Washington gets sacked by the Beavers

Washington Huskies 2009 ... Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2009 Record: 3-6

9/5 LSU L 31-23
9/12 Idaho W 42-23
9/19 USC W 16-13
9/26 at Stanford L 34-14
10/3 at Notre Dame L 37-30 OT
10/10 Arizona W 36-33
10/17 at Arizona St L 24-17
10/24 Oregon L 43-19
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/7 at UCLA L 24-23
11/14 at Oregon St
11/21 OPEN DATE
11/28 Washington State
12/5 California

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 5-7
2008 Record: 0-12

8/30 at Oregon L 44-10
9/6 BYU L 28-27
9/13 Oklahoma L 55-14
9/20 OPEN DATE
9/27 Stanford L 35-28
10/4 at Arizona L 48-14
10/11 OPEN DATE
10/18 Oregon St L 34-13
10/25 Notre Dame L 33-7
11/1 at USC L 56-0
11/8 Arizona St L 39-19
11/15 UCLA L 27-7
11/22 at Wash St L 16-13 2OT
11/29 OPEN DATE
12/6 at California L 48-7

Washington Huskies

Nov. 7
at UCLA 24 … Washington 23
Kevin Craft connected with Terrence Austin for a juggling 29-yard touchdown and Kai Forbath hit a 27-yard field goal as UCLA scored the final ten points of the game for the win. Washington had its chances late, but Rahim Moore snuffed out a final drive with an interception. The Huskies got three Erik Folk field goals and two Jermaine Kearse touchdown catches from 17 and 34 yards away, while the Bruins got first quarter scores on a one-yard Cory Harkey catch and a one-yard Chane Moline run.
Player of the Game: UCLA QBs Kevin Craft and Kevin Prince combined to complete 23-of-31 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 23-40, 235 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 15-132, Receiving: Jermaine Kearse, 7-114, 2 TD
UCLA: Passing: Kevin Prince, 13-17, 212 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Derrick Coleman, 13-49, Receiving: Nelson Rosario, 7-111
What It All Means: Jake Locker simply isn’t accurate. For all his talent and for all his raw skills, he’s not able to consistently hit the open targets and he wasn’t able to rally the team back with little offense in the second half. Even with five takeaways and a good day from the run defense, the Huskies couldn’t get the job done and now the season is in big trouble. All the good things that happened in the first part of the season are being erased with the three-game losing streak, and now it’s going to take a three-game winning streak against Oregon State, Washington State, and Cal to get bowl eligible. 

Oct. 24
Oregon 43 … at Washington 19
Oregon got a blocked punt for a score and two touchdown runs from Jeremiah Masoli and two from LaMichael James in the blowout. The Ducks got up 36-6 before Washington got in the end zone on a one-yard Chris Polk run in the fourth quarter, but James answered with a 56-yard James touchdown run. Oregon outgained the Huskies on the ground 259 yards to 129.
Player of the Game: Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli completed 14-of-22 passes for 157 yards and a score, and ran 11 times for 54 yards and two scores.
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 23-44, 266 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 18-104, 1 TD, Receiving: Devin Aguilar, 8-87
Oregon: Passing: Jeremiah Masoli, 14-22, 157 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: LaMichael James, 15-154, 2 TD, Receiving: D.J. Davis, 4-45, 1 TD
What It All Means: Washington had all the momentum going into the locker room, but it didn’t matter as the defense couldn’t handle anything Oregon wanted to do in the second half, and the three Dawg turnovers proved to be too costly. Jake Locker threw for 266 yards, but he’s not accurate enough to keep the offense moving on a consistent basis. On the plus side, Chris Polk and the running game weren’t awful, but the game got out of reach. A bowl bid is now in danger needing to win three of the final four games against UCLA, Oregon State, Washington State and Cal. It’s not going to happen. 

Oct. 17
at Arizona State 24 … Washington 17
The game appeared to be going into overtime, but inexplicably, Arizona State had two wide open receivers available with five seconds to play, and Danny Sullivan found Chris McGaha for a 50-yard score. The Sun Devils were up 17-7 in the third quarter helped by a one-yard Sullivan run and a 32-yard T.J. Simpson scoring catch, but Washington came back with a 23-yard Chris Polk touchdown run and a 29-yard Erik Folk field goal. The Huskies started off the scoring on a 49-yard Devin Aguilar catch. The two teams combined for 21 penalties with UW’s Vontaze Burfict getting nailed for three personal foul calls.
Player of the Game: Arizona State QB Danny Sullivan completed 21-of-35 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for a score
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 22-38, 279 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 12-51, 1 TD, Receiving: Devin Aguilar, 7-154, 1 TD
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 21-35, 263 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Cameron Marshall, 4-76, Receiving: Dimitri Nance, 6-41
What It All Means: A week after an improbable, miraculous win over Arizona, the Huskies blew it with a mix up in the secondary, and now the season is in big trouble. There’s little margin for error for UW, and with three turnovers, 12 penalties, including a slew of dumb ones, the mistakes led to the loss. Even with all the problems, UW had its chance late and blew it. For all the good things the team has done, it has lost three of its last four games with the one win coming against the Wildcats. Now comes the hard part with Oregon, at UCLA, and at Oregon State up next. The defense has to be far better and there needs to be more from the running game to get through the stretch. 

Oct. 10
at Washington 36 … Arizona 33
Washington scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes as Jake Locker connected with Kavario Middleton for a 25-yard touchdowns before what might be the Pac 10 play of the year if the Huskies go on to have a big season. Arizona’s Nick Foles, who threw for 384 yards, threw a low pass that Delashaun Dean bobbled and appeared to drop, but it went off his foot, bounced into the air, and into the arms of Mason Foster, who took the interception 37 yards for the improbable game winning touchdowns. Locker also ran for a 56-yard score and connected with Devin Aguilar for touchdown passes from five and 29 yards out.
Player of the Game: Washington QB Jake Locker completed 12-of-23 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, and he ran 11 times for 92 yards and a score.
Arizona: Passing: Nick Foles, 39-53, 384 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Greg Nwoko, 16-54, 1 TD, Receiving: David Roberts, 12-138, 1 TD
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 12-23, 140 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jake Locker, 11-92, 1 TD, Receiving: Devin Aguilar, 3-43, 2 TD 
What It All Means: While it might be easy to assume that Jake Locker’s magical ability guided Washington to the improbable win, this one can’t be defined. The team just hung around and hung around, and then it came up with the plays late when given the chance. There need to be more long drives and the defense has been on the field for way too long, but after the overtime loss to Notre Dame and with Arizona State up next, this was a big win that could mean a bowl game. However, the Huskies have to survive a span of three road games in four, with the one home date against Oregon.

Oct. 3
at Notre Dame 37 … Washington 30
Notre Dame’s Robert Hughes ran for a one-yard score on its overtime possession and held on Washington’s turn breaking up a fourth down pass to pull out the thrilling win. The Irish got two goal line stands (holding UW to no points on one and three on the other) to keep the Huskies from pulling away, and was able to take a late lead on a 12-yard Kyle Rudolph touchdown catch and a barreling two-point conversion from Hughes with 1:20 to play. But Washington rallied going 70 yards in nine plays with Erik Folk hitting a 37-yarder with six seconds to play to force OT. Nick Tausch hit five field goals for the Irish. The two teams combined for 987 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen completed 23-of-31 passes for 422 yards and two touchdown with an interception, and Golden Tate caught nine passes for 244 yards and a score.
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 22-40, 281 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Chris Polk, 22-136, Receiving: Jermaine Kearse, 8-94, 1 TD
Notre Dame: Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 23-31, 422 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Hughes, 8-70, 1 TD, Receiving: Golden Tate, 9-244, 1 TD
What It All Means: No one’s stopping this offense. Jimmy Clausen is playing at another level, while Golden Tate stepped up his play with Michael Floyd gone and became the team’s star playmaker with 244 yards against Washington. The defense might not be anything special, but it came up with three big stops on the two goal line stands and in overtime, and now it’s time for the real work to begin. At 4-1, the heat is off Charlie Weis for now, but the program can really take off if it can pull off the win over USC. There are two weeks to prepare for the showdown, and the one thing that needs working on is tightening up the offense on third downs after converting just 2-of-10 chances.
What It All Means: This might have been a painful loss, but how much have things changed for the program in a few short weeks? Having a quarterback like Jake Locker helps, but being so competitive in a dogfight like this was yet more evidence that Steve Sarkisian isn’t that far away from creating a power. The defensive line has to be better, it struggled yet again, and the 13 penalties were a killer, but this game, even though it was a loss, should be seen as a confidence booster with nothing but Pac 10 games the rest of the way.

Sept. 26
at Stanford 34 … Washington 14
Stanford dominated the Huskies from the start with Chris Owusu taking the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, and then it was all Toby Gerhart. The Cardinal running back scored on a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter and controlled the game from then on. Washington got its first touchdown on a freak play when Stanford QB Andrew Luck thought the play was dead and flipped the ball. Justin Glenn took the fumble 51 yards for a score, but that was UW’s main highlight. Jake Locker connected with Jermaine Kearse on a 19-yard touchdown pass to get the Huskies within three in the second quarter, but Stanford scored ten unanswered points with Luck closing it out with a nine-yard dash.
Player of the Game: Stanford RB Toby Gerhart ran 27 times for 200 yards and a score.
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 16-31, 191 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 19-75, Receiving: James Johnson, 3-37
Stanford: Passing: Andrew Luck, 7-14, 103 yds
Rushing: Toby Gerhart, 27-200, 1 TD, Receiving: Coby Fleener, 3-57
What It All Means: Well there goes that. After all the good that came from the USC win, and after it seemed like the program took a big step forward, Stanford stepped up and rumbled its way to a big win. Jake Locker and the UW offense sputtered and coughed, and it never got a rhythm with the run defense having so many problems with Toby Gerhart. Fortunately, Notre Dame is up next, and it’s not running all that well, and Arizona comes after with its banged up running back corps. The defensive front has to be more active, and Jake Locker has to get his completion percentage up. 

Sept. 19
at Washington 16 ... USC 13
Erik Folk nailed a 22-yard field goal with three seconds to play to give Washington the upset over the Trojans. The Husky defense held firm all game long, keeping USC to just a 25-yard Jordan Congdon field goal after the first quarter, while the UW offense got three Folk field goals and a four-yard Jake Locker touchdown run. The Trojans tied the game up with 4:07 to play, but Locker was able to lead UW 63 yards in ten plays, helped by a roughing the passer call, to get into a position for the win.
Player of the Game: Washington LB Donald Butler made 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, forced a fumble, and picked off a pass.
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 21-35, 237 yds
Rushing: Chris Polk, 25-71, 1 TD, Receiving: James Johnson, 7-72
USC: Passing: Aaron Corp, 13-22, 110 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Joe McKnight, 11-100, 1 TD, Receiving: Stanley Havili, 4-36
What It All Means: Jake Locker will be the star coming off the win over USC thanks to his tremendous final drive to win the game, but Washington beat USC because of its defense. .Three takeaways and coming up with ten stops in ten chances on third down, along with a fourth down stop, was the reason for the win. UW didn't get much pressure on Aaron Corp, but the back seven was swarming and came up with every tackle needed to give the struggling offense a shot. Remember, this is a team a game removed from being on an epic losing streak. Now it's in the hunt for the Pac 10 title.

 Sept. 12
at Washington 42 ... Idaho 23
Washington ended its 15-game losing slide and gave head coach Steve Sarkisian his first win as the head man as Jake Locker threw three touchdown passes and ran for a three-yard score. The Huskies were up 35-9 in the third quarter after a two-yard Chris Izbicki touchdown grab and coasted the rest of the way. Idaho outgained the Huskies and got two late DeMaundray Woolridge touchdown runs, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Player of the Game: Washington QB Jake Locker completed 17-of-25 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran six times for 18 yards and a score.
Idaho: Passing: Nathan Enderle, 22-33, 279 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: DeMaundray Woolridge, 7-41, 2 TD Receiving: Daniel Hardy, 6-103
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 17-25, 253 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Chris Polk, 19-80, 1 TD, Receiving: D'Andre Goodwin, 3-83
What It All Means: It doesn't matter that it was only against Idaho; the program needed a win, and it needed a blowout win. Jake Locker was excellent, especially on third downs as the Huskies converted 11-of-14 chances on the way to a big early lead. The defense wasn't stellar, but it held firm forcing early field goals instead of touchdowns. Now the real fun comes with USC coming to town. If Locker can be Locker and if the defense isn't awful, UW will have a puncher's chance.

Sept.5
LSU 31 ... at Washington 23
Terrance Tolliver caught touchdown passes from 45 and 39 yards out and set up another score in a surprising fight for LSU. Jacob Cutera returned an interception 29 yards for a first quarter LSU touchdown and an early 10-7 lead, but the offense eventually took over. The Tigers finally pulled away for good on a Brandon LaFell six-yard touchdown catch with just under two minutes to play, while UW made the score look better with Jake Locker's second touchdown pass of the game coming with no time left on the clock.
Player of the Game: LSU WR Terrance Tolliver caught four passes for 117 yards and two scores.
LSU: Passing: Jordan Jefferson, 11-19, 172 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Charles Scott, 12-52, Receiving: Terrance Tolliver, 4-117, 2 TD
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 25-45, 321 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 21-90, Receiving: James Johnson, 6-63, 1 TD
What It All Means: There might not be any such thing as a good loss for a program that wants to be as strong as Washington hopes to become, but the team battled hard against a very good LSU to open up the Steve Sarkisian era with a positive game. Jake Locker showed just how valuable he is by stepping up and producing time and again in the face of extreme pressure, and he'll end up carrying the team to a few wins by himself. LB E.J. Savannah had a fantastic game with 11 tackles while helping to keep LSU's Charles Scott to just 52 yards. Finally, the 15 game losing streak will be broken next week against Idaho.