We're reluctant to blame Washington's defense entirely for the Dub's 44-31 defeat at the hands of UCLA, even though the D gave up 537 total yards to the Bruins.

We won't get a true measure of the defense until the offense begins to assert itself and puts some long drives together. Instead, there are too many of those three-and-outs that send the defense right back onto the field -- without much rest.  For example, in the third quarter against UCLA, the offense had two three-and-outs and posted just 32 yards total yards, with two yards rushing. UCLA controlled the ball for much of the third quarter (9:34 to 5:36). The disparity in the first quarter was even more significant (Bruins 10:32 to 4:28).

Some lowlights for the Huskies:

-- With 11:44 to go and the UW defense, bunched together in virtually an eleven-man front knowing that UCLA (leading 24-17) was stuck with a ground game the rest of the way, Chris Markey found a small seam in the defense and rammed the ball up the gut on a 72-yard run to the house. That killed the momentum UW seemingly enjoyed after Cowan's injury.

-- Meanwhile Jake Locker needs some help. He can't do it all alone. Locker ran 15 times for 92 yards. His supporting cast accumulated a paltry 32 yards rushing on 17 carries.

-- Likewise, running back Louis Rankin can't do it all alone. Losing RB James Montgomery to Cal is turning out to be the moldy bread left over from the 2006 recruiting class's cupboard. Where is J. R. Hasty and some of those freshmen?

-- For much of three quarters, Washington's offense sputtered like a hydroplane dying in the water on Lake Washington. Plain and simply put, Washington's defense was on the field too long and tired badly in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Locker began to shine after UCLA's defense tired.

-- Young Locker locks onto his primary receiver too much, telegraphing his passes. Some of his long passes sail on him. He has a tendency to throw to his left too much, a predilection the Bruins keyed on.

-- Offensive coordinator's Tim Lappano's spread-coast offense is too much spread and not enough west coast (or Bill Walsh). Locker needs to throw more of the dink-and-dunk-run-after-catch variety. Also the tight ends need to get into the action more. Robert Lewis caught a 7-yard pass for the sum of the tight-end's contributions, pass-wise.

-- Handling the punting and kickoffs, Jared Ballman seemed to tire in the fourth quarter. Perhaps Ryan Perkins should handle the punting chores, as well as field goal tries and PATs? What's happened to kicker Eric Folk? Is he still suffering from back spasms?

-- Er, hum, the media and the "spot" light

-- At least one member of the local media had a diatribe working for him, putting defensive coordinator Kent Baer on the spot. Baer can't say that Lappano's sputtering offense kept his defense on the field too long, this for much of three quarters. That would be ragging on one of his good buddies. Baer's defense was clearly worn out going into the fourth quarter. Also, obvious, is an overall lack of depth on the squad. Unethical questioning -- like when did you stop beating your wife? -- is why Coach Willingham limits the media's access to his team, and for good reason. Like Baer's dilemma, Willingham can't say that "unethical questioning" is one of the reasons for their limited access to his team, so I'll say it for him.

-- Speaking of casting blame on our defensive coaches, check this article out, which appeared on dawgman.com. Now, Derek is a friend of mine and so is dawgman, but didn't the article go too far with its criticism, especially at this crucial point in the Huskies' agonizing return to respectability? The critique could have been handled on the QT, silently, behind the lines, no pun intended. As it was, Coach Willingham, like Baer, was put on the spot during his radio show by a caller who had read the article. Willingham took all the blame, in effect. I'm not saying the article was unethical, but it certainly didn't help the Huskies, in my opinion, though it was written with the intent of ameliorating a tough situation, I am sure. Derek is an ardent fan of the Huskies.

Some Husky highlights:

--  Locker's pass efficiency on the game, 123.18, was remarkable considering the Bruins were keying on him, knowing they were facing a one-dimensional offense: Jake Locker.

-- Locker has the potential to be the greatest quarterback in Husky history. Willingham is certain to build a team around him. That's one of the reasons he was smiling -- so uncharacteristically of him -- and so much during the game.

-- After being thrashed for three quarters, the fact the Huskies were still in the game going into the fourth quarter. Credit Coach Willingham for instilling within his players the character, competitiveness and motivation needed to stay in a mismatch to the very end.

-- For the most part, Washington's pass receivers played a good game. What happens after most of them are gone next season?

-- Surprise, surprise. UW ranks second in the conference in Pass Defense, yielding 228.2 yards per game. Does this mean UW has shored up its suspect secondary?

The USC game:

Washington plays number-one USC on Saturday at Husky Stadium. In our six-stat comparator, USC leads UW 30.08 to 60.08, where the two numbers represents the average national ranking for eleven significant statistical categories. Interestingly, USC ranks 89th in turnover margin while UW ranks 65th. [#] In the SSC, Oregon ranks 30.5 and Cal posts a 30.5. Statistically, their games with 'SC appear dead even.

UW is averaging 27.8 points per game, while 'SC is averaging 48.5. Theoretically, you might expect a score of 49 to 28, say, in favor of USC. However, the Huskies are coming off a disappointing loss, their fans figure to make a lot of noise, and the Huskies will play the game in retro-uniforms to honor the 1960 football team. That team was awarded the 1960 national championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation and will be so honored at the game for that achievement.

So, give the Dawgs 7 points for the noise and 7 points for playing in front of those fighting members of Jim Owens' team. We think USC will win, but narrowly, 42-35, in a nail biter.

[#] SSC = ((TO+TD)/2 + (RO+RD)/2 + (PEO+PED)/2 + (SO+SD)/2 + (SF + SA)/2 + TM)/6, where TO=Total Offense, TD=Total Defense, RO=Rushing Offense, RD=Rushing Defense, PEO=Pass Efficiency Offense, PED=Pass Efficiency Defense, SO=Scoring Offense, SD=Scoring Defense, SF=Sacks For, SA=Sacks against, and TM=Turnover Margin. The variables consist of the numbers for the team’s national ranking in a certain category. For example, the Huskies ranked 73rd in the nation in Total Offense last week. It's called a six-stat comparator because we divide the whole Magilla by six.