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A special teams' play ignites dawdling Dawgs Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado. Leading just 7-0 at half, the Washington Huskies exploded for 31 second-half points to crush the Colorado Buffaloes 38-3, their victory sparked by a special teams' play that led to a touchdown pass by QB Keith Price. The sluggish Dawgs started the second half with a three-and-out, which was in keeping with their listless, mistake-prone play in the first half. Then UW's Kevin Smith sparked what turned out to be a second-half Husky conflagration of points. The ensuing punt by Travis Coons bounced off the shoulder pad of Colorado's Nelson Spruce and headed out of bounds; Smith leapt across the chalk line and swatted the ball back in play, basketball-like, where it was recovered by UW's Will Shamburger on the Buffs' 35-yard line as Smith was mingling with Colorado fans in row 2 of Folsom Field. That was an amazing play by him," Shamburger was quoted as saying. "He came out of nowhere. I thought it was a big play in the game." Price tied a school record, throwing 5 touchdown passes, and posted a pass-efficiency rating of 204.59, his highest of the season against an FBS opponent. Washington (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) has won four-straight games and is taking aim at a 9-4 season that would likely ensure a recruiting bonanza. Measures of offensive line play (running game and pass protection): -- The Huskies accumulated 476 yards of total offense, with 228 of them coming on the ground. -- Quarterback Price had a fine performance throwing the ball, his passing efficiency rating being 204.59 on the game. He was sacked twice. OL Grade: A-minus (This article is in the process of being written) The Good, the Bad, the Ugly The Good: -- Total offense (476 yards) -- Bishop Sankey's 139 yards rushing. -- Price's PE and five TD passes. -- The defensive and special teams' play. -- Time of possession: 34:24. -- Colorado's passing efficiency (44.71) on the game. -- 5 sacks -- Two touchbacks on 7 kickoffs The Bad: -- Only 3 of 12 third-down conversions -- 8 penalties for 89 yards The Ugly: -- Sluggish first half Last year's top-25 opponents annihilated the Dawgs on the ground. See Table 1 below. Table 1. Last year's rush defense against top-25 teams bodes ominously for the Dawgs in 2012. Emboldened rows are from this year's defense.
Table 1. Keith Price's cumulative passing efficiency.
Richard Linde, aka Malamute can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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