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Dawgs go possum; Bruins awesome Ball and Leisle give Bruins half-life By: Malamute, 4 October 2003
The Huskies' West Coast Offense played to a text book first half, taking a 16-7 lead at the break. Mixing a short passing game with just enough running to keep the Bruins honest, the UW posted 17 first downs to the Bruins' 5 and amassed 271 total yards to UCLA's 139. With the ball on its own 19, with 1:10 to go in the first half, the UW worked the ball to the Bruins' 19 and then kicked a 37-yard field goal to climax a brilliant two-minute offense. It was quintessential WCO. But the UW's WCO turned into a worst-coast offense in the second half, as turnovers marred its performance. All of Washington's momentum so carefully gained in the first half abruptly crashed at the start of the second half when Roc Alexander returned the opening kickoff, instead of downing the ball in the end zone, and was stopped on his own 7. Then DT Rodney Leisle, who sat out the first half for punching a San Diego State player in the stomach in the Bruins' last game, took the field. Combing with DE Dave Ball, who hammered QB Cody Pickett as he went back to pass, Leslie fell on the loose ball for a touchdown, cutting Washington's lead to 16-14. That brought the crowd back into the game and sparked a UCLA defense that came into the game ranked number one in the Pac-10. While the Bruins' defense put the collar on the Dawgs, its version of the WCO came to life for the first time this season, mirroring Washington's version of the same in the first half--only with a longer passing game and a better running game to make it more effective. As in the game against the Blue last season, not being able to run the ball in the second half contributed to the Dawgs' apathetic play. The Huskies ended up with 78 yards rushing on the evening, running the ball 31 times, while averaging 2.5 yards per rush. Because of its short, ball-control offense, the Huskies are in deep yogurt when they fall behind, and that was evident in the second half. Imagery: Near the end of the game, Reggie Williams' and Tank Johnson's emotional outbursts on the sidelines made the other UW players look bad. The Dawgs never gave up, but were physically outmatched. Remember the Bruins have out-recruited the Huskies in 4 of the last 5 years, and it showed in the second half. Clichés: Football is a game of emotion; defense wins ball games. Gilby: Commenting on the second half, Coach Keith Gilbertson said, "I was shocked watching it...we never got it stopped...we never got going on offense. The wheels came off. The game was out of reach so fast--very frustrating." Medical report: Offensive lineman Dan Dicks sprained his left knee again, damaging the medial collateral ligament.
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Scoring 39 unanswered points in the second half, UCLA thrashed the Washington
Huskies 46-16, in a game played at Pasadena's Rose Bowl. Taking control in
the second half, UCLA's dominating defense forced 4 Washington turnovers,
which led to 25 of its points.