The Huskies came off their bye week into the stoic Rose Bowlaiming to hand Rick Neuheisel’s UCLA their sixth Pac-10 loss. Instead, the Huskies dropped to 3-6 overall and to 2-4 in conference play with a 24-23 loss. This Saturday’s game was definitely one Washington could have won against one of their weakest opponents.
The Bruins struck first on a risky fourth and goal play, but the Huskies quickly responded with two scores to go ahead 10-7. First, Locker threw a jump ball to Jermaine Kearse, who made an extremely athletic catch for the score. Then, to put UW up three, Erik Folk nailed a 30-yard field goal.
Two more Husky field goals and a Bruin touchdown meant the Huskies were up 16-14 going into halftime. Definitely a satisfactory start in a hostile environment like the Rose Bowl. Most importantly though, a hot Kevin Prince was forced to leave the game on a helmet to helmet collision with Washington linebacker Donald Butler. This forced Kevin Craft into the game, and at this point it seemed the Huskies had to win. A dangerous Husky offense headed into halftime against the Bruins with their backup quarterback at the helm; advantage Huskies.
But instead, the second half for the Huskies was categorized by missed opportunities, offensive inconsistency, poor secondary play, and a crucial missed field goal.
The Secondary
Lately in Husky losses, it’s been the defensive front that has struggled against the run. However, in this game, the Bruins only rushed for 84 yards on 40 carries. Led by Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, the front seven of Washington manhandled the running game of UCLA. The Achilles-heel for UW in this game was disappointing secondary play. They allowed 371-yards against a statistically poor passing game in the Bruins. Even when Kevin Prince came out of the game, Kevin Craft was still able to carve his way through the Washington secondary. It seemed the middle of the field was open the whole game. Countless times, Prince or Craft found wide-open targets in the middle. Nelson Rosario of the Bruins found open space consistently; he had 111 yards on seven receptions. Yes, the Huskies had two interceptions, but this was overshadowed by the overall poor play, which largely attributed to Washington’s loss.
Locker and the Passing Game
Locker finished with two touchdowns, one interception and 235 yards through the air, statistically a pretty decent game. However, the passing game was inconsistent throughout Saturday’s loss. Locker was only 23 of 40, causing the offense to stall at crucial moments. Also, a late fourth quarter interception by Locker gave UCLA the game. Locker took an unnecessary risk, and he will definitely learn from it.
Really?
The game was also defined by some strange happenings. In the third quarter, Terrence Austin “caught” a 29-yard pass from Craft. Replays, however, showed that the ball appeared to hit the ground on Austin’s way down, causing the ball to pop up, which allowed Austin to make the catch. Yet, the officials did not even review the play as the Bruins rushed to kick the extra point. The officials have to recognize that a play like that needs to be reviewed. The second strange happening of the game was a shanked 38-yard field goal by the ever consistent Erik Folk in the fourth quarter. This would have put the Huskies up 26 to 24, but instead Folk’s miss most directly cost the Huskies the game. Yes, the Huskies made mistakes throughout, but they were still in a position to win that game, and Folk had to make that one.
The Positives
Once again, Chris Polk was a positive in a disappointing loss. He had a huge game, rushing for 132 yards on 15 carries. Really, he was the only consistent piece of the Husky offense as he picked up big chunks of yards when his number was called. Jermaine Kearse also had an outstanding game with 114 yards receiving on seven receptions. He made two acrobatic catches in the end zone that gave UW the momentum. However, even with two great performances on offense, the Husky woes continued.
Next week it only gets harder for the Huskies as they face a hot Oregon State team led by the Rodgers brothers in Corvalis. Locker and the Huskies will have to pull something out of their sleeves and improve in all facets of the game to beat the Beavers.
Original Story:
http://www.seatownsports.net/2009/11/...
The Bruins struck first on a risky fourth and goal play, but the Huskies quickly responded with two scores to go ahead 10-7. First, Locker threw a jump ball to Jermaine Kearse, who made an extremely athletic catch for the score. Then, to put UW up three, Erik Folk nailed a 30-yard field goal.
Two more Husky field goals and a Bruin touchdown meant the Huskies were up 16-14 going into halftime. Definitely a satisfactory start in a hostile environment like the Rose Bowl. Most importantly though, a hot Kevin Prince was forced to leave the game on a helmet to helmet collision with Washington linebacker Donald Butler. This forced Kevin Craft into the game, and at this point it seemed the Huskies had to win. A dangerous Husky offense headed into halftime against the Bruins with their backup quarterback at the helm; advantage Huskies.
But instead, the second half for the Huskies was categorized by missed opportunities, offensive inconsistency, poor secondary play, and a crucial missed field goal.
The Secondary
Lately in Husky losses, it’s been the defensive front that has struggled against the run. However, in this game, the Bruins only rushed for 84 yards on 40 carries. Led by Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, the front seven of Washington manhandled the running game of UCLA. The Achilles-heel for UW in this game was disappointing secondary play. They allowed 371-yards against a statistically poor passing game in the Bruins. Even when Kevin Prince came out of the game, Kevin Craft was still able to carve his way through the Washington secondary. It seemed the middle of the field was open the whole game. Countless times, Prince or Craft found wide-open targets in the middle. Nelson Rosario of the Bruins found open space consistently; he had 111 yards on seven receptions. Yes, the Huskies had two interceptions, but this was overshadowed by the overall poor play, which largely attributed to Washington’s loss.
Locker and the Passing Game
Locker finished with two touchdowns, one interception and 235 yards through the air, statistically a pretty decent game. However, the passing game was inconsistent throughout Saturday’s loss. Locker was only 23 of 40, causing the offense to stall at crucial moments. Also, a late fourth quarter interception by Locker gave UCLA the game. Locker took an unnecessary risk, and he will definitely learn from it.
Really?
The game was also defined by some strange happenings. In the third quarter, Terrence Austin “caught” a 29-yard pass from Craft. Replays, however, showed that the ball appeared to hit the ground on Austin’s way down, causing the ball to pop up, which allowed Austin to make the catch. Yet, the officials did not even review the play as the Bruins rushed to kick the extra point. The officials have to recognize that a play like that needs to be reviewed. The second strange happening of the game was a shanked 38-yard field goal by the ever consistent Erik Folk in the fourth quarter. This would have put the Huskies up 26 to 24, but instead Folk’s miss most directly cost the Huskies the game. Yes, the Huskies made mistakes throughout, but they were still in a position to win that game, and Folk had to make that one.
The Positives
Once again, Chris Polk was a positive in a disappointing loss. He had a huge game, rushing for 132 yards on 15 carries. Really, he was the only consistent piece of the Husky offense as he picked up big chunks of yards when his number was called. Jermaine Kearse also had an outstanding game with 114 yards receiving on seven receptions. He made two acrobatic catches in the end zone that gave UW the momentum. However, even with two great performances on offense, the Husky woes continued.
Next week it only gets harder for the Huskies as they face a hot Oregon State team led by the Rodgers brothers in Corvalis. Locker and the Huskies will have to pull something out of their sleeves and improve in all facets of the game to beat the Beavers.
Original Story:
http://www.seatownsports.net/2009/11/...
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