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Articles
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Mauled at the line of scrimmage
More physicality needed: UW, situps and take notice! By: Malamute, September 19, 2004
Running for their lives for most of the game, UW QB's Casey Paus and Carl Bonnell should have had it so good. Paus and Bonnell posted miserable pass-efficiency ratings on the game, 80.5 and 71.2, respectively, which should rank the UW dead last in that category when the Pac-10 stats are posted on Monday. In contrast, Quinn, had an outstanding pass-efficiency rating of 158.0. Like Paus's and Bonnell's numbers today, Quinn's PE should nosedive when he goes up against 'SC in Los Angeles, and only then will Quinn will feel some empathy for his counterparts of today. It's such a heartless, unsympathetic world, and cruel as well. Not only did the UW lose the game, it lost two of its starters on consecutive plays, FB Matt Tuiasosopo (broken leg) and WR Corey Williams (separated wrist), both of them lost for the season. Tuiasosopo broke his leg on a running play. Williams broke his wrist when he crashed into a brick wall trying to fetch a pass thrown by Carl Bonnell. The Dub's only proven playmaker, oft-injured Charles "E.T." Frederick, sat out much of the second half because of a hamstring problem. The bludgeoning at the hands of Notre Dame may lead to coach Keith Gilbertson's swan song, considering his lopsided losses to Cal and UCLA last season, along with the unforgivable losses to Nevada and Arizona. Obviously, more debacles and embarrassment await the embattled coach this season. The Golden Domers jumped off to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, as Quinn threw three touchdown passes, two of them to WR Matt Shelton and one to WR Anthony Fasano. Suffice it to say, only one of the passes was necessary to secure the win. Kicker Michael Braunstein got Washington on the board in the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal, which kept the UW from being shutout for the first time in 265 consecutive games. The UW committed five turnovers: an interception off a pass thrown by Bonnell, two fumbles by RB Kenny James, a fumble by FB James Sims and a fumble by Paus on a field-goal attempt with the UW behind, 31-3. The UW offensive line didn't allow a sack; the UW has given up two sacks in three games. Washington played 15 freshmen in the game. Ironically, the UW's last two losses (UCLA and ND) have been delivered by teams who are installing the West Coast Offense (WCO). Two years ago, considering that it was a college team, the UW ran the WCO almost to perfection. However, it lacked a running game, which is a necessary ingredient of the WCO. Since then, QB Cody Pickett has departed, along with a host of skilled receivers, most of whom were considered playmakers. His Dawgs being nada for three to start the season, head coach Keith Gilbertson (6-9 at the UW; 20-26 Cal) said, "Sooner or later, we have to win a game to remember what it feels like. It's been since last November since we won a game." UW President Mark Emmert and AD Todd Turner, both of whom attended the game, will keep a close eye on UW home attendance figures for the rest of the season; that is how a football coach is graded, football revenues, in the main, being the bottom line in a collegiate sports world that depends on football to support its other activities. Opinion: It was obvious to all of us at the Olympia training camp that Carl Bonnell was the most talented of Washington’s four quarterbacks. His nifty footwork and quick release advantage him well, taking pressure off a suspect offensive line, giving him potential to run the option effectively. He’s quick witted, cagey smart and has the necessary instincts to be a starting quarterback in the Pac-10. During the ND/UW telecast, color person Pat Haden opined that Bonnell should start against Stanford. How about a compromise? This next week Casey Paus deserves a final chance to secure a win for the Huskies when they play at Palo Alto. If Paus struggles early, expect Bonnell to replace him. If that should be the case and Bonnell plays well, he deserves his chance to lead the Dawgs in a starting role against San Jose State the following week. With his genetically-given tools, Bonnell is the type of quarterback one expects to see in the Rose Bowl game – although it certainly won’t be this season. However, whoever coaches at Washington after this season – and we don’t expect it to be Gilbertson – can tell a prospect that he wants to build a team around Bonnell; he'll have three years to accomplish his mission. Bonnell (photo top) is a redshirt freshman. As for Gilbertson, as unfair as it may be, his persona was irreparably damaged during his coaching career at Cal -- even more so now, when juxtaposed with Jeff Tedford's record at Cal -- and, currently, is being sullied at the UW. Lugging that image around, Gilbertson will find it extremely difficult to recruit at Washington. In southern California, Gilbertson is wearing the "Paul Hackett" sobriquet once worn by UCLA's Karl Dorrell. Recruiting is a coach's life blood and, in our opinion, as much as we like Gilbertson and as talented as he is, it's too late to give the 56-year old coach a transfusion in what may be the twilight of his head-coaching career. This harsh reality, in a sport driven by the all-mighty dollar, most likely was considered by Emmert and Turner on the long flight back home. Gilbertson was a default pick by former AD Barbara Hedges, and she had no choice other than promoting him to the top, considering the time frame in which she operated. Fans, the Don James era has come to an end -- and, in fact, long ago. It's time to move on. As sportswriter Ken Coe of the Oregonian said recently, "At some point, fair or not, the quickest way to galvanize both the (UW) program and the fan base will be a clean break with the past and a fresh start." We echo his opinion.
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This wasn't a game at South
Bend between a
West Coast Offense (Notre Dame) and a Worst Coast Defense (Washington); it
was a game won by the Irish at the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the
ball. Benefiting from the physical mismatch, with gobs of time to ogle his
receivers, QB Brady Quinn passed for a school-record-tying 4 touchdowns, to lead
Notre Dame to a 38-3 win over the UW.