pass. For Price that was his 26th touchdown pass of the season as the Huskies pulled within 31-21. On the ensuing kickoff the Beavers fumbled the ball as the Huskies recovered on the Beavers 17 yard line. Price would throw the pass to Williams as it appeared was going to be a touchdown. Instead Williams let the ball come to him and the ball was picked off at the one yard line.
The Beavers would put away the Huskies for good as they went on a 12 play 99 yard drive. The key was Mannion going over the top to Wheaton from his own one yard line for 52 yards. Facing a fourth and goal from the one Riley decided to ice the game as Stevenson ran it in for his third rushing touchdown of the game as the Huskies would eventually lose 38-21. The Beavers were led by Mannion who was 26-37 with 339 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Wheaton caught seven passes for 125 yards while also rushing for 66 yards. Stevenson ran for 41 yards with three touchdowns.
For the Huskies they had a long day as they were dominated by an inferior team. No man struggled more individually thank Nick Montana who was 11-21 for 79 yards(3.8 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception plus a fumble. Keith Price off the bench was five for nine passing for 76 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chris Polk ran the ball 25 times for 109 yards(4.4 YPC) but had just 13 carries the final three quarters. Kevin Smith had a nice 24 yard run while Jesse Callier ran three times for 22 yards. Bishop Sankey had two rushes for 12 yards as well. Once again Kasen Williams like he has done in previous weeks led the team in receiving yards with three receptions for 54 yards. Devin Aguilar had three receptions for 42 yards with a touchdown. Austin Seferian-Jenkins had six receptions for 40 yards and two touchdowns but a costly drop. Jermaine Kearse continues his slump with just one reception for 10 yards. Even their reliable kicker Erik Folk had a costly miss. The Huskies simply didn't play very well as this was easily the worst loss in the Sarkisian era.
All in all, the Huskies must regroup fromt his loss. The Huskies have now lost three games in a row for the eighth straight season a streak that has to end hopefully next year. The Huskies are hoping to avoid the four game losing streak something they have done just once in the Sarkisian era(his first year). This was a tough loss indeed and the Huskies will have better days ahead of them.
The Oregon State Beavers(3-8,3-5) delivered the Washington Huskies(6-5,4-4) a smack of reality check with a 38-21 victory on senior night. The Huskies who started freshman quarterback Nick Montana struggled on offense, defense and special teams. Steve Sarkisian for the third straight year has seen his team drop three games in a row late in the season and now must regroup his team to take on the Washington State Cougars in the apple cup. For the Beavers who were led by freshman quarterback Sean Mannion throwing for 339 yards and a rushing attack which gained 145 yards on the ground this was a good win in an otherwise trying season for Mike Riley. The Huskies now must face reality that their once promising season of 5-1 and then 6-2 is headed towards disaster after losing three in a row. The Huskies will have finished this year 1-4 on the road and will look to win their seventh regular season game for the first time since 2002 this Saturday against the Washington State Cougars.
The Huskies began the game off with a very Don James esque type of drive as Sarkisian tried to ease Montana in his first career start. With the Huskies having the ball first on their own 30 yard line after a run of no gain for Chris Polk that is when Polk started to dominate the Beavers. Polk busted an 18 yard run to their own 48 yard line. Then Montana on a play action boot leg completed a 12 yard pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the Beavers 40 yard line. Polk would rush for three yards and to be tackled was face masked for 15 more yards to the Beavers 22 yard line. After two Polk runs of eight yards the Huskies facing a third and two just gave it to Polk in the wild cat for a gain of seven yards down to the Beavers seven yard line. Polk would rush up the middle for a gain of three yards setting up a second and goal from the four yard. Sarkisian once again called a play action boot where Montana found the open Seferian-Jenkins for a four yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead. On that drive Polk carried the ball seven times for 39 yards as the Huskies appeared to be headed towards a good game.
The Oregon State Beavers would respond to the Huskies score with a nice drive of their own. Starting from their own 29 yard line facing a second down Terron Ward rushed for 29 yards to the Huskies 42 yard line. Sean Mannion completed a nine yard pass to the Huskies 33 yard which he followed up by hitting James Rodgers for a gain of 25 yards to the Huskies eight yard line. The Beavers started to go backwards first with a rush attempt that went backwards for two yards, then Mannion completed a pass for four yards but could have been picked off had Cort Dennison played the ball instead of the man. Facing a third and goal from the six Mannion hit Rodgers underneath as he ran by two Husky defenders for the touchdown to tie up the score at 7-7. The Huskies moved the ball to the Beavers 44 yard line but facing a third and 13 Montana threw an interception as the Beavers took over.
The Beavers began their drive after a 15 yard penalty on their own 23 yard line. Mannion began the drive by hitting Rodgers for a gain of 15 yards to their own 38 yard line. Markus Wheaton took the fly sweep 56 yards down to the Huskies six yard line. The Huskies defense would get tough and stop the Beavers for no gain on back to back plays. Once again the Huskies couldn't record that key third down stop as Mannion hit Micah Hattfield for a gain of six yards for the touchdown to give the Beavers a 14-7 lead over the Huskies. The Beavers had made their first two drives look pretty easy against a Huskies defense which has struggled all season long. The Huskies had allowed the Beavers to rush for 83 yards despite not rushing over 70 yards the prior three games while being able to do so in the first quarter. The Huskies with a freshman quarterback making his first career start knew they were in trouble as the defense wasn't going to be stopping anyone anytime soon.
The Huskies now trailing 14-7 started off on their own 20 yard line. After a short run by Polk, Montana completed a 12 yard pass to Polk to their own 33 yard line. Montana would scramble for six yards to the 39 yard line, using the wildcat Jessie Callier would rush for nine yards to their own 48 yard line. After a short run by Polk to the 50 yard line, Montana would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of seven yards to the Beavers 43 yard line setting up a third and one. Polk would rush for three yards to extend the drive out to the Beavers 40 yard line. Callier again in the wildcat would rush for nine yards to the Beavers 31 yard line. Facing second and one, Montana would complete another pass to Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of three yards to the 28 yard line for the first down. Polk would rush for six yards to the 22 yard line then Bishop Sankey would rush for 11 more to the 11 yard line. After an offsides penalty which gave the Huskies the ball on the six yard line first and goal Polk would rush for a yard. Facing a third and goal Montana threw the ball into coverage as Seferian-Jenkins used his big body for his second touchdown of the game to tie up the score at 14-14.
The Huskies offense would end the half going three and out as Montana had a costly intentional grounding. Which allowed the Beavers to have the ball on the Huskies 26 yard line with three minutes left. The Huskies would stop the Beavers holding them to a field goal as the Beavers led at halftime over the Huskies 17-14. The third quarter featured plenty of missed opportunities for both teams as neither team could score. The Beavers were driving for a touchdown but Sean Parker made a great diving interception for the Huskies. Meanwhile Seferian-Jenkins dropped a wide open pass from Montana that nobody was around him then Erik Folk missed a 39 yard field goal that would have tied it up. The game remained 17-14 heading into the fourth.
The Beavers clinging to a 17-14 lead had the ball on their own 21 yard line. Mannion completed an eight yard pass which was fumbled out of bounds. Facing a third and one from their own 30 yard line Mannion completed a three yard pass for the first down. On a crucial third and four from their own 39 yard line completed a 58 yard pass to Obum Gwacham down to the Huskies three yard line. On the next play Jovan Stevenson ran it in from three yards out giving the Beavers a 24-14 lead. On the Huskies first play from their own 22 yard line Nick Montana fumbled the ball as the Beavers regained possession on the Huskies 15 yard line. After an incomplete pass Stevenson once again ran it in from 15 yards out giving hte Beavers a commanding 31-14 lead over the Huskies. After that is when Sarkisian made the decision to end Montana's day and put in injured quarterback Keith Price as the Huskies were on the verge of getting blown out. The Huskies still had 11 minutes left in the game but were facing a 17 point deficit as the game was in danger of getting away from the Huskies.
From their own 15 yard line Price completed a nine yard pass to Seferian-Jenkins to the 24 yard line. Polk rushed for two yards to pick up the first down. That is when Price hit Kasen Williams for 36 yards to the Beavers 38 yard line. Polk would rush for seven yards setting up a third and three from the Beavers 31 yard line as Price would hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of 10 yards for the first down. Facing a fourth and nine from the 20 yard line despite being down 17(two touchdowns and a field goal) Sarkisian elected to go for it as Price hit Devin Aguilar for the 20 yard touchdown pass. For Price that was his 26th touchdown pass of the season as the Huskies pulled within 31-21. On the ensuing kickoff the Beavers fumbled the ball as the Huskies recovered on the Beavers 17 yard line. Price would throw the pass to Williams as it appeared was going to be a touchdown. Instead Williams let the ball come to him and the ball was picked off at the one yard line.
The Beavers would put away the Huskies for good as they went on a 12 play 99 yard drive. The key was Mannion going over the top to Wheaton from his own one yard line for 52 yards. Facing a fourth and goal from the one Riley decided to ice the game as Stevenson ran it in for his third rushing touchdown of the game as the Huskies would eventually lose 38-21. The Beavers were led by Mannion who was 26-37 with 339 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Wheaton caught seven passes for 125 yards while also rushing for 66 yards. Stevenson ran for 41 yards with three touchdowns.
For the Huskies they had a long day as they were dominated by an inferior team. No man struggled more individually thank Nick Montana who was 11-21 for 79 yards(3.8 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception plus a fumble. Keith Price off the bench was five for nine passing for 76 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chris Polk ran the ball 25 times for 109 yards(4.4 YPC) but had just 13 carries the final three quarters. Kevin Smith had a nice 24 yard run while Jesse Callier ran three times for 22 yards. Bishop Sankey had two rushes for 12 yards as well. Once again Kasen Williams like he has done in previous weeks led the team in receiving yards with three receptions for 54 yards. Devin Aguilar had three receptions for 42 yards with a touchdown. Austin Seferian-Jenkins had six receptions for 40 yards and two touchdowns but a costly drop. Jermaine Kearse continues his slump with just one reception for 10 yards. Even their reliable kicker Erik Folk had a costly miss. The Huskies simply didn't play very well as this was easily the worst loss in the Sarkisian era.
All in all, the Huskies must regroup fromt his loss. The Huskies have now lost three games in a row for the eighth straight season a streak that has to end hopefully next year. The Huskies are hoping to avoid the four game losing streak something they have done just once in the Sarkisian era(his first year). This was a tough loss indeed and the Huskies will have better days ahead of them.
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