Playing against an emotionally fired up Beaver football
team, Washington quarterback Cody Pickett threw a 73-yard
interception return to Dennis Weathersby in the second quarter that
turned a seemingly “close game” around. After Steven Jackson's
one-yard run, the Huskies were down by 18 points (28-10). It was a
fourteen-point swing. Before the interception, Mitch Meeuwsen made a
terrific play on a Pickett pass thrown into the end zone, tipping the ball away
from tight end Jerramy Stevens. The Dawgs had worked their way from their own 20 to the Beavers' 14-yard line.
Forced to play catch up against the best pass defense
in the Pac-10, the rout was on. The Beavers scored 21 answered
points in the second quarter. The Huskies finished with 191 yards
passing against a team that allows 190.4 yards per game against the
pass.
The
answer to all the Dawgs' woes was to have come up with a running attack
early in the game. However, the young, inexperienced offensive line was
unable to open holes for tailbacks Willie Hurst and Rich
Alexis. The Huskies rushed for a paltry 82 yards, which was not enough
to have won time of possession and to have kept a revved up Beaver
offense off the field.
Notes:
Was
it just my imagination or what? The Beavers seemed lightening fast
playing on the Astroturf field, and Washington appeared sluggish at
best. It was the first time the Dawgs have played on Astroturf in almost
two years.
The
loss effectively eliminates Washington from Fiesta Bowl consideration, since Oregon
trumps Washington in the event they tie for the Pac-10 championship.
Along
with McLaughlin's punting, the return of Jerramy Stevens was another
bright spot for the Huskies. My guess is that Stevens will opt for
another year with the Dawgs and forgo a shot at the Pros after the
season is over.
At
the start of the fourth quarter, with the game gone by the boards, it would
have been a good time to have replaced Cody Pickett, who took a couple
of shots on his ailing right shoulder early in the game. Pickett didn't
have his usual zip on the ball, and it would have been a good
opportunity for Taylor Barton to get more reps. Instead, there was five
minutes or so to go in the game before the coaches replaced Pickett with
Barton.
Penalties
against Washington sustained OSU drives early in the game--when it meant
so much. If Washington had stopped those drives and had run the ball
effectively, it would have been a much different outcome. Instead,
Washington tested its passing attack against the best pass defense in
the league.
Next
week Washington needs to figure out a way to handle WSU cornerback
Marcus Trufant. The Junior out of Wilson, Tacoma, is the best at his
position in the league. How did he ever get away from the Dawgs?
Best-case scenario for the Huskies (4-way tie):
If OSU beats Oregon and if Washington and Stanford
win out, there will be a four-way tie for the conference championship
between Oregon, Washington, Stanford and WSU. In that case, Oregon goes
to the Fiesta Bowl. Unless its game with Montana State (Div 1AA) is
counted as a Div 1A game, WSU is thrown out based on the tie-breaker. That leaves Oregon, Washington, and
Stanford. Since Washington and Oregon didn’t play each other, Oregon
goes to the Fiesta Bowl because Washington (2000) and Stanford (1999)
played in the Rose Bowl more recently than Oregon. If WSU's game is
counted as a Div 1A game, the same scenario holds. Oregon goes.
However, if Oregon should play in the Rose Bowl,
Washington would go to the Fiesta Bowl, since it beat WSU and Stanford.
This is highly unlikely since Oregon will have two losses on its record.
|
