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!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Mason Foster in third round

By Kshell

For the second straight season the Washington Huskies saw their defensive leader drafted in the third round. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Mason Foster in the third round and 84th overall in the draft. For the Huskies it is good to see some guys finally getting drafted. The Huskies in the 2006-2009 drafts had a combined three guys drafted including zero in 2007-08. The program had a huge void in talent which is finally slowly recovering from. First Jake Locker was picked in the first round and now Mason Foster who is one of the Huskies all-time greatest defensive players in school history was picked in the third round. For Foster he is going to a good team that went 10-6 last year who focused on defense yet again. There is actually a chance for Foster to start right for the Buccaneers. Foster had perhaps even a greater career with the Huskies than even Locker did.

What the Buccaneers are getting in Foster is a linebacker who can play all three linebacker positions as he is 6'2" and weighs over 240 pounds. Foster is a three time all Pac-10 performer including first team his senior year in 2010. Foster was also a third team all-american last year as well as he led the Pac-10 in tackles and was second in the nation in tackles. Foster as a sophomore in 2008 was honorable mention all pac-10 and led the Pac-10 in tackles with 105 tackles including 12 for loss. Then in 2009 Foster was more of a play maker as he again was honorable mention all pac-10 as he recorded 85 tackles but he intercepted three passes while forcing a school record six fumbles. Foster also recorded two sacks and had the game winning touchdown against Arizona when he intercepted a pass and returned it for the game winner 36-33. Foster then as a senior had a terrific season with 163 tackles, 14 for loss and 6.5 sacks. Foster has a nose for the football and the Buccaneers are getting a player who can play. Foster is a good Husky and hopefully he'll make Buccaneers fans happy as well.

Just like with Sarkisian and quarterbacks I'm sure Nick Holt will be doing the same with linebackers. From his USC days as coach and now with Washington Holt has produced plenty of NFL linebackers. Last year Donald Butler was picked in the third round just like Foster was this year. Before Butler was picked the last time a Huskies linebacker was picked in the draft was Marquis Cooper in the 2004 by these same Buccaneers. I'm happy that Huskies are finally being picked in the draft again. Hopefully Cort Dennison can get selected next year along with Victor Aiyewa this season. Just good for the program to have guys drafted even if in the short term leaves a giant hole. The Huskies will have a tough time replacing their heart and soul on defense. The Huskies will have lost their face of the offense and defense which will be strange next season.

Overall, I'm really happy for Foster as I think the Buccaneers is a good fit for him. He is going to a good team with the chance to start as well. Foster is great against the run and he's proven he is capable of making big plays as well. Foster although not a great pass rusher can still get to the quarterback. More importantly Foster is going to be a run stuffer which the Buccaneers fans are going to love. The Huskies are going to have a hard time replacing Foster this upcoming season but with the talent Sarkisian is bringing in the transition is going to start getting easier. Growing up I'd see several Huskies selected in the NFL draft hopefully Butler and Daniel Teo-Nesheim paved the way last year for the Huskies to be picked in the NFL draft every single season. Just a good time for the Huskies with Locker and Foster being drafted. Buccaneers fans get ready to enjoy Foster who is a tackling machine.

Huskies win Holiday Bowl 19-7 over Nebraska!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(7-6,5-4) upset win over the #17 Nebraska Cornhuskers(10-4,7-2) 19-7 is by far the biggest win of the Steve Sarkisian era. This win for the Huskies gave them their first winning season since 2002 and first bowl win since the 2000 season. What was even more shocking than the win even was how the Huskies won the game. The Huskies dominated the trenches unlike last time these two teams played. The Huskies were beating Nebraska at their own game with pounding the ball and playing good defense. This was one of the biggest wins in Husky football recently.



The Huskies feeding off the energy of the crowd which was electric had a terrific start to the game. Nebraska began the game with the ball and were driving to midfield. The game was looking like a repeat of the Nebraska 56-21 win over the Huskies on September 18th. In that game Nebraska had three 100 yard rushers, you can read about the game recap.click here . I was getting worried about the start of the game then Nebraska tried to get cute. They had running back Rex Burkhead line up in shotgun to take the direct snap which he did on a sweep. On that play Victor Aiyewa poked the ball out from Burkhead which Alameda Ta'amu recovered 14 yards to the Nebraska 21 yard line.



The Huskies began the series with four wide receivers, three in a bunch set to the right. Chris Polk wasn't lined up at tailback instead Jesse Callier was which I found odd. Then Callier received the toss sweep to the right and then fired a pass across the field to Huskies quarterback Jake Locker who made a great catch and run for 16 yards. After a Nebraska half the distance penalty on second and goal from the four yard line the Huskies finally scored. Chris Polk ran in the touchdown from four yards out to give the Huskies a quick 7-0 lead as the crowd was going crazy(including myself).



The Huskies defense kept the momentum going by three and outing the mighty Huskers offense on back to back series. The Huskies defense unlike the first time around were not giving up any big plays. The reason for that is the freshman on the defensive line have matured, Cort Dennison didn't play the first game, and Victor Aiyewa was playing in just his third game ever at linebacker. Aiyewa led the Pac-10 in tackles for lost. The Huskies offense took advantage of the great defensive play by marching down the field for an Erik Folk 39 yard field goal. Chris Polk had three carries for 22 yards while Locker added a 12 yard run. The Huskies took a 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter the Nebraska offense finally started to move the ball. Facing a third and 13 from their own 48 yard line, quarterback Tayler Martinez who torched the Huskies the game before broke a 20 yard run for the first down. Then facing a third and eight from the Huskies 15 yard line, Martinez floated a pass in the left corner of the end zone that looked like it could have been intercepted. The pass was caught by Kyler Reed for a 15 yard touchdown to cut the score to 10-7. The Huskies would end the half with a missed field goal and took a 10-7 halftime lead.



The Huskies began the second half ball at their own 47 due to a great kickoff return by Jesse Callier and a penalty by Nebraska. Locker finally completed his first pass of the game hitting D'Andre Goodwin for a gain of 26 yards on third and eight to the Nebraska 25 yard line. On the next play Locker took the handoff and ran 25 yards for the touchdown. He then spiked the ball but no flag was called. The crowd was going crazy at this point the Husky fans finally started to believe they could pull off the upset.

The Huskies holding on to a 17-7 lead in the third quarter continued to dominate the Nebraska offense. The Huskies up by 10 points then went on a 12 play 55 yard drive which took up over five minutes of time. The quarter had ended with the Huskies facing a crucial fourth and goal from the one yard line. Steve Sarkisian is an agressive coach and with the way his defense was playing there wasn't any doubt he was going for it. The Huskies lined up in shotgun handed it off to Polk who was stopped just short of the touchdown. Had Polk went to his left a yard more he walks in the end zone untouched.



Nebraska took momentum but with backup quarterback Cody Green who was filling in for the ineffective Martinez due to injury still had to face the Huskies pressure from his own one yard line. Facing a third and long Green scrambled for a first down but that was only possible because Ta'amu was held in the end zone. The refs saw that and called holding in the end zone which resulted with a safety for the Huskies. At that point the Nebraska fans started to leave early.



Nebraska had one last chance to make it a game as they were driving against the Huskies prevent defense. Facing a fourth and 19 on the Huskies 44, Green attempted a pass to the end zone who had one on one coverage with Huskies corner Adam Long. Long had the ball hit him in the back which started the celebration. The Huskies gave Sarkisian the gatorade bath.

The Huskies finally won the Holiday Bowl 19-7. The Huskies had outgained the Huskers 340-189, had 21 first downs to their 14 first downs and outrushed the Huskers 268-91. The Huskies defense had five sacks, two turnovers and forced three fumbles. The offensive line who everyone loves to bash on gave up zero sacks on the game. The Huskies in a complete 180 degree turn from the previous meeting dominated the line of scrimmage.

The Huskies were led by Chris Polk who won Co-MVP with outside linebacker Mason Foster. Polk carried the ball 34 times for 176 yards(5.2 YPC) for a touchdown. Polk controlled the game and the clock for the Huskies. The Huskies were playing Don James football which was run the ball, play good defense and don't turn the ball over. The Huskies dominated the rushing trio of Nebraska unlike the last meeting. Rex Burkhead had just 22 yards rushing on 12 carries(1.8 YPC) and Roy Helu had 28 yards on 11 carries(2.5 YPC). The Huskies shut down the run game and forced Nebraska to play a style they aren't used to.

Unlike the previous meeting where Martinez dominated Locker, I felt Locker outplayed Martinez this game. Locker's stats weren't great he was just 5 for 16 passing for 56 yards but most of those incompletions were throwaways. Locker also ran for 81 yards on 13 carries(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Martinez was seven for nine for 53 yards with a touchdown and an interception but had negative 20 yards rushing on 14 carries. Cody Green his backup quarterback was 3 for 12 for 45 yards and ran for negative five yards.

The Huskies from 0-12 to Holiday Bowl champs in just two years has been quite the turnaround. Sarkisian promised a quick turnaround and unlike Willingham he never brought up lack of talent. His supporters constantly brought up lack of talent but Sarkisian never did. Sarkisian featured the run game down the stretch and rallied his team from a 3-6 hole. This was a huge win for Sarkisian and recruiting as this proves he'll be here for a while. The Huskies are still probably a few years away from competing for Rose Bowls but at least the Huskies are now going to and winning bowl games. This was a huge win for this coaching staff and for these Seniors their legacy ranks up there as the team that turned this program around.

Observations:


- I've been saying feature Chris Polk all year long and the Huskies will win games. Well better late than never I suppose. In the Huskies four game winning streak Polk has ran for 673 yards on 107 carries(6.3 YPC) with five touchdowns. In the Huskies seven wins this year Polk ran for 968 yards on 165 carries(5.9 YPC) with seven rushing touchdowns. In the Huskies wins Polk averages 138.3 yards per game and 23.6 carries per game.

In the Huskies losses Polk ran for 397 yards on 95 carries(4.2 YPC) with just two rushing touchdowns. Polk averaged in the six losses 66.2 yards per game and just 15.8 carries per game. I think the stats show feature Polk and you win games. Now the question is will Polk be back next year? He has already ran for 2,511 yards on 506 carries in his short career. When running backs hit a certain age they start to fall apart so for a player like Polk the smart move is to leave. I hope he returns as Jesse Callier is a nice change of pace running back but I'm not sure he is a guy who can feed 25+ carries a game.



- Just like last game against Nebraska I saw another legendary coach. Last game I actually stood next to and shook Tom Osborne's hand. This game I saw Don James walking on the sidelines and took a picture of him. It was great to see the dawgfather at the game. He is the reason why Washington football is so great today having coached from 1975-1992. During that time James won six Pac-10 championships, four Rose Bowls, One Orange Bowl and One National Championship.



- Mason Foster had another monster game earning Co-MVP of the Holiday Bowl win. Foster came to Washington as a two star recruit but soon made a name for himself. He was the lone bright spot during the winless 2008 season when he led the Pac-10 in tackles. Last year Foster was a playmaker with forcing five fumbles and intercepting three passes including the game winning touchdown against Arizona.

This year Foster was first team all pac-10 linebacker. Finished second in the entire nation in tackles. Foster brought it every game even in the loss to Nebraska Foster had 17 tackles. Today Foster had 12 tackles, including five that went for a loss. To clinch the Apple Cup Foster recorded two sacks to end the game. Foster will be a very hard player to replace next year. All the attention was on Locker this season but Mason Foster was a huge part of the rebuilding of the Huskies. Foster had the best linebacking season by a Husky since Dave Hoffmann in the early 90's.



- I'll finish this blog post by talking about the career of Jake Locker. Locker finished his career by passing for just 56 yards but got the win. I've seen Locker put up huge numbers in losses and rival fans love to bash his record. Well Locker is a winner. Without Locker the team went 0-12 in 2008. Since Sarkisian has arrived Locker is 12-12(he missed Oregon game) and 9-8 in Pac-10 play.

Locker came back for his Senior year when the smart move was to leave. He came back for games like today. His legacy is terrific at Washington regardless of how his NFL career turns out. He finished his career with 7,639 yards passing(2nd all-time), 53 passing touchdowns(1st all-time) to just 35 interceptions. He also ran for 1,783 yards and 29 touchdowns which are both Husky records. I'd say Locker's career turned out just fine. He drove me crazy at times but he also wow'd me many of times. Locker helped turned the program around along with Chris Polk, Mason Foster and others. I'm glad to see such a great person go out on top like Locker did.

All in all this win can't be described in words. The Huskies defeated a team who embarassed them at home back in September. The Huskies pulled off a huge upset win that will carry momentum for recruiting for years to come. The Huskies were down in San Diego for a week with open practices and with this win recruits will follow. Sarkisian promised a quick turnaround and he makes tons of guarantees but I'm glad he backed up with promise. Sarkisian will have his work cut out for him next year replacing some stars but the program appears finally headed towards the right direction.

Huskies clinch bowl game! Beat Cougars 35-28!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies began the year with one goal in mind and that was to reach a bowl game. The Huskies(6-6,5-4) defeated the Washington State Cougars(2-10,1-8) in the Apple Cup 35-28 to clinch a bowl berth and third place in the Pac-10. The Huskies were led by Chris Polk rushing for a career high 284 yards on the game while Senior Jake Locker hit Jermaine Kearse for a 27 yard touchdown pass that proved to be the game winner. The Cougars put up a great fight rallying from being down 28-14 to tie the score up. Ultimately it was the Huskies who took advantage of their last drive and clinch a bowl berth. It was a sweet victory for the Huskies who hit rock bottom in this very stadium two years ago.

When the game started it looked like this game would make my top five Huskies blowouts game not my top five Huskies Apple Cup wins. The Huskies on their first offensive possession had the ball on their own two yard line. The first play would set the tone as Chris Polk would rush up the middle for a 13 yard gain. Later in the drive on their own 23 yard line facing a third and two the Huskies called a run for Locker out of the shotgun and he busted it 77 yards for a touchdown.



Unfortunately for the Huskies there was a holding penalty. So after running 77 yards and celebrating Locker had to come all the way back and face a third and 12. Locker would hit Devin Aguilar for a gain of 14 to pick up the first down. The Huskies would then run the ball seven of the next eight plays including five in a row to set up a crucial fourth and one from the Cougars 17. Locker would fake the toss and keep it and was met in the backfield for what should have been a loss of three and looking like Locker as a freshman he avoided the loss and ran for a gain of six yards for a first down. The Huskies would then feature Chris Polk some more and cap the drive when Polk would score from two yards out to put the Huskies up 7-0. The Huskies would run 17 plays for 98 yards which included 11 rushing plays for 60 yards. Chris Polk on the drive carried the ball eight times for 54 yards with one catch of nine yards. Jake Locker on the drive was five for five for 48 yards passing on the drive.



The Huskies offense then struggled after the quick start and had to settle for some punts. The defense was dominating the Cougars though early on. After the Cougars drove 34 yards on nine plays on their opening possession they would go three and out four consecutive series. The Huskies in the second quarter looking like they would waste another great field possession facing a fourth and seven from the Cougars 37 yard line would call for a fake punt, the punter who wasn't even on the team in August Kiel Rasp would hit Jermaine Kearse for the first down and Kearse would run for a 30 yard gain. The Huskies next play didn't waste any time as Locker started to run right, then stop turn and run left as he out ran the Cougars defense for the seven yard rushing touchdown to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead.

The Huskies had a chance to put the game away on their next possession they drove once again in the Cougar red zone. The Huskies would get down to the 10 yard line when Locker would hit Kearse for a 40 yard pass. The Huskies would committ another bad penalty backing them up to the 15. Facing a second and goal from the Cougars 10 yard line Locker would throw an interception in the end zone. Instead of at worst having a 17-0 lead with ball first the Cougars got their first taste of momentum. The Cougars would capitalize on that momentum when Jeff Tuel would complete four of four passes for 44 yards while rushing for 19 yards on the drive. Tuel would cap the drive and halftime by hitting Jared Karstetter for a five yard touchdown. All of a sudden the Cougars pulled within 14-7 at halftime despite being dominated for the first 28 minutes of the half.



The second half would start off with some fireworks. The Huskies facing a third and five from the Cougars 34 yard line when Locker would hit Kearse on a slant which Kearse out ran everyone for a 66 yard touchdown reception. With that touchdown pass Jake Locker tied Cody Pickett for first place all-time in Husky history for passing touchdowns. The Huskies would take a 21-7 lead and once again appeared to be in good shape. Tuel and the Cougars offense had other plans.

The Cougars would march down the field behind Tuel's passing to Daniel Blackledge. Tuel would hit Blackledge for 34 yards on the drive including a 13 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-14. The Huskies would then have to respond to the Cougars score after trading punts the Huskies would go back to the gameplan once again which was to feature Chris Polk.

The Huskies Chris Polk from their own 25 yard line would rush for a career long 72 yard run down to the Cougars three yard line. Then Jesse Callier would rush for his first career touchdown only to be called back due to an illegal formation. The Huskies would then get a false start so instead of first and goal from the three yard line it was from the 13 yard line. Locker would hit D'Andre Goodwin for a 12 yard gain to set up a third and goal from the one. Polk would get stuffed on the run as the quarter ended. To start the fourth quarter Steve Sarkisian who likes to be agressive decided to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. The Huskies would call a fly sweep which Locker and Callier fumbled the exchange the Cougars recovered the fumble and ran it back 33 yards to midfield as Locker was chalked up to a minus 15 yard rushing play.



The Cougars really had momentum going for them with the ball at midfield. Facing a third and two Tuel would complete a pass to Karstetter for what many thought was a gain of one. Originally the ball was spotted for a first down. After further review he was short so the Cougars then faced a fourh and one from the Huskies 42, Paul Wulff and his offense decided to try and throw the ball. Tuel saw nobody was open then tried to run the ball but was stopped for a loss of one. The Huskies wasted no time to take back momemtum when Chris Polk would break a 57 yard run for a touchdown to give the Huskies a 28-14 lead.

The Cougars would respond to that score like they have all game with a score of their own. The Cougars would drive 70 yards on 10 plays. Tuel on the drive was three for four for 43 yards and would score a one yard rushing touchdown on third and goal from the one yard line. After stopping the Huskies the Cougars would score again to tie up the game at 28-28. The Cougars continued to slice up the Huskies defense driving 73 yards on six plays. Tuel once again was hitting his passes completing three for three passes for 74 yards including a 16 yard touchdown to Marquess Wilson to tie up the score.



After a penalty on the kickoff Jake Locker and the offense took over on their own 12 yard line with four minutes to go in the game. This was the moment that Locker came back for his Senior season for. What many had forgot though was the Huskies also have a talented running back who will be playing in the NFL shortly in Chris Polk. After Locker had a 10 yard run to their own 24 yard line, Chris Polk had another long run of 36 yards to the Cougars 40 yard line. The Huskies were in a tough position on third and six from the Cougars 36 yard line. Locker would scramble for a gain of five and a half yards falling just short of the first down. At first Sarkisian was going to kick the 48 yard field goal but after calling timeout he decided to go for it on fourth and one. The Huskies didn't mess around handing the ball off to Chris Polk who ran for 15 yards to the Cougars 16. Then Polk would for four more yards giving him 284 yards on the day. On that run though despite being in field goal range Ryan Tolar committed a stupid personal foul penalty backing the Husies up to the Cougars 27 yard line making it second and 21. That set up the Apple Cup moment for Jake Locker and Jermaine Kearse.



After another costly penalty that made the field goal a tougher kick Locker didn't let it come to that. Locker pump faked the corner then hit Jermaine Kearse for a beautiful touchdown from 27 yards out with under a minute left in the game. The Husky crowd started going crazy as did Jake Locker who made a beautiful touchdown pass to Kearse. With that pass Locker tied Brock Huard for second place all-time in passing touchdowns at the University of Washington history. The Huskies defense led by Senior Mason Foster who had 14 tackles on the game recorded back to back sacks on the Cougars final drive. The game ended with Tuel throwing a hail marry interception to Nate Fellner to clinch the victory and a bowl berth for the Huskies.

From 0-12 just two years ago to a bowl game is quite the turnaround this fan base is happy to see. Sarkisian when he was hired promised quick results as he saw there was some talent on this team mainly with Jake Locker who missed eight and a half games during that 0-12 season including the Apple Cup loss. The Huskies led by Chris Polk who finished with 29 carries for 284 yards and two touchdowns was 12 yards shy of Hugh McElhenny who ran for 296 yards against the Cougars in the 1950 Apple Cup. The Huskies passing duo of Locker and Kearse had great games as well. Locker was 14 of 22 passing for 226 yards with two touchdowns including the game winner and an interception. He also added a rushing touchdown and what doesn't show up is the 77 yard rushing touchdown he had that was called back. Kearse would put his name next to Reggie Williams, Jerome Pathon and Mario Bailey as receivers who had big days against the Cougars. Kearse finished with six receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cougars can settle for another moral victory as they played the Huskies tough but the cold reality is they lost 10 games for the third straight season. Jeff Tuel finished 25 of 35 passing for 298 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He would also add a rushing touchdown. Had the Cougars won I would be talking about their passing duo which featured Cougars receiver Daniel Blackledge finishing with seven receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. Paul Wulff is now 5-32 as Cougars head coach and is just 3-32 against Division-1 opponents. Wulff is also just 2-25 in Pac-10 game on the year, the team did improve but by how much? Wulff has to figure out a way to turn those moral victories into wins.

This day belongs to the Huskies though. Last year they were so close but couldn't close the day going from 0-12 to 5-7. While this year featured more blowouts than last season this team did know how to finish. When the team was 3-6 and the fans were showing concerns the Huskies rallied and won three in a row including two on the road. This late season surge brings up memories of their last bowl appearance when in 2002 the team was 4-5 won three in a row including two on the road. The Huskies under Locker in years past were 2-11 in games decided by seven points or less while this year they are 4-1. The Huskies are finishing games and their reward will be a trip to San Diego for a bowl game. These Seniors will be known as the class that turned the program around from 0-12 to the Holiday Bowl!

Observations:

- Chris Polk is a beast and hopefully he gives the Huskies another year. Like last year fans waited to see if Locker came back or not we'll be doing the same with Polk. Unlike the Locker situation the Huskies have running backs who can take over. Polk is a power back who despite what people kept saying gets strong as the game goes on. I've been saying all year to feature Polk and today the Huskies did just that which resulted in a win. When Polk has over 20 carries in a game this year they are 4-0. Polk also became the first running back since Napoleon Kaufman(1992-94) did it three years in a row to rush for over 1,000 yards in back to back seasons. Sarkisians goal for Polk on the season was to maintain a YPC average of 5.5 and Polk averaged just that rushing for 5.5 yards a carry for 1,238 yards with eight touchdowns.

- Jermaine Kearse had some monster games this year. He had troubles being inconsistent but nobody doubts his big play potential. He followed up a great sophomore season with a terrific junior season. Kearse on the year had 62 receptions for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns. Kearse is another junior who might think about the NFL, hopefully he comes back. With him and Kasen Williams next year that would make Nick Montana or Keith Price's life a lot easier.

- This game shouldn't have even been close. I know this makes me sound like a fan but those are the facts. The Huskies scored 35 points and had almost 600 yards of total offense on the game. The Huskies had two touchdowns called back, 100 yards in penalties, dropped an interception that would have been a touchdown, turned the ball over twice in the red zone. Even with all that the Huskies still won on the road. This game reminded me of the USC game where the Cougars couldn't stop the Huskies at all.



- Nobody can call Jake Locker a loser anymore. Cougar and Duck fans love to bash on this poor kid and I simply don't understand it. Close your eyes and imagine a kid who said no to over 40 million dollars, said no to millions when he was 18(baseball draft), chose to stay home when he could have gone anywhere, is a good christian/role model and had the worst coaching staff in his first two years. If that was your quarterback you wouldn't be so quick to judge. Funny how Cougar fans love to bash on Locker's record but brag up Tuel in the same sentence. This isn't to bash on Tuel who is a wonderful quarterback and during his Senior year I won't mock every bad game he has.

Locker starting record wasn't very good we all know that it was well documented he is only 14-25 as a starting quarterback. Although the road was bumpy he did what we all thought he would do. He turned around the program when most people would have done the easier thing and leave. He could have pulled a Matt Tuiasosopo and be drafted into the baseball draft, he could have been like Taylor Mays or Jonathan Stewart and go to a good program, he could have bailed last year as well. Had he done any of those things nobody would have blamed him, in fact he took crap for each and every decision. Now Locker took the team to a bowl game finished this "disasterous" year throwing for 2,209 yards, 56.6% completion, 17 passing touchdowns to nine interceptions while adding five rushing touchdowns. Locker has done a lot for this program and is genuily a good guy. Hopefully those same fans who are bashing him are doing that because he is a Husky and can root for him in the NFL.

All and all this season didn't go how the Huskies or Locker would have liked to have gone. That happens in sports you bumps and roads but the Huskies responded after the BYU loss, after Nebraska killing them(more on that game in a few days), after the Arizona State loss and now after the three game losing streak that saw the team outscored 138-30. Sarkisian and this staff deserves credit for not allowing this team to quit which you would have saw under Tyrone Willingham. Locker didn't come back to win a Heisman trophy he came back to lead the Huskies program back to a bowl game. The Huskies will now have three full weeks of practices to pepare for the bowl game and for the younger guys this is 15 extra practices for them. For the kids redshirting this is basically more spring football for them so guys like a Nick Montana should benefit from this. The Huskies won the Apple Cup for the second straight year and most importantly going bowling for the first time in eight years. This is why Locker came back and all of Husky nation is glad. Just don't forget about Chris Polk and hopefully he comes back as well.

Washington defeats Cal on final play 16-13

By Kshell

With the Washington Huskies trailing the California Golden Bears 13-10 from the California one yard line Steve Sarkisian showed some guts by going for the win. Instead of kicking the field goal and sending the game into overtime Sarkisian let the clock wind down to one second left. After Sarkisian called the final timeout he huddled up his team and the Huskies responded with Chris Polk scoring a rushing touchdown with no time left to give the Huskies a 16-13 win. The Huskies(5-6,4-4) moved to within one win of reaching their first bowl game since 2002. While the loss eliminated California(5-7,3-6) from bowl contention and first losing season under Jeff Tedford.

Both teams had been struggling to move the ball all game long. In the first half the Huskies were shutout while California scored a controversial field goal when Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 53 yard field goal with no time left in the first half. The field goal was controversial because it had appeared there was no time left on the clock. California had led this ugly half with a 3-0 lead. Jake Locker was having problems moving the ball but that would change on two passes in the second half.

The Huskies would finally get on the board in the second half on a very fortunate play. Locker electing to not run despite the wide open space would throw a pass intended for D'Andre Goodwin who covered well by the Cal defender. Instead of an interception the ball would bounce to Goodwin who would run for 80 yards to give the Huskies a 7-3 lead. That touchdown pass was the 54th of Jake Lockers career at Washington putting him just one behind leader Cody Pickett. Pickett was also the starting quarterback last time Washington played in a bowl game.




The Huskies would give up the 7-3 lead on their next offensive series when on third and 20 Jake Locker would get sacked then fumble as Cameron Jordan would rumble for a 21 yard touchdown recovery. Cal would take the lead on that play 10-7 but the Huskies would quickly respond. Jesse Callier would take the kickoff 57 yards to set up the Huskies field goal by Erik Folk from 37 yards out to tie the score up at 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Golden Bears would go on their first good drive of the game led by Shane Vereen. Vereen would rush for 106 on 23 carries on the day. The Bears would end the drive with a Tavecchio 47 yard field goal to give them the 13-10 lead. The Huskies defense led by the great Mason Foster kept stopping California which set up one final drive for Jake Locker. Locker would have one last chance to keep the Huskies bowl hopes alive and like he did against Oregon State and USC he would deliver.

On the final drive after Locker had completed two passes to set up a third and two on their own 29. The Huskies called a "wild cat" play which had Locker lined up at receiver and Chris Polk take the snap from shotgun where he would rush for a gain of five yards to give the Huskies a first down. On the very next play Locker would throw a long beautiful pass pass to Jermaine Kearse where Kearse made a nice catch on for 46 yards. That play put the Huskies in field goal position at the California 20 yard line. Callier would rush for five yards on the next play to the Cal 15, then Locker out of the shotgun would rush for 14 yards on his next two carries to the California one yard line. After back to back failed quarterback sneaks that set up a fourth and goal from the one yard line Sarkisian decided to go for the win. Rushing behind true freshman Colin Porter Polk jumped into the end zone for the 16-13 win. That would be the Huskies third win of the season on the games final play.



The Huskies didn't look very good on offense but they got the job done when the game mattered most. Jake Locker would finish the game 17 of 27 passing for 237 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Chris Polk would carry the ball just 18 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Senior D'Andre Goodwin has had a great bounce back season and would have five receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. The Huskies defense also held California quarterback Brock Mansion to 12 of 23 passing for 92 yards and an interception by Quinton Richardson. The Huskies defense allowed just six points all game and seven the previous week.

The Huskies are finding ways to win this year which is unlike the previous years. The Huskies have won three games this year on the final play of the game. Last year you saw the Huskies lose three heartbreakers but ever since the BYU game the Huskies are winning the close games. The Huskies are also 4-4 in Pac-10 play last time they did that was in 2003. The Huskies when they were down 3-6 have stepped up and made this Apple Cup matter and I'll credit the coaching staff for keeping this team together. The offense and mainly Locker passing still having their problems but the defense is carrying the team allowing just 13 points the last two games. The Huskies have rallied and now are just a win away in the Apple Cup from their first bowl game since 2002. Considering where this team was at three weeks ago this has been quite the turnaround.

Observations:

- Jake Locker isn't playing his best ball right now. Locker legacy is improving with each and every win. Locker needs to be running more like he was out of the shotgun towards the end of the game. This last game could be huge for Locker's legacy at Washington regardless of his stats a win he will go down as the guy who turned the program around. He gave up millions to come back for his Senior year for games just like next week. With a loss regarldess of his stats Locker will go down as a disappointment. Locker is one touchdown pass away from tieing Cody Pickett passing touchdown record at Washington.

- Chris Polk needs to get more carries. He had just 18 carries despite Locker's struggles. Polk is a bruising back who was a top recruit coming out of high school. The Huskies offensive line actually is pretty decent at run blocking, they struggle with pass blocking which is another reason the Huskies should be featuring the run. With Pullman already having six inches of snow the Huskies need to feature Polk and rushing game next week.

- Mason Foster is having another great season. Foster has been a tackling machine while at Washington and will go down as one of the best outside linebackers in Huskies history. Foster could win Pac-10 defensive player of the year. I'm glad Sarkisian brought him to Pac-10 media day because Foster is a great Husky and with Locker being a Senior I've felt has been somewhat overshadowed. Foster will be playing on Sunday's for years to come and is the Huskies best OLB since Marquis Cooper.

- Sarkisian needs to realize he isn't at USC and ditch the Quarterback sneak on the goaline. Last year that lost the game for the Huskies against Notre Dame, and this year against USC Locker got hurt on a play. While against California the game wasn't lost because of Polk's fourth and one touchdown. Polk should have ran the ball on second and goal and for sure on third and goal. The result worked out for Sarkisian and hopefully he finally learns from his mistakes and until Porter and Kohler are older just ditch that play from the playbook.

- D'Andre Goodwin has had a great comeback Senior season. Last year he caught just 14 passes after catching 69 as a sophomore. This year Goodwin has 39 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns. He is second on the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns behind Jermaine Kearse. Hopefully James Johnson takes notice and instead of transfering just works harder next season. Goodwin has shown good leadership for Huskies down the road that regardless of where you are listed on the depth chart you can move up the ranks.

All in all, this was a huge win for the Steve Sarkisian era. Sarkisian unlike Willingham went for the win instead of overtime. As Husky fans remember in 2006 after the miracle hail marry catch intsead of going for two Willingham went for the tie and overtime where the Huskies lost. Sarkisian gets that from Pete Carroll that agressive go for it attitude. This was a big win for Sarksian and Locker which hopefully propels them greater things. Hopefully down the road we look at that Chris Polk touchdown run like basketball fans look at Nate Robinson's shot against Oregon State. The Huskies must win one more and it won't be easy against the Washington State Cougars who have had three weeks to prepare for this game. The Huskies will be favored and are one win away from a bowl game which was the goal. This win has a chance to be even more memorable if the Huskies take care of business. Just remember Sarkisian had the guts to go for it.

Jake Locker and fellow Seniors go out with 24-7 win in final home game

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(4-6,3-4) for the second straight season won on Senior night 24-7 over the UCLA Bruins(4-6,2-5). The Huskies won despite a slow game from senior quarterback Jake Locker. Steve Sarkisian decided to feature the running game and control the game by gaining 252 yards rushing. The Huskies won by 17 despite less than 70 yards passing on the game. The Huskies played Don James football today which was run the ball and play good defense. It was a satisfying win for the Huskies over old head coach Rick Neuheisel as they kept their bowl hopes alive.

The Huskies were playing on a special Thursday night game and decided to have a black out theme. First time in school history they had ever worn the black jerseys. Given the way the defense played today they might be busting those jersey's out for next season. The Huskies began the game pretty slow allowing UCLA on their second possession to drive 13 plays for 92 yards which featured 11 runs. The drive ended when Johnathan Franklin took a hand off to the right and busted it 31 yards for the touchdown run. The Bruins had averaged 195 rushing yards a game against the Huskies who gave up over 220 yards rushing a game were looking to take advantage of the Huskies poor rush issues. Little did anyone know that would be the only drive the Huskies would allow all game long.



The Huskies defense would respond on the next series. It was looking ugly for the Huskies after Locker threw an interception to give UCLA the ball in great field position. After getting a stop UCLA missed a 44 yard field goal to keep the score at 7-0. The Huskies would drive down the field but Erik Folk would miss a 53 yard field goal. After forcing another three and out the Huskies would get the ball back. Locker would hit Devin Aguilar for a 22 yard pass to the UCLA 39 yard line. After a pass interference call placing the ball on the UCLA 24 yard line, Chris Polk would rush for nine yards. After two more runs and a pass completion to Jermaine Kearse the Huskies had second and goal from the three yard line. Not messing around Sarkisian called a shotgun roll out with Locker as he ran in the touchdown from three yards out to tie the game up at 7-7.

The Huskies would head into halftime tied at 7-7 despite the poor showing by the offense. In the second half Sarkisian actually made some nice adjustments. He featured the running game more and the defense continued to stuff the UCLA running game. What helped stopping the run was the poor play of UCLA quarterbacks. The Huskies took the opening drive nine plays for 68 yards which saw Polk rush for 20 yards on four carries and Jesse Callier rush for 30 yards on two carries. The Huskies did settle for a 27 yard field goal by Erik Folk to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Huskies defense continued to stuff the Bruins where they didn't cross the 50 yard line all second half.



In the fourth quarter with the Huskies leading 10-7, with less than seven minutes to go Junior Quinton Richardson intercepted the pass and returned Darius Bell pass 28 yards for a touchdown giving the Huskies a commanding 17-7 lead. Bell was replacing ineffective Richard Brehaut who was knocked out by Nate Williams. Brehaut was just 5 for 14 passing for 42 yards and an interception to Cort Dennison. Bell wasn't much better not completing a single pass in three pass attempts including the interception that basically put the game away.



On the following possession Neuheisel put in another quarterback Clayton Tunney who wasn't much better. In fact Tunney was one for eight passing for just 13 yards and threw an interception to Nate Fellner on his first series as quarterback. The Huskies again continued to smash the ball down the Bruins throat with Polk rushing for four yards then Callier busted a 37 yard run down to the UCLA two yard line. The Huskies then called my favorite short yardage play where Callier lines up as tailback and Polk is the fullback and the Huskies fed Polk the ball for the easy two yard touchdown run giving the Huskies a commanding 24-7 lead.

The Huskies defense which was led by Senior Mason Foster who had 14 tackles, three of which went for loss stuffed the Bruins. The Bruins had negative 28 yards in the fourth quarter and held the Bruins to just 46 yards of offense in the last three quarters. UCLA ran the ball 36 times for 108 yards which is just 3.0 YPC. The passing game of the Bruins was even worse throwing for a combined 6-25 for 55 yards passing and three interceptions one which was returned for a touchdown. The Huskies defense played by far their best game of the Nick Holt era. The Huskies shut down Johnathan Franklin holding him to 53 yards on 18 carries(2.9 YPC) with the lone touchdown. The Huskies got great interceptions from Cort Dennison, Quinton Richardson and Nate Fellner. The offense did just enough to win.

The offense still isn't that explosive offense we all had expected. Today the offense got the job done playing field position and running the football. They had to run the football as Jake Locker in his last game at Husky Stadium didn't play very well. Locker was just 10 for 21 for 68 yards passing with an interception. Locker only had nine yards rushing but did score a touchdown. The stars of the offense was Chris Polk who had 138 yards rushing on 26 carries(5.3 YPC) for a touchdown while his backup freshman Jesse Callier had 107 yards rushing on just 10 attempts(10.7 YPC). When the Huskies feature Chris Polk they win games.

The Huskies did what they had to do today which is find a way to win. Jake Locker has had several games in his career where he put up great numbers and the team lost which he was blamed. So I find it a twist of irony Locker has a poor game but the team wins so he is getting praise. I'm sure Jake will take this game over all those other games any day. The Huskies now must find a way to win two straight road games including at California a place they haven't won at since 2001. The Huskies at least with this win stretch the season out for another week. Great way to send the Seniors out who are trying to turn this program around.

Observations:



- I can't stop raving about the play of the defense. They get bashed on a lot and they deserve it most of the time. Tonight was a different story what a way to end their Husky Stadium careers. Foster who is second in all of college football in tackles with 14 tackles, three for a loss. Cort Dennison had a great interception 30 yards down the field getting in front of the receiver. Victor Aiyewa played another good game, Quinton Richardson had one of his better games as a husky with the interception for a return while playing good pass defense. Nate Williams was laying the wood I have no complaints about our defense for the first time in a very long time.

- When the Huskies run the ball they win. Instead of featuring Jake Locker who isn't having the Senior season we all expected they should be featuring Chris Polk and Jesse Callier. On the season Polk has 868 yards rushing while rushing for a 4.8 YPC average with five rushing touchdowns. Callier has 402 yards rushing with a 6.2 YPC average. When the Huskies run the ball they won't lose. Games they feature the pass early on always equals a loss. If Sarkisian had featured those two against BYU and Arizona State the Huskies are 6-4 instead of 4-6.

- I'm surprised that an offense in year three under Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow was this pathetic. I figured by year three the Bruins would have an passing attack by now. In fact Neuheisel is now 15-20 as Bruins head coach. Is it possible that Neuheisel could be fired at seasons end? He is known for his offenses but since he has been at UCLA the offense has been horible all season long.

- The offense has a long ways to go to beat California on the road. Jake Locker despite the reputation by Steve Sarkisian appears to have regressed. Locker has had great games against Syracuse, USC and Oregon State. He has had average games against BYU, Arizona and Arizona State. He has been awful against Nebraska, Stanford and now UCLA. Hopefully Locker can turn it around the final two games because running the ball was nice he'll need to hit some third passes to keep the chains going.

- The Huskies swept the LA schools for the first time since 1996. When Don James took over as head coach in 1975 the Huskies had only swept the LA schools in 1975, 1985 and 1996. The Huskies were awarded a forfeit win over UCLA in 1977 so technically that is also a sweep. Point is that it's very rare to sweep the LA schools. With the conference schedule changing the Huskies won't get a chance to sweep the LA schools again and in fact won't play UCLA until 2013.

- The Huskies won for the second straight year on Senior night. In fact here are the past coaches on Senior night Sarkisian is now 2-0 in Senior night games, Willingham was 0-4, Gilbertson 1-1, Neuheisel was 4-0, Lambright was 4-2, and James was 13-4-1.

The Huskies should enjoy this win and I'm happy for these Seniors. They haven't won a ton of games while at Washington but still have a chance to reach a bowl game. This is the latest in the season the Huskies have had a shot at a bowl game since 2006. The Huskies will have to improve a lot on offense to beat the California Golden Bears down in Berkley. The Huskies last year on Senior night smashed the Bears 42-10 as Locker accounted for five touchdowns on the game. The Huskies looked terrific with those black uniforms out there today and hope to continue that level of play on the road. Great win for the Huskies and here is hoping they can finish the season like they did last year which is beat California and Washington State. Congrats on the win Seniors you deserve it!

#1 ranked Oregon crushes Huskies 53-16; biggest win over Huskies since 1973

By Kshell

The #1 ranked team in the nation Oregon Ducks(9-0,6-0) throttled the Washington Huskies(3-6,2-4) down in Autzen Stadium 53-16. Despite the slow the start the Ducks handed the Huskies their worst loss in this rivalry since beating them 58-0 back in 1973. The Ducks took advantage of a weak Huskies offense playing without star quarterback Jake Locker and at the end of the day the Huskies couldn't stop the Oregon rushing attack. The Ducks ran for 279 yards and six touchdowns on the day including a two point conversation. Despite what some may tell you this was not a "good" loss at all.

The game started off slowly for the Ducks. In fact the Huskies were the first team all year to force Oregon to punt on the first series. The Huskies were the first team all year to shutout the Ducks in the first quarter. The Huskies defense unlike the previous two weeks were at least showing some effort. The Huskies in fact kept the game low scoring behind freshman quarterback Keith Price making his first career start. The Huskies tied the game up at 3-3 on an Erik Folk 51 yard field goal with eight minutes left in the game. Then the Oregon offense woke up and exploded.

After running the ball and passing at will on the Huskies the Ducks capped the drive with a touchdown by LaMichael James to give the Ducks an 9-3 lead. With the Huskies special teams slanted to right the Ducks ran a fake PAT and the kicker Rob Beard ran it in untouched to give the Ducks an 11-3 lead. The Ducks would score again after the Huskies failed to stall out the clock when Darron Thomas would bust a 34 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an 18-3 lead. The Huskies would finally score a touchdown when Price hit Jermaine Kearse but D'Andre Goodwin lined up illegally negating the touchdown and the Huskies had to settle for another Erik Folk field goal cutting the lead to 18-6 at halftime.

The Huskies were in the game surprisingly despite having a freshman quarterback. It had appeared Steve Sarkisian had his boys prepared and the second half started off even better for the Huskies. Facing a third and 12, senior captain Nate Williams sacked Thomas and forced a fumble which Mason Foster recovered the fumble on the Ducks 17 yard line. Next play Price would hit Goodwin for a 17 yard touchdown and after Folk's PAT the score was now 18-13 in the third quarter.

The Ducks wasted no time killing the momentum that Washington had built up. What has been a problem for the Huskies all season long the kick off coverage struck its ugly head again. The Huskies kicked off to Josh Huff and he returned it 80 yards to the Huskies six yard line. Setting up a Thomas pass to Jeff Maehl from six yards out to give the Ducks a 25-13 lead. The Huskies facing a third and 12 elected a draw play to Jesse Callier setting up a fourth and two. Instead of going for it from the Ducks 30, Sarkisian elected to kick the field goal. Folk made the field goal from 47 yards out cutting the lead to 25-16 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Then the game turned worse than every Willingham game ever did against the Ducks.

The Ducks offense kept going and going. James would rush for a 14 yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 32-16 lead. Then Thomas would rush in a touchdown from seven yards out giving the Ducks a commanding 39-16 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Ducks would tack on two more scores to complete the blowout 53-16. Despite what Husky homers want you to believe this was the worst loss to the Ducks in 37 years. The Ducks have no won seven in a row against the Huskies.

The stats don't lie in this game as the Ducks outgained the Huskies 522 to 263. Despite having a freshman quarterback and the game being close for two and a half quarters Chris Polk still doesn't get enough carries. Polk had just 17 carries but ran for 77 yards(4.5 YPC), while Callier 7 carries for 55 yards(7.9 YPC). The freshman QB Price at times looked all right but he did miss plenty of throws in going 14 of 28 for just 127 yards with one touchdown. He also had 13 carries for four yards as he was sacked five times.

The Ducks statline which was expected was pretty impressive. Darron Thomas doing what he can to make fans forget he was just third string last year in passing 24 of 33 for 243 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 89 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns. LaMichael James kept his heisman hopes alive with 26 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 19 yards receiving on three receptions. It's a two man race for the heisman in my opinion between James and Cam Newton of Auburn.

At what point do the Husky fans say enough is enough? At what point do we stop and look in the mirror and say I see no change? The Huskies thankfully have a bye week and they need one after being outscored 138-30 in the last three weeks. The Huskies I'll give them credit actually put forth some effort but it is alarming we are crediting a Pac-10 team for just showing effort. In the 1990's that was expected every Saturday that effort will be shown. This team had a ton of hype heading into the season and now must win the last three games with two on the road to make a bowl game. The Huskies haven't won three Pac-10 games in a row since 2002 which was eight years ago. As Bill Parcells says you are what your record says you are. Well the Huskies are 3-6 so they just aren't very good.

Observations:
- The Huskies are a young team as everyone has documented. We all know that they have played 16 true freshman this year. What isn't being said though is this team week in and week out starts 10 seniors. That isn't counting guys like Goodwin who is a senior, Chris Polk who could leave early or Jermaine Kearse who could leave early. The facts are next year the Huskies will be a lot younger than even this year.

- The Huskies can't tackle still. In fact they aren't a fundamentally good team. Some blame should be put on the players as you need to be held accountable but good coached teams don't make the mistakes the Huskies make. The Huskies upperclassman receivers are lining up wrong, at least 10 miss tackles a week, plus special teams is still a disaster. At what point do you stop kicking off and squib kick every ball?

- I felt Sarkisian never once tried to win the game but tried to do what he could to avoid a blowout. He punted on fourth and 1 when the score was 11-3 which allowed Oregon to score another touchdown, he then kicked a 47 yard field goal on fourth and two down 25-13. I know I'm nit picking here as it didn't make a difference in the game.

- The Huskies fans and players attitudes are alarming. People are satisfied that the Huskies didn't lose by 100. You are even hearing players like Chris Polk saying he was happy because they thought Oregon would hang 70 on them. Cort Dennison was happy because Oregon fans were complimentry towards them. This loss shouldn't be acceptable at all even if it is Oregon who was the #1 ranked team in the nation. Since when did losing 138-30 in three games become acceptable? Where are our standards?

- When Locker returns I'm afraid the team will think everything will be okay. Sarkisian must find a way to include Chris Polk more. I've been saying all year long I want to see Polk run more. I would also like to see Locker roll out more as well. He might have been hurt and if that is the case he probably should have been rested against Stanford and go with Price that game as well. My fear is now that Locker returns against UCLA the players relax. The defense in the first half played some of the best ball they played all year long.

The Huskies have a long road to go but they can win all three of these games. They can also lose all three games. I predict the Huskies to go 2-1 if not 1-2. California is a different team in Berkley while the UCLA game the Huskies should win. UCLA also isn't a walk through the park either they did beat Oregon State and destroyed Texas in Texas. I think the Huskies have the players on this roster to win the last three games it's just whether this team and coaches want to go to a bowl game or not.

All in all, it's a good thing the Huskies have a bye week. The bye weeks worked out perfectly, last time it was after the loss to Nebraska and now after this stretch. The Husky players need to just get away from football for a few days and relax. The coaching staff needs to find a way to get this offense going. This offense has scored just 30 points twice in regulation when going into the year that was the expectation is that they average 30 points again. The Huskies were shown by a northwest rival who they used to dominate they have a long ways to go before they ever sniff a Rose Bowl.