Holiday heart falls four beats short
Richard Linde, 29 December 2001

It was a night of redemption for the Huskies, considering their previous game, a 65-7 thrashing at the hands of Miami. Washington fans can be proud of this young team--the Comeback Kids--who have played with heart and tenacity all season long. 

It was a gutsy performance by Cody Pickett and by the Huskies who didn't belong in this game, especially if you take the betting lines seriously. But the game is played on a football field, not on the betting boards in Las Vegas.

Taking a 19-point lead in the third quarter (36-17), the Huskies seemed destined for victory; however, poor field position in the fourth quarter may have cost them the game. Using short field opportunities to its advantage, Texas, led by its quarterback Major Applewhite, stormed back to take the lead (40-36) with five minutes to go in the game. Three of the Longhorns drives in the fourth quarter came from 48, 54 and from 9 yards out.

But the Huskies were not to be denied, at least for a brief moment.

Once again saddled with poor field position and starting from their own 20, the Huskies marched 80 yards to retake the lead (43-40) after a 34-yard run by Willie Hurst, with 1:49 left on the clock.

By then both defenses had run out of gas, and it was one of those games where the last team that has the ball is going to win, assuming there is enough time left on the clock. And Texas had more than enough time, marching 80 yards in 7 plays to take the lead again, 47-43.

Washington got the ball back with 38 seconds left on the clock but failed to score.

Dawgmatics

-- The outcome might have been different for the Huskies had they opted not to go for a two-point conversion after taking a 19-point lead in the third quarter. Needing a field goal with just 38 seconds left to tie the score would have been a whole lot easier than needing a touchdown, as was the case.

Also, on its penultimate drive, the Huskies could have taken more time off the clock, knowing that a field goal would have tied the score.

Going for a two-point conversion is like playing the slots in Vegas, the odds being against you. Why not take the sure bet, if there is no compelling reason to go for two?

Before going for the two-point conversion, Head coach Rick Neuheisel seemed visibly angered with assistant coach Steve Axman, who may have called for a one-point try. 

Willie Hurst ended up throwing a terrible pass into the end zone that went for naught, one that was worse looking than a president's pitch to start the baseball season.  

Down 36-26, Texas attempted a two-point conversion and failed with 11:54 to go. In my mind, this doesn't offset the Huskies' gamble for two, otherwise making it a push. You take every point you can, every time you can, never knowing when you'll need it. 

-- When Cody Pickett has time to throw, he's as accurate as anyone, his shoulder injury notwithstanding. The Longhorns were able to put pressure on Pickett most of the night, forcing him to leave the pocket on numerous occasions. The Huskies weren't able to run the ball effectively on first down, which left Pickett with second and thirds with plenty to go. 

We all knew this would be the case before the season started, since the Huskies had to replace four of their five offensive linemen.

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Scoring

 

Washington	0	23	13	7	43
Texas	0	14	6	27	47

 

Statistics	Huskies	Longhorns
First Downs	22	29
Rushing yards	151	119
Passing yards	293	473
Sacked-yards	1-8	0-0
Return yards (punts, kickoffs, interceptions)	1-12, 8-144, 3-38	2-9, 3-70, 2-16
Passes	27-54-2	37-55-2
Punts	6-37.3	5-37.8
Fumbles lost	2-0	0-0
Penalties-yards	7-44	2-9
Time of Possession	28:05	31:55

Passing:

Pickett 27-54-2, 293 (2 Touchdowns)

Applewhite 37-55-2, 473 (4 Touchdowns)

Individual Statistics:

Rushing

Receiving