Huskies take on LSU; flashback to the start of the Sark era

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!

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.

Trojans embarrass Huskies 40-17 in Sarkisian's return to old stomping grounds

By Kshell

The USC Trojans(8-2,5-2) made sure there was no last second game winning field goals by Erik Folk as the Trojans destroyed the Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) 40-17. Steve Sarkisian who had previously been 2-0 against the team he coached for many years had one of his worst losses as a head coach with all things considered. The Trojans dominated this game as they rushed for 252 yards while the Huskies offense which features Chris Polk was held to just 42 yards rushing as a team. For the third straight week Keith Price has struggled and was injured during the game which leaves him out for the following week. This was yet another bad blowout loss for Sarkisian's Huskies who have been outscored 74-34 the last two weeks after starting off the season 6-2.

The Huskies began the game with two three and outs while the Trojans on the second possession took advantage. Starting from their own 20 yard line on second down Matt Barkley hit Brice Butler for an incredible diving 36 yard catch on the Huskies 34 yard line as the Huskies had a penalty the prior play. After a Barkley eight yard pass that set up third and one from the 25 yard line. That is when running back Marc Tyler busted a 24 yard run down to the Huskeis one yard line. Barkley then finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown keeper to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. The Huskies offense once again went three and out. After stopping the Trojans the Huskies offense finally had a drive going. Price hit Austin Seferian-Jenkins for gains of 22 yards, 11 yards and then 12 yards. The Huskies offense stalled as Folk ended the drive with a 46 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the following series is when the Trojans would change momentum back to their side.

The Trojans once again began on their own 20 yard line but Barkley completed back to back passes to their own 38. After a loss of nine yards the Trojans were facing a 3rd and 19. The Huskies were called for a suspect pass interference call which was on an uncatchable pass. The Trojans were facing a second and 20 saw Barkley complete an 11 yard pass to set up third and nine. The Huskies defense recorded the stop which appeared the Trojans on their own 45 yard line would punt. Instead Lane Kiffin called a fake punt which saw punter Kyle Negrete rush up the middle for a 35 yard run which 33 yards he went untouched. Kiffin found a weakness in Sarkisian's special teams and took advantage. Curtis McNeal then ran for 15 yards on the next two carries plus a Huskies penalty gave the Trojans the ball on the two yard line. After the Huskies had back to back stops on McNeal the Trojans turned to Tyler who ran it in from one yard out to give the Trojans a 14-3 lead over the Huskies.

The game changed after the fake punt as the Huskies self destructed. After a short kickoff return and a penalty the Huskies found themselves starting on their own eight yard line. After a short run by Polk it had appeared that Keith Price hit Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 25 yards. Despite the call on the field being a catch and there was no conclusive evidence the catch was overturned. Facing a third and nine from the 10 Price was sacked in the endzone for a safety giving the Trojans a 16-3 lead while also gaining possession. Starting from their own 49 yard line the Trojans went to work as McNeal busted a 19 yard run then a five yard run to the Huskies 27 yard line. On third and three Tyler ran for four yards to the 21 yard line. McNeal then ran for 12 more yards to the Huskies nine yard line. That is when Barkley finished the drive with a nine yard touchdown pass to Marqise Lee to give the Trojans a commanding 23-3 lead at halftime over the Huskies.

The second half began with the Trojans receiving the ball first. As if there was any doubt in the game Lee made sure there wasn't as he took the kickoff 88 yards to the House to give the Trojans a 30-3 lead over the Huskies. The Huskies offense would actually respond to that as Kevin Smith ran back to the kick 40 yards to their own 43 yard line. Bishop Sankey began the drive with a gain of three yards. Then Price hit Smith on a crossing route which Smith using his speed busted 53 yards as he was tackled at the one yard line. That is when the Huskies rewarded Polk for the one yard touchdown run. That was Polk's 10th rushing touchdown of the season which was a career high for Polk who bested his mark of last season of nine rushing touchdowns.



With the score cutdown to 30-10 the Trojans made sure this game was still going to be a blowout. Starting from their own 20 yard line after a one yard run by McNeal is when the game went back to being ugly. McNeal busted it 79 yards untouched for the touchdown to give the Trojans back their commanding lead of 37-10. The Huskies offense would go three and out the next three drives while two drives later the Trojans went on a 15 play, 61 yard drive which took up over seven and a half minutes resulting in a field goal to go up 40-10 over the Huskies. This game turned ugly when many including myself expected a good close game. The Huskies as if things couldn't get any worse lost starting quarterback Keith Price during the game due to injury while the Trojans made damn well sure this game wasn't going to be a repeat of the last two years. The Trojans took care of business over the Huskies with big plays and I'm sure Nick Holt was re-thinking his statement on whether he would rather face them than Oregon. The Trojans put the hurting on the Huskies and the only left in this game was to see how Nick Montana the son of Joe Montana would handle the quarterback position in mop up duty.

The last drive of the game meant nothing far as the game goes but meant everything towards this week. The Huskies began on their own 31 yard line. Sankey had a rush of four yards then Montana hit Michael Hartvigson for a gain of 10 yards. Sankey followed that up with a 17 yard run to the Trojans 38 yard line. Montana then hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of six yards setting up a third and four. Montana hit Hartvigson again for a gain of six yards to pick up the first down. Montana completed a pass to Sankey for a gain of six yards to the 20 yard line. Facing a fourth and four Montana threw the ball up for grabs as he saw Kasen Williams had one on one coverage and for the second straight week Williams came down with the pass and the touchdown. For the third straight week Williams has been more productive than either senior wide receiver. The Huskies would go on to lose this game 40-17 as they lost their quarterback.

The Trojans blew out the Huskies 40-17 led by their rushing attack. Curtis McNeal had 148 yards rushing on 18 carries(8.2 YPC) including a touchdown. Marc Tyler had 50 yards on seven carries(7.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Matt Barkley played a solid game when the game was still in doubt. Barkley was 18-28(64.3%) for 174 yards(6.2 YPA) with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Marqise Lee had nine receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown while also having an 88 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

For the Huskies they have had better days no doubt. Keith Price finished 12-16(75.0%) for 125 yards(7.8 YPA) while being sacked four times. His backup Nick Montana had mixed results as Montana was 9-15(60.0%) for 73 yards(4.9 YPA) with his first career touchdown pass. The rushing game was nowhere to be seen as Chris Polk was held to season lows in carries with nine and yards with 36(4.0 YPC) while rushing for a touchdown. Bishop Sankey ran for 22 yards on four carries(5.5 YPC) and Kevin Smith ran once for six yards. The receiving game was featured by the youngsters led by Smith who had one catch for 53 yards. Then Seferian-Jenkins broke out of his slump with four receptions for 48 yards. Kasen Williams added five receptions for 44 yards with a touchdown. Sankey also had four receptions on the game as well. This was a horrible loss for the Huskies program hoping their days of returning to glory would start now.

All in all, these type of losses need to end for Sarkisian like ASAP. The Huskies have had a horrible habit of getting blown out quite a bit despite being a decent team. I'm aware there are growing pains but these type of losses need to stop. The high powered offense has looked beyond average the last two weeks which might have some to do with their opponent. Despite the sanctions the Trojans are a good team which features two top three picks in the NFL draft next year plus many other NFL players. The Huskies for the second straight week found out they are a long ways away from competing for Rose Bowls.

Observations:

- When the team is winning the quarterback receives too much credit. Likewise when the team is losing the quarterback receives too much blame. Take this game for an example Price didn't turn the ball over, completed 75% of his passes and his yards per attempt was close to eight. Yet all over facebook and twitter fans were bashing on Price.

Price has had a bad habit the last two weeks of constantly checking the ball down which is the smart play. By checking the ball down all the time though the Huskies are scoring points which ultimately as the quarterback is your job. For the year though Price is having a great season as he is completing 67.2% of his passes for 2,258 yards(7.9 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He has been sacked 25 times including 10 in the last two games alone. Due to all those sacks Price will have to miss this next game and hopefully he'll be able to return for the apple cup.

- Chris Polk had just nine carries for 36 yards with a touchdown while catching just one pass for zero yards. Why Sarkisian neglected to use his best weapon on the road has been the mystery. Polk is a speed back who has proven to get better as the game goes on. With Price getting hit on practically every play why not pound Polk more to ease the pressure off of Price?

Polk for the year is still having one of the great seasons for a Huskies running back and judging by the poor rush defenses he faces the next two weeks he should be adding quite a bit to his totals. For the year Polk has ran for 1,132 yards(5.2 YPC) with 10 touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns.  Sarkisian needs to feature his best weapon or the Huskies are going to have a disappointing end to a once promising season.

- The play of Kasen Williams lately has been nice to see. Williams the last three weeks has stepped his game up and appears to have figured out the playbook. That also could be due to Montana playing more as well as those two seemed to have good chemistry. Williams the last three weeks has caught 13 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns. For the season Williams now has 25 receptions for 280 yards with four touchdowns. So as you can see he has improved quite a bit as the season has worn on.

The other true freshman on the team are doing pretty well too. I'll start with Austin Seferian-Jenkins who broke out of his slump with four receptions fo 48 yards. On the year Seferian-Jenkins has 26 receptions for 383 yards with four touchdowns. The other true freshman who is having a nice year on offense is Bishop Sankey who appears to have passed up Jesse Callier as the number two back and always seems to bust one long run a game. For the year Sankey has ran for 175 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. The last five weeks Sankey has ran for 154 yards(7.7 YPC) with a touchdown. Sankey for the year has also caught five passes.

-  Nick Montana as everyone probably knows is the son of four-time super bowl winning quarterback Joe Montana. Montana[Nick] will be starting this next saturday against the Oregon State Beavers. Montana showed to be a bit rusty in his debut turning the ball over twice in his first two games. Now Montana appears comfortable as he came in the Oregon game with a beautiful 53 yard pass to Williams then this week threw a nice 20 yard touchdown pass to Williams.

For the year Montana is 13-20(65.0%) for 147 yards(7.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. Montana has shown the last two weeks where he went 10-16 for 126 yards with a touchdown that he is more than capable of filling in for the injured Keith Price. Montana is only a redshirt freshman and while fans expect him to be like his dad that is completely unfair. Let's allow Montana to play his whole career before passing judgement.

- Last year Sarkisian after beating USC called it the greatest day of his life besides when his kids were born. What a contrast a year makes as the Huskies were embarassed once again against a ranked opponent. For the year against ranked opponents the Huskies are 0-4 having been outscored 190-93 which is an average score of 47.5-23.2 which is completely unaccetapable.

Sarkisian needs to avoid these blowouts if he really is going to be the guy for this program for decades to come. Any coach can coach this team for the short term which Willingham proved. It takes a great coach to last for a decade plus with one school. I believe Sarkisian is more than capable of being that guy but he needs to stop letting his team get blown out so often.

In conclusion, this is your classic game where you throw the game tape away as the Huskies simply gave up once again. The offense looks to be struggling while the defense continues to be overmatched in year three of this coaching staff's regime. Unless things change Sarkisian will be faced with some tough decisions on his coaching staff but I'll get into that later in the year. Sarkisian still can salvage the season as the Huskies will be heavy favorites the next two games. Since Don James retired at the end of the 1992 season the Huskies have won only won eight games in the regular season just twice and eight games three times overall. The Huskies can still do that with wins the next two weeks which any fan including myself would take. The Huskies failed the big test once again so to make up for it they have to ace the quizzes the next two weeks.

Huskies look to win three in a row against Trojans

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(6-3,4-2) look to avoid their first two game losing streak of the season as they take on the #18 USC Trojans(7-2,4-2). The Huskies under former Trojans offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian have upset the Trojans the last two seasons. Once again the Huskies are double digit underdogs as they take on their new rivals from the south. The Huskies are looking to defeat the Trojans three years in a row for the first time since 1990-1992 and are looking to win down in L.A. back to back years since 1937. This game will also feature two quarterbacks who have played against each other since high school. This will be a big game for both programs as Lane Kiffin will try to defeat his good friend Sarkisian.

The Trojans offense is led by future top 10 pick quarterback Matt Barkley. Barkley is having a breakout season as a true junior this year. Barkley has completed 67.0% of his passes for 2,608 yards(7.6 YPA) with 28 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Earlier this week the man who recruited Barkley to USC and current Huskies head coach Sarkisian stated if he were an NFL GM he would take Barkley over Andrew Luck. Sarkisian the last two years has played mind games on the Trojans on pulling off upsets and I expect this is no different. Barkley has two stud receivers led by Robert Woods who already has 90 receptions for 1,121 yards with 11 touchdowns. The other receiver is Marqise Lee who has 43 receptions for 658 yards with seven touchdowns. The Trojans offense is led by two rushers first of all Curtis McNeal who has rushed for 639 yards(6.7 YPC) with four touchdowns. The other rusher is Marc Tyler who has rushed for 438 yards(4.5 YPC) with two touchdowns. The Trojans offense on the year is averaging 33.4 points per game while allowing 25.7 points per game. The Huskies have defeated them the last two years 16-13 then last season 32-31 both time on Erik Folk game winning field goals. The Trojans this year will try to defeat Sarkisian and Nick Holt for the first time as they are 0-2 against them.

The Huskies offense is hoping to rebound from last weeks poor showing against the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies offense and defense has been huge in victories over the Trojans the last two years. The Huskies offense goes where Chris Polk carries them as he has ran for 1,096 yards(5.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns on the year. He has also caught 24 passes for 280 yards(11.7 YPC) with three touchdowns. The Huskies are hoping Polk can rebound from last week where he ran for just 80 yards on a 3.3 YPC average. The passing game has been slowed down lately as well but Keith Price is returning home. Last season Price threw his first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Huskies the lead. On the year Price has thrown for 2,133 yards with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. His top receivers are seniors Devin Aguilar who has 30 receptions for 461 yards and three touchdowns. While Jermaine Kearse has 34 receptions for 419 yards with six touchdowns. An emerging star has been Kasen Williams who has 20 receptions for 236 yards with three touchdowns on the season. In the last two weeks though Williams has caught eight passes for 159 yards with a touchdown. The Huskies offense is averaging 33.6 points per game while allowing 33.4 points per game.

In conclusion, the Huskies will probably need another Erik Folk miracle to win this game. This game should be a close game as both teams run the same exact offense. This is a fun rivalry as Sarkisian was always above Kiffin in the coaching tree at USC. Kiffin only got the Raiders job due to Sarkisian rejecting it. Now these two will be squaring off for round two in what should be a great rivarly for years to come. Sarkisian, Kiffin and Chip Kelly are going to be the future of this conference whether fans like it or not. This will be another outstanding game which should feature plenty of offensive firepower. Hopefully Sarkisian can out coach Kiffin like he did last year and upset the Trojans for the third straight season.

Oregon closes out Husky Stadium with win over Huskies 34-17

By Kshell

The #6 Oregon Ducks(8-1,6-0) defeated the Washington Huskies(6-3,4-2) 34-17 in the final game at old Husky Stadium. The Ducks who rushed for 212 yards were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards including a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric as the Huskies honored their 1991 National Championship team amongst others. Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn't suit up the 1991 team and their current team struggled offensively. For the first time all year Steve Sarkisian saw his team struggle which was highlighted by Keith Price throwing two interceptions in the opening half which set up 14 points for the Ducks. The Huskies battled the Ducks but once again came up well short of the victory against their rivals and against top tier opponents. For the Ducks this win sets up a Pac-10 showdown this week as they take on undefeated Stanford Cardinal.

The game started off terribly for the Huskies. After Keith Price completed a 13 yard pass to Chris Polk down the middle it was all downhill from there. Price two plays later threw an interception which was returned to the Huskies 38 yard line. Darron Thomas completed a pass for 13 yards to the Huskies 25 yard line. Then LaMichael James took over first rushing for seven yards to the Huskies 18 yard line. James then finished off the drive with an 18 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an early 7-0 lead. On the following series the Huskies offense continued to be shutdown and went three and out. The Ducks would take over possession with the ball on their own 35 yard line.

That is when the Huskies caught a break. The Ducks Darron Thomas went back to pass but fumbled the ball. The Huskies recovered on the Ducks 32 yard line. Price immediately completed a 13 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse. After that the Huskies would go backwards and would have to settle on an Erik Folk 42 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the ensuing kickoff DeAnthony Thomas busted it 69 yards and was tackled from behind by Justin Glenn to the Huskies 21 yard line. The defense got tough and pushed the Ducks high powered offense backwards. The Ducks would have to settle on a 40 yard field goal to give them a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies were driving into Oregon territory after the teams had traded punts. The Huskies were on the Oregon 43 yard line when Price threw another costly interception which was returned 49 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. James started the drive off with an eight yard run to the Huskies 26 yard line. James again ran for 16 yards to the Huskies 10 yard line. Darron Thomas kept it for six yards to set up second and goal from the four yard line. Thomas then hit David Paulson for the wide open four yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 17-3 lead. The Huskies offense continued to struggle on the next possession giving up another sack. While this time the defense three and outed the Ducks giving the offense the ball back at midfield with over six minutes left in the half.

The Huskies would go on a perfect drive which ate up all the clock so Oregon could respond. The drive began with four straight runs to Chris Polk which he gained 19 yards to set up a third and one from the Oregon 30. Price on a play action hit fullback Tim Tucker for a gain of five yards to move the chains. Once again Price was sacked for a loss of two but Polk would gain eight yards back setting up a crucial third and four. Price hit Jesse Callier in the flat for a gain of five yards to the Oregon 14 yard line. After a short run by Polk the Huskies once again went to the pass as Price connected with Kearse for a gain of nine yards to the Oregon three yard line. Sarkisian called for a fake to Polk and have Price keep it which appeared Price scored a touchdown but was ruled out at the one yard line. On the next play the Huskies faked the fullback dive to Polk as Price hit a wide open Michael Hartvigson for the one yard touchdown pass. The Ducks would drive down but would run out of time as they missed a field goal. The Huskies were only down 17-10 at halftime.

The Ducks began the second half with the ball first. After a penalty the Ducks were starting on their own 10 yard line as well. James began the drive with a 22 yard run  to the 32 yard line. Thomas completed a 12 yard pass then James rushed again for 16 yards to the Huskies 40 yard line. Thomas completed back to back passes to the Huskies 26 yard line. Facing a third and six from the Huskies 26 yard line Kenjon Barner rushed for eight yards to pick up the crucial first down. James ran for six yards to the Huskies 12 yard line setting up a third and four. Barner would again pick up the first down with a gain of eight yards. Facing a second and goal from the one yard line Barner would cap the drive with a touchdown to give the Ducks a 24-10 lead. The Ducks went on a 12 play drive for 90 yards to open up the second half to silent the Huskies crowd. The Huskies were once again trailing in the second half by 14 points to the powerful Ducks team who had crushed the Huskies by over 20 points the previous seven meetings. The third quarter was typically the Ducks big quarter as well so the Huskies offense had to respond to the score.

The Huskies knew the Ducks offense was about to wake up so they had to respond. After an incomplete pass from their own 25 yard line Polk ran for 14 yards to their own 39 yard line. Price completed a seven yard pass to Polk. Facing a third and four Price hit Polk again for six yards to the Ducks 49 yard line. True freshman Bishop Sankey then had the longest run of the game for 19 yards to the Ducks 30 yard line. On the next play Price would hit Devin Aguilar over the middle for a gain of 20 yards. The next play Price threw an out route in the back of the endzone to true freshman Kasen Williams. Williams went up and caught the ball while dragging his feet for the touchdown. After the review the play was confirmed Williams made the spectatular touchdown catch to pull the Huskies within 24-17. For Price he bounced back from two interceptions with two touchdowns giving him 25 touchdown passes on the season which puts him at three behind the school record. More importantly the Huskies answered the Ducks touchdown with a score of their own hoping to make this a game unlike the past seven years. The Huskies defense would have to make a key stop on the Ducks offense to truly make this a game.

The Ducks were facing a crucial third and nine from their own 31 yard line. The Huskies defense had a chance to three and out the Ducks after scoring a touchdown. That is when the Ducks made the play of the game when Thomas hit Paulson down the middle for a gain of 34 yards to the Huskies 35 yard line. Thomas completed a 19 yard pass to the Huskies 16 yard line. James ran for seven yards to the Huskies nine yard line. The Ducks called an option play as Darron Thomas pitched it to DeAnthony Thomas for the nine yard score giving the Ducks a 31-17 lead. The Huskies on the following drive after Price hit Aguilar for a gain of 14 yards were at midfield. Trailing by 14 points the Huskies were facing a fourth and four from the 49 yard line. That is when Price was under pressure tried to shovel pass to Polk but he was stopped well short. The Ducks then put the game away going on a nine play drive ending in a field goal putting them up 34-17. The Huskies fumbled on the following drive but the Ducks missed the field goal.

The Huskies had one last chance to make this a game in the fourth quarter. Price completed a pass to the fullback Tucker for a gain of seven yards to the 27 yard line. Price on the following play was sacked and was laying on the ground appearing to have hurt his non throwing shoulder. Nick Montana came into the game facing a third and 10 from the 20 yard line. Montana completed a long pass down the sideline to Kasen Williams for 53 yards down to the Oregon 27 yard line. Price then immediately came in for Montana and hit Kearse over the middle to see Kearse drop the ball. On third and 10 Price had Kevin Smith in the endzone wide open but Smith had the ball hit his number for the drop. On fourth down Price was rushed out of the pocket and threw an incomplete pass. From there on out the Ducks ran out the clock for the 34-17 victory over the Huskies.

The Ducks won the game 34-17. They were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Kenjon Barner ran for 41 yards(4.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Darron Thomas was 13-25 passing(52.0%) for 169 yards(6.8 YPA) with a touchdown. David Paulson had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. For the Huskies their offense struggled behind Keith Price who was 24-35(68.6%) passing for 143 yards(4.1 YPA) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Nick Montana in relief was 1-1 passing for 53 yards. The running game struggled as Chris Polk rushed for only 80 yards(3.3 YPC) but did have six receptions for 31 yards. Bishop Sankey had 21 yards rushing on two carries including the longest run for the Huskies. Another true freshman had a breakout game in Kasen Williams who had six receptions for 79 yards(13.2 YPC) with a touchdown. The receptions and yards were a career high for Williams. Aguilar was next in line with two receptions for 34 yards. Kearse was held to just 24 yards receiving on three receptions. Kevin Smith had just one reception for 14 yards. The Huskies offense was just shut down all game long.

All in all, the Huskies just aren't ready to beat top 10 teams like the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies in their last 13 games are 0-3 against top 10 ranked opponents but 10-0 against the rest. That shows the Huskies are a good program but not a great program. Steve Sarkisian has this program progessing pretty well which is taking time. The Ducks dominated the line of scrimmage and until the Huskies improve up front they aren't going to win these type of big games. In front of a great atmosphere under the lights Husky Stadium will be closed for a year. Even though the Huskies lost these seniors have helped change the program for the better. The Ducks are the class of the Pac-12 and until a team dethroans them they will remain on top.

Observations:

- The atmosphere was pretty incredible pregame. Very rarely does legendary head coach Don James go to the games anymore. There was definately a who's who on the sidelines. You had several big names as all the Husky legends were at the game. James did the opening coin toss and the crowd gave him a thunderest standing ovation. James while at Washington went to six Rose Bowls, won four Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl and most importantly won a National Championship in 1991. James was also 10-4 in bowl games while at Washington when he coached the Huskies from 1975-1992. The 1991 team was honored as well as other Husky greats throughout the contest. It was nice seeing Don James and Jim Lambright at the game as well as many other great legends.

- I'm a big fan of the Huskies wearing the black uniforms.This was the first and probably only time I was disappointed though. Most Husky fans were hoping the Huskies would come out in the 1991 uniforms to honor the 1991 team.

This was also the final game in old Husky Stadium so I was hoping the Huskies would wear traditional uniforms. Like I said I'm not against wearing the black uniforms the Huskies were previously 3-0 all-time when wearing the black uniforms. I think in the Apple Cup wearing the black uniforms would be terrific as well especially if the Cougars are wearing their all grey's. Had the Huskies won this game the uniforms wouldn't be an issue though.

- The Huskies have to stop killing themselves with dropped passes. Last week in a win over the Arizona Wildcats the Huskies receivers dropped several passes including a touchdown and two more that went for interceptions.

This week Jermaine Kearse continued to drop multiple key passes. Devin Aguilar had some key drops as well. No drop was bigger than Kevin Smith who as you can see let the ball hit off his number for a wide open touchdown. Price had poor numbers but his receivers aren't helping him at all. The Huskies receivers are too talented to be dropping as many passes as they have been dropping the last two weeks. Hopefully going forward the dropped passes problem goes away or the Huskies might lose another game or two.

- The lone bright spot on offense was wide receiver Kasen Williams. Williams has had a struggling first season with the Huskies. Prior to two weeks ago Williams season high for yards receiving in a game was only 30 yards. In the last two weeks though Williams has played really well. Last week in a win over Arizona Williams had two receptions for 60 yards including a key 48 yard reception.

This week Williams had easily his best game in a Huskies uniform. He had six receptioins for 79 yards with a touchdown including a 53 yard reception. The last two weeks Williams has been part of the offense and has made long receptions. For the year now Williams has 20 receptions for 236 yards with three touchdowns in eight games. Williams came in as a heralded five star recruit but the Huskies receiving corp has been pretty loaded. That was nice to see Williams have a breakout game in a big game. Williams touchdown catch in the endzone was an incredible touchdown reception. He went up to grab the ball and held on for the tough catch. Williams is a future star and look for Sarkisian to feature him more in the next coming weeks especially if the other receivers are dropping passes.

-  Chris Polk for only the second time all year was held under 100 yards rushing and was also held out of the endzone. First time all year he was held under 100 rushing and without a touchdown in the same game. Polk's longest rush of the game was only 14 yards as the Ducks defensive line dominated the Huskies upfront.

Polk for being shut down still had 111 total yards offense. Polk also tied for the team lead in receptions with six as he had six receptions for 31 yards. On the year Polk has rushed for 1,096 yards(5.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 24 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns on the season. Polk has yet to have a game where he was held to under 100 yards of total offense. Polk had a rough game but showing why he is a good player still had a productive game when it was all said and done.

-  Keith Price had his worst game as a Husky and has appeared to have slowed down since starting off so hot. Price was sacked six times last game and threw two interceptions. Price has thrown five interceptions the last two weeks after throwing only five interceptions his first seven games. Price was checking off way too much this game throwing the ball 35 times yet only passing for 141 yards.

Price had two interceptions that led to 14 points for the Ducks. For the year Price is still having a great season completing 66.8% of his passes for 2,133 yards(7.8 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Price is only a sophomore quarterback so growing pains was bound to happen. He will have better days ahead of him and hopefully this was just one of those games. The receivers dropping all those passes are hurting his touchdowns and interceptions the last two weeks. With more help for his receivers and his offensive line Price can be comfortable and play "Keith Price" football once again.

In conclusion, this game was a tough loss but overall a great day. My friend Camden Rider went to high school with Jon Brockman so I had the pleasure of talking to Brockman prior to the game. You couldn't even tell he was an NBA player(besides his size) as he was just a low key person. As for the game itself the Huskies as a program will have better days. Sarkisian as a coach will have better days as will his quarterback Keith Price. The Huskies lost to a top 10 team and now must turn their focus onto USC. The Huskies are still a 6-3 football team who has a chance to be the third best team overall in the conference this week with a win over USC. The Huskies program is still going in the right direction while Husky Stadium is closed for over a year. I'm going to miss Husky Stadium quite a bit and I hope the Huskies open up their new temporary home Century Link with a victory in two weeks.

Polk helps lead Huskies to dominant second half winning 31-14 over Utah

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(4-1,2-0) led by Chris Polk rushing for a season high 189 yards dominated the second half in beating the Utah Utes(2-2,0-2) 31-14 on the road. The Huskies scored 24 unanswered points including 21 in the fourth quarter to silent the Utes crowd. The Huskies in the third quarter had almost 200 yards of total offense compared to just 23 yards for the Utes. Polk had 105 yards rushing in the third quarter alone while Keith Price continued his streak of throwing for at least three touchdown passes in a game to five. Price would finish the game throwing for 226 yards with three touchdowns. The line of scrimmage was dominated by the Huskies as they ran for 185 yards compared to just 17 for the Utes. The Huskies survived a rough first half then took advantage of the second half. For a defense who has been bashed on they have put together six straight good quarters of football. The game couldn't have started off any better for the Huskies who are hoping to take this momentum past the bye week.

The Huskies won the opening kickoff and elected to receive for the second half. On the opening kickoff the Utes kickoff returner Charles Henderson was tackled by Garret Gilliland who then forced the fumble. The fumble was recovered by Jamaal Kearse who ran it in for an 18 yard touchdown return. The last name should sound familiar as Jamaal is the younger brother of Jermaine Kearse. The Utes would avoid the turnover on their next kickoff return but would be forced to go three and out. All the momentum was wearing purple at that stage of the game. On the Huskies opening possession from their own 28 yard line they would begin with a Polk run of seven yards, Price would then hit Polk for a gain of seven yards. Price would hit Kearse for a gain of 17 yards while following that up with a seven yard run. Facing a third and three from the Utes 34 the Huskies would call for a toss sweep to Polk for a gain of two yards setting up a key fourth and one. The Utes this time would win the battle of the line of scrimmage stopping Polk short. The momentum had suddenly shifted to wearing red.

The Utes took advantage of the fourth down stop. Jordan Wynn connected to Devonte Christopher for a gain of 36 yards down the sideline to the Huskies 32 yard line. The play was originally called a touchdown but he was ruled out of bounds. Wynn would hit a 12 yard pass to the Huskies 20 yard line. After two short gains the Utes were facing a key third and six from the Huskies 16 yard line. That is when the game would be tied up when Wynn would hit Dres Anderson for a 16 yard touchdown to tie the game up. The Utes made that drive look easy but nobody thought that would be the Utes last score until 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Huskies would record some key stops on the Utes in the redzone to stay in the game in the first half.

During the course of the first half the Utes had several opportunities to take the lead over the Huskies. The first drive that led to nothing was when the Utes were facing a fourth and one from the Huskies 31 yard line. After a false start the Utes went for it on fourth down and failed to convert. The following drive the Utes drove 53 yards on 10 plays but the Huskies came up with a huge interception by Sean Parker. The Utes once again had a nice drive going but would fumble the ball on the Huskies six yard line. The Huskies would finish the half going on a 12 play 68 yard drive ending with Erik Folk making a 44 yard field goal. Despite being outgained by 54 yards the Huskies led at halftime 10-7. Keith Price was only 8-12 passing for 81 yards with an interception. While Chris Polk had been shut down to 44 yards on 12 carries(3.7 YPC). While the Utes were led by Jordan Wynn who was 12-17 passing for 149 yards with a touchdown but a costly interception. The Huskies had stopped Shawn White holding him to just 28 yards rushing on 10 carries(2.8 YPC). Although the Utes dominated the first half they found themselves trailing. The Huskies would come out and play their best half of the season to put the game away.

The Huskies would begin the second half like they begin the first half by scoring a touchdown. The drive would begin with a Bishop Sankey four yard run up the middle then the big play would happen next. Chris Polk would enter the game and announce he was ready to go this second half. Polk would bust a run for 49 yards to the Utah 27 yard line. Price would hit Jermaine Kearse for a five yard gain then have a dropped pass setting up a key third and five from the 22 yard line. Price would hit freshman tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 13 yards to the Utes nine yard line. After a short run by Polk that is when Steve Sarkisian called a beautiful play. The Huskies ran a wide receiver screen to freshman Kasen Williams who had some key blocks. Williams would score an eight yard touchdown to give the Huskies a 17-7 lead over the Utes.

After trading punts the Utes lost their starting quarterback Jordan Wynn to a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Jon Hays. Starting on their own 14 yard line the Utes called for a fade pass which was played beautifully by the Huskies Greg Ducre who intercepted the pass at the Huskies 48 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Polk had a 14 yard run to the Utes 38 yard line. Price would hit James Johnson down the middle for a 15 yard reception to the Utes 23 yard line. Price would throw a quick pass to Kearse who made the defender miss as he sprinted up the sideline for the touchdown to give the Huskies a 24-7 lead. The Huskies had came out in the second half taking it to the Utes. This was a different Keith Price in the second half and the third quarter would end with the Huskies up 24-7. The Huskies had played their best quarter in the Sarkisian era. The defense was continuing stopping the Utes offense while the Huskies offense wouldn't let up. The Huskies would put the game away on the following drive to seal the deal something they hadn't done all season long.

The Huskies would begin with the ball on their own 26 yard line after Utah elected to punt on fourth and one from midfield. The game would be put away as the Huskies would go on a 14 play 74 yard drive taking up over seven minutes. After a loss of four yards Polk would rush for eight yards setting up a key third and six from their own 30 yard line. Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 11 yards to their own 41 yard line. Polk would rush for a gain of nine yards to the 50 yard line as the third quarter had ended. Polk would rush for the first down, then rush for eight yards. On third and three from the Utes 41 yard line Price would rush for six yards to extend the drive. Price would hit Kearse for a gain of seven, facing yet another third down Price would hit Kearse for the first down to the Utes 21 yard line. On third and six from the Utes 17 yard line Price would hit Devin Aguilar for a 17 yard touchdown pass. That would be the 17th passing touchdown of the season for Price who equaled Jake Locker's total from all of last season. The Utes would score a late touchdown which had no barring on the game. The Huskies would win the game 31-14 over the Utes in an impressive road win.

For the Huskies this was an extremely impressive win. The Huskies were 10 point underdogs and totally dominated the second half. The defense for the second straight week has shown improvement which has been a trademark for Nick Holt. Sarkisian saw his offense struggle in the first half only to rebound in the second half putting up 299 total yards offense in the second half alone. The Huskies were led by Chris Polk who ran for the second highest total of his career with 189 yards rushing on 29 carries(6.5 YPC) while catching three passes for 16 yards. The sophomore quarterback who was recruited by Utah then later pulled their offer made them pay. Keith Price finished the game 22-30(73.3%) for 226 yards(7.5 YPA) with three touchdowns and one interception. Like he has done all year long Price was spreading the ball around. Price completed a pass to eight different receivers led by Jermaine Kearse who had seven receptions for 70 yards with a touchdown. Devin Aguilar added two receptions for 40 yards with a touchdown, James Johnson had three for 37 yards, Austin Seferian-Jenkins had three for 32 yards and Kasen Williams had two for 30 yards with a touchdown. The Huskies defense forced five turnovers from the Utes while allowing only 322 yards offense(156 in the second half) and more importantly shut down the run. The Huskies held the Utes to just 17 yards rushing on 23 carries(0.7 YPC). The Huskies led by senior captain Cort Dennison who his hometown team didn't even recruit once again stepped up. The defense carried the team in the first half and then was dominate in the second half.

All in all, the Huskies improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2006 season. Heading into the bye week at 4-1 is huge for this team as they are about to face a tough part in their schedule. The team is improving each and every week which has been nice to see. The best part about the win today was all the second half adjustments which you never saw from the previous coaching staff. The Huskies in the second half dominated the line of scrimmage which was beautiful to watch as a fan who suffered through the Willingham era. The Huskies defense in Pac-12 play has looked pretty good as well. This was a great team win for the Huskies as their offense continues to shred their opponents for 34 points per game average led by Price and Polk. Sarkisian has this program heading in the right direction and you are seeing the young players making big plays for him as well.

Observations:

- The play of Keith Price was once again terrific on the road. What was most impressive about Price was for the first time all year he played poorly in a half. Then in the second half was on target hitting his passes which shows his mental toughness. Price finished the game 22-30 passing for 226 yards with three more touchdowns. After a rough first half Price finished the second half completing 14-18(77.8%) for 145 yards(8.1 YPA) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Huskies punted only once in the second half due to Price hitting his passes when the game mattered most.

For the season Price has completed 97-142(68.3%) of his passes for 1,209 yards(8.5 YPA) through five games. He has also thrown for 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions on the season. In all five games this year Price has thrown for at least three touchdown passes. Price has been very accurate when the Huskies need big throws. Price is also making plays with his mobility avoiding sacks then turning that into a big gain. With Price you can't focus on one receiver either as he is always finding the open man. Sarkisian called him out at halftime and Price answered the challenge showing that he is going to be a keeper for the Huskies for years to come.

- When a kid plays high school football he has aspirations to play for his home team. For Cort Dennison he played high school football in Salt Lake, Utah yet wasn't even offered a scholarship by the Utah Utes. Dennison was only a two-star recruit coming out of high school. The Utes passed on both Dennison and Price so this was a big game for both. Price stepped up in the second half proving the Utes offered the wrong quarterback the scholarship.

While Dennison and his other 10 guys on the field shut down the Utes offense. The defense caused five turnovers while keeping the Huskies in the game in the first half. The Huskies have allowed just 17 points in their last six quarters which is some major improvement from the start of the season. The Huskies shut down John White who had 35 yards rushing on 14 carries(2.5 YPC). The Huskies forced three fumbles and intercepted two passes. This game had to feel great for Dennison to return to his home city to walk away with a victory while the defense played terrific.

- Chris Polk has had a solid season but to date has yet to have a break out game. Well today he had just that with 189 yards on 29 carries both are season highs. Polk like Price was shut down in the first half. In the second half though Polk ran for 145 yards on just 17 carries(8.5 YPC). With Polk rushing for all those yards including 105 in the third quarter alone that allowed Price to hit some key play action passes. The Huskies also controlled the time of possession in the second half as well. Polk for the year now has four 100+ yard rushing performances and has went over 100 totals yards in every game this season. For Polk that is the 15th time in his Huskies career he went over 100 yards. He is just two games shy of tying Napoleon Kaufman for most 100 yard games. Polk also moved past Joe Steele for second all-time in Huskies history with rushing yards as he went over 3,000 career yards.

For the season Polk has carried the ball 116 times for 603 yards(5.2 YPC) with three rushing touchdowns. Polk also has 10 receptions for 128 yards with a touchdown as well. Polk is big time for the Huskies as he is a powerful back who has improved on his speed. His 49 yard run to open the second half set the tone for the entire second half. The Huskies offensive line after playing so terribly in the first half played terrific in the second half. The line of scrimmage was controlled by the Huskies and Polk set the tone for a terrific win. Polk is easily one of the greatest running backs to ever play for the Huskies and he is adding to his legend this season.

-  I felt this game was a strange game for Sarkisian. His play calling was some head scratchers which reverted back to last season. Having said that his second half game adjustments was key. Given that this was a road game which the Huskies were underdogs that was the best second half I've seen from the Huskies in a decade. Sarkisian is silencing his critics with each and every victory. Sarkisian is now 16-14 as Huskies head coach the most he has ever been over .500 while at Washington a program who was 12-47 the previous five years including 0-12 right before he took over. His offense is averaging 34 points per game and despite losing a quarterback to the NFL the passing attack has actually improved. Sarkisian has stockpiled some good recruits as the Huskies have several young key players making plays.

In conclusion, this was a very big win for the Huskies program. This win illustrates that this team is a program on the rise. This win will probably put the Huskies in the top 25 rankings which they were ranked for only one week in the 2009 season and prior to that the 2003 season. This wasn't the biggest win in the Sarkisian era but this was certainly the most impressive win in the Sarkisian era. The Huskies won by a blowout on the road considering their last three road wins were by a combined 11 points winning by 17 is pretty impressive. The Huskies will head into the bye week then take on Colorado at home in two weeks. The Huskies are 4-1 looking to be 5-1 for the first time since 2001. The Huskies haven't been 3-0 in conference play since the 1997 season. For Sarkisian and Nick Holt this win has to feel pretty good as their critics were silenced this week. For the Huskies it feels good to be watching quality football once again as they have won eight of their last nine games dating back to last season.