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Dawgs' D was Yuck Soup Affer Washington (1-5) scored an early touchdown, Oregon scored six consecutive times to take a 38-7 lead into the fourth quarter and eventually win, 45-21, in a game played at Autzen Stadium. The Huskies surrendered 578 yards to the Ducks, while accumulating just 238 total yards on offense. After suffering a heart-breaking loss two weeks ago to a UCLA team that most likely played down to the Dawgs was this the game in which the team finally gave up? Missed tackles and a chorus of virtual Ole's reverberating around a mostly silent stadium seemed to say so. During the game, the Oregon fans grew so bored, they should have booed Washington for its lackluster play, not for the fact the Dawgs are their eternal enemies. They paid to see an exciting game; instead, they witnessed a rout and an exhibition of how the spread offense was meant to work, this juxtaposed with Washington's schizophrenic "Spread Coast" offense -- which was hibernating for most of the game. The Dawgs did score 14 points in the fourth quarter, which, unfortunately, were most likely concession points, just as were the 14 points they scored in the last quarter of their 36-17 loss to Notre Dame a few weeks ago. Oregon punted two times, accumulated 424 yards passing and protected QB Kellen Clemens with an ironclad offensive line, which didn't allow a sack -- or make him Duck. Clemens spread the ball around, throwing to 13 different receivers, some of whom, as a bunch, have great football names like Paysinger, Whitehead, Day, Strong and Rosario. However, the name that hurt the most was Jonathan Stewart's, Oregon's prized recruit out of Lacey, Washington. Stewart, who is a true freshman coming off the bench, ran two kickoffs back for 69 yards, rushed for 26 yards on 6 carries and caught 1 pass for 12 yards, accounting for more total yards than any Washington player, other than QB Isaiah Stanback. Another matter while we're espousing: Crackle, pop, zzzt... Commenting on Charlie Weis's plush rough, Jim Murray of the Celestial Daily News writes that "Matt Leinart should have gone with shovel passes to dig through the Kikuyu. Next time around at South Bend, the Trojan Band will bring weed eaters. At halftime, they will be marching to 'Mow on for ol' SC.' Call the rivalry the 'Hayfields and the McCoys.' When it comes to gaining an edge over his opponents, Weis makes Rick Neuheisel look like a bush leaguer. The Trojans next opponent: Washington. Fortunately for the Trojans, no amount of water and fertilizer can grow Field Turf into a North 40."
In 1967, then
unbeaten USC lost to Oregon State, 3-0, at Corvalis, in a game played in a
downpour and mud. USC ended up 10-1-0, beating Indiana 14-3 in the 1968 Rose
Bowl. The good: -- Although Stanback's passing efficiency was just 103.6 on the game, he managed to throw more touchdown passes (2) than interceptions (1). -- The UW was +1 for the game in turnover ratio. -- Sean Douglas averaged 44.1 yards per punt, with a long of 69 yards. -- The Seattle media, which are as responsible for Washington's demise as much any other persons or factors, are at the crossroads of losing thousands of fans who once were passionate about Husky football. This translates into lost readership and poorer TV ratings, which some might say serves them right. The Bad: -- Injuries to Washington's secondary expose the lack of depth that has hurt the team all season. -- The notion that the UW administration is playing to its upper campus is gaining momentum in some quarters, Todd Turner's Blog notwithstanding. -- The Huskies have lost 11 consecutive Pac-10 games. -- UW coach Tyrone Willingham is making $600 thousand more per year than Keith Gilbertson did, and the results this season are the same as last season, one and five at this juncture. Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at
malamute@4malamute.com |
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