Former Washington quarterback Sam Huard, experiencing the highs and lows of a new college football situation, was back on track over the weekend by unloading 6 touchdowns in Cal Poly's 41-20 victory over Liberty in San Luis Obispo.
In three quarters of play, Huard brought his Mustangs (2-1) back from a 20-7 deficit by completing 28 of 39 passes for 325 yards and those half-dozen TDS that tied a school record. Those were Mike Penix Jr. numbers.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound sophomore was the third Mustangs QB to throw for 6 in a game, and the first since Tony Smith did it in 2009.
A week ago, Huard and his Big Sky team got in way over their heads by playing San Jose State and losing 59-3 on the road — and the howls were heard all the way to the Northwest.
Some ardent football followers immediately labeled Huard a bust, similar to his former teammate Dylan Morris, who's still in Montlake and remaking his career, or expressed dismay that the young lefty wasn't always dominant with this lower-level California school, failing to comprehend you're sometimes only as good as your supporting cast.
After all, former UW quarterback Warren Moon, and future NFL hall of famer, was on the receiving end of 52-0 loss to Alabama in his first season with the Huskies and he survived.
In this case, Cal Poly is in a rebuilding situation under former WSU coach Paul Wulff and Huard is going to pay for that at times.
Against Lincoln, a fairly new school from Oakland, California, the Mustangs QB threw touchdown passes of 30, 6, 8, 26, 13 and 11 yards.
In his three outings since leaving the UW, Huard has shown plenty of promise by completing 62 of 97 passes for 759 yards and 7 touchdowns, with 2 interceptions.
The quarterback and Cal Poly now prepare for their Big Sky opener next Saturday at Portland State.
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