2006 Washington Huskies Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Nov. 18
Washington 35 ... Washington State 32
In a game of several home runs, Washington got a 64-yard
touchdown catch from Cody Ellis, a 69-yard touchdown catch from
Marcel Reese, and a blocked punt for a score from Chris Reese, but
didn't finally put the game away for good until a 77-yard Louis
Rankin touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Washington State stayed
around with a 43-yard interception return for a score from Eric
Frampton and two Alex Brink fourth quarter touchdown passes, but
wasn't able to go anywhere on a final drive with a Caesar Rayford
sack ending the Cougars' final shot. The two teams combined for 19
tackles for loss with Wazzu's Mkristo Bruce coming up with four, but
the Huskies outsacked the Cougars five to two. Player of the game ... Washington QB Carl Bonnell
completed 14 of 27 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns with two
interceptions Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing: Carl
Bonnell, 14-27, 271 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Louis Rankin, 17-118, 2 TD. Receiving:
Marcel Reece, 3-107, 1 TD Washington State - Passing: Alex Brink,
32-54, 328 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Dwight Tardy, 19-105, 1 TD Receiving:
Brandon Gibson, 8-129, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Never discount the hex Washington always seems to have over Wazzu in
the Apple Cup. Carl Bonnell bounced back from an awful performance
against Stanford to bomb away on the Cougar secondary. Just as
important as coming up with big plays was his ability to overcome
the bad ones. With Louis Rankin running well and Bonnell hitting the
home runs, this was how the offense was supposed to work over the
second half of the season.
Nov. 11
Stanford 20 ... Washington 3
Stanford stunned Washington with 20 unanswered points on a
49-yard Bo McNally interception return for a touchdown and a 74-yard
Richard Sherman scoring catch in the fourth quarter. Washington
started off the scoring with a 28-yard field goal, but the Cardinal
tied it as time ran out at the end of the half on a 29-yard Aaron
Zagory field goal. The Huskies only gained 161 yards. Player of the game ... Stanford WR Richard Sherman
caught six passes for 177 yards and a touchdown Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing: Carl
Bonnell, 10-35, 118 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny James, 13-23. Receiving:
Quintin Daniels, 4-40 Stanford - Passing: T.C. Ostrander,
11-20, 206 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Anthony Kimble, 11-35 Receiving:
Richard Sherman, 6-177, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
How could the Huskies be so bad against the league's worst team with
bowl eligibility still there for the taking? Stanford somehow made
the UW quarterbacks look awful with Carl Bonnell and Johnny DuRocher
off all game long. The offensive line got no push for the running
game, but no one was sharp. On a six game losing streak and with the
season shot, Ty Willingham has to do his best coaching job yet to
get the team up for Washington State. A win in the Apple Cup would
do wonders going into the off-season. To pull it off, the
quarterbacks have to be much, much sharper in their decision making.
Nov. 4
Oregon 34 ... Washington 14
Oregon outgained Washington 316 rushing yards to 13 with
Jonathan Stewart running for 159 yards and scoring from five and
four yards out. Patrick Chung started out the scoring for the Ducks
with a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown, but the Huskies
converted off a Dennis Dixon interception getting a nine-yard
touchdown catch from Sonny Shackelford. The second Dixon
interception led to an 11-yard Quintin Daniels scoring grab to pull
the Huskies within three early in the second half, and then Oregon
went on a roll scoring 17 unanswered points with a Stewart scoring
run, a one-yard touchdown from Jeremiah Johnson, and Paul Martinez's
second field goal of the day.
Player of the game ... Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart ran 25 times
for 159 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Oregon- Passing: Dennis
Dixon, 14-25, 109 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Jonathan Stewart, 25-159, 2 TD, Receiving:
Dante Rosario, 4-34 Washington - Passing: Carl Bonnell,
15-34, 125 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Louis Rankin, 10-33 Receiving:
Sonny Shackelford, 6-31, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Washington's strong season has quickly gone into the tank with a
five-game losing streak hurt by an inconsistent offense and a D
that's not coming up with any game-changing stops. The attack is
desperately missing the steadiness and leadership of Isaiah Stanback
and isn't getting nearly enough push from the running game; you're
not going to win much in the Pac 10 when you gain just 138 total
yards of offense like the Dawgs did against Oregon. A bowl bid is
still possible, but now they have to beat Stanford and Washington
State to get an extra game. A loss to the Cardinal would be
disastrous and could ruin all the good things the team did over the
first half of the year.
Oct. 28
Arizona State 26 ... Washington 23 OT
Arizona State answered Washington's
47-yard overtime field goal from Michael Braunstein with a 25-yard
touchdown pass to Brent Miller for the win. ASU QB Rudy Carpenter
started off the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal
Lewis and Keegan Herring made it 20-6 with touchdown runs from 19
and 65 yards out, but Washington came roaring back in the fourth
quarter with WR Sonny Shackelford throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass
to Anthony Russo and scoring on a four-yard pass from Johnny
DuRocher, who filled in for an injured Carl Bonnell, with 2:19 to
play to force overtime. Player of the game ... Arizona State RB Ryan Torian ran
23 times for 98 yards and caught three passes for 30 yards. Stat Leaders: Arizona State- Passing:
Rudy Carpenter, 16-22, 170 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Ryan Torian, 23-98 Receiving:
Keegan Herring, 3-43 Washington - Passing: Carl Bonnell, 9-23,
67 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Louis Rankin, 25-67 Receiving: Louis
Rankin, 6-46 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Even though bowl hopes ere all but
shattered with a second straight overtime loss, the team fought well
against Arizona State despite losing QB Carl Bonnell. Bonnell wasn't
playing well before getting knocked out, and the offense did a good
job of coming back in the fourth quarter with Johnny Durocher at the
helm. Interestingly enough, the coaching staff didn't put in star
freshman Jake Locker preserving the redshirt status. The worst of
all possible worlds, at this point, would be to miss a bowl and also
burn Locker's extra year.
Oct. 21
California 31 ... Washington 24 OT
In a wild finish, Washington forced
overtime with a 40-yard Hail Mary that bounced around into the hands
of Marlon Wood for a score as time expired. On Cal's overtime
possession, Marshawn Lynch, on two gimpy ankles, ran for a 22-yard
touchdown run, and then LB Desmond Bishop picked off Carl Bonnell to
seal the win. Lynch gave Cal the lead with a 17-yard scoring run in
the final two minutes before the Huskies went on their miraculous
drive, but the Cal offense was held mostly to field goals with Tom
Schneider hitting from 21, 29, and a bomb from 50 yards out. The
Huskies got two touchdown passes from Bonnell as well as a
seven-yard scoring run, but he threw five interceptions. Player of the game ... California RB Marshawn Lynch ran
21 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns and LB Desmond Bishop made
16 tackles, forced a fumble, made 3.5 tackles for loss, and sealed
the win with an interception Stat Leaders: California- Passing: Nate
Longshore, 21-36, 291 yds Rushing: Marshawn Lynch, 21-150, 2 TD Receiving:
Lavelle Hawkins, 6-99 Washington - Passing: Carl Bonnell,
17-31, 284 yds, 2 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Louis Rankin, 22-88 Receiving:
Anthony Russo, 3-91, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Washington's obviously going to be
angry about losing to Cal, but it proved once again that it can hang
around with the Pac 10's best of the best and keep a high-octane
offense under wraps. Even with five interceptions, Carl Bonnell
played well showing off good running skills while throwing well
enough to keep the chains moving. There will be more shootouts ahead
facing Arizona State and Oregon, but if the Huskies can win one of
those two, it'll have the layup against Stanford become bowl
eligible taking the pressure off the Apple Cup battle at Washington
State.
Oct. 14
Oregon State 27 ... Washington 17
Oregon State played it safe early getting down 17-10 in the
first half, and then bombed away in the second half with an 80-yard
touchdown catch from Sammy Stroughter and a three-yard Yvenson
Bernard scoring run. Bernarrd ran for a two-yard score in the first
half, but the Huskies got up with two Isaiah Stanback touchdown
runs. The UW QB struggled in the passing game and got taken out late
with an injured ankle. OSU outgained UW 488 yards to 256. Player of the game ... Oregon State RB Yvenson Bernard
ran 29 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 12-24, 162 yds Rushing: Kenny James, 17-83. Receiving:
Anthony Russo, 4-85 Oregon State - Passing: Matt Moore,
14-19, 308 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Yvenson Bernard, 29-144, 2 TD Receiving:
Sammy Stroughter 7-223, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Washington needs to quickly find a way to bounce back from the awful
performance against the Beavers. The defense couldn't stop anything
the OSU offense tried to do, while the offense had a hard time
getting anything consistently going converting one of 13 on third
downs and one of four on fourth downs. With a trip to Cal coming up,
and with Isaiah Stanback hurting with a bum ankle, does the team
have the punch to win a big game? Not unless the defense plays far
better.
Oct. 7
USC 26 ... Washington 20
USC held on as Washington got down to the Trojan 15-yard line
with two seconds to play, but couldn't get another play off. Mario
Danelo hit four field goals for USC, but his first field goal
attempt turned into the big play of the game as Steve Smith took
caught a pass off a fake for a 20-yard score. Isaiah Stanback threw
two touchdown passes including a six-yard play to Johnie Kirton
early in the fourth quarter to pull within three, but a 21-yard
Danelo field goal with 1:34 to play forced the Huskies to go for a
touchdown on their final drive. Player of the game ... USC LB Keith Rivers made 12
tackles, broke up two passes, and came up with a tackle for loss. Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 17-38, 212 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Kenny James, 13-84. Receiving:
Sonny Shackelford, 9-125 USC - Passing: John David Booty, 23-40,
243 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chauncey Washington, 17-81 Receiving:
Patrick Turner, 12-116, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Moral victories aren't going to cut it for Washington anymore, but
the team has to be happy that USC needed a fake field goal and had
to hang on until the final two seconds to win the game. Isaiah
Stanback once again showed how much better he is as a mature,
veteran playmaker. The defense did a nice job of bending but not
breaking too often with the secondary doing a great job of breaking
up several plays. Now the Huskies have to get back on track in a
hurry with a home date against Oregon State before dealing with Cal.
Sept. 30
Washington 21 ... Arizona 10
Washington got all the points it would need in the final 6:07
of the first half as Kenny James ran for a four-yard score and Isaiah Stanback
threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Sonny Shackelford and connected with
Quintin Daniels for a 55-yard score with :22 to play. Arizona started off the
scoring with a 52-yard Nick Folk field goal got a juggling 13-yard touchdown
grab from Syndric Steptoe, but the UW D stopped the Arizona ground game cold and
didn't allow many long drives.
Player of the game ... Washington QB Isaiah Stanback completed
14 of 25 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and ran
ten times for 47 yards Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 14-25, 293 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Louis Rankin, 17-63,. Receiving:
Sonny Shackelford, 5-105, 1 TD Arizona - Passing: Willie Tuitama,
24-41, 308 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Henry, 5-24 Receiving: Mike
Thomas, 5-91 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Washington is playing like a team with supreme confidence. The defense swarmed
all over Arizona's running game holding it to -7 yards, and got six sacks
forcing Willie Tuitama to make bad play after bad play on third downs. Isaiah
Stanback is doing a great job of not making any big mistakes and is doing a
better job of leading the offense. Now that the ship appears to be turned
around, but things can really get going if the Huskies can pull off a stunning
win over USC next week. While that might be asking for too much, just holding
serve at home will mean a nice bowl bid.
Sept. 23
Washington 29 ... UCLA 19
UW's Dan Howell picked off a Ben Olson pass and took it 33
yards for a touchdown with six minutes to play to put away a tight game. The
Huskies got a great game out of Isaiah Stanback with two touchdown passes to
Sonny Shackelford and a four-yard scoring pass to Johnie Kirton as part of a
29-3 run after UCLA got out of the gate with the first 16 points of the game.
Justin Medlock connected on field goal tries from 28, 23, 51, 23 and 22 yards
out for the Bruins. The only touchdown came on a one-yard Chris Markey run in
the first quarter.
Player of the game ... Washington QB Isaiah Stanback completed
18 of 29 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and ran
13 times for 48 yards Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 18-29, 200 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Isaiah Stanback, 13-48,. Receiving:
Sonny Shackelford, 9-120, 2 TD UCLA - Passing: Ben Olson, 18-31, 135 yds,
2 INT
Rushing: Chris Markey, 19-124, 1 TD Receiving:
Matt Willis, 4-30 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... For the
second straight week, Washington won a game with a less than perfect performance
in the win over UCLA, but Dawg fans are hardly going to complain. The team
appears to be playing with the confidence it was lacking over the last few years
making plays it would've missed. Having a steady, veteran at quarterback like
Isaiah Stanback certainly helps, but he can't do it alone. He'll need more from
the running game if the Huskies are going to get through road games at Arizona
and USC. The defense has to continue to generate pressure and it has to keep
halting momentum with key third down stops like it did against the Bruins.
Sept. 16
Washington 21 ... Fresno State 20
A nearly dead-even game was decided by a blocked extra point
from Washington's Caesar Rayford following a one-yard Dwayne Wright
touchdown run that apparently tied the game late in the fourth.
Isaiah Stanback threw two short touchdown passes and ran for a
six-yard score, but Fresno State always had an answer. Wright
started off the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run, and Paul
Williams caught a 38-yard touchdown pass.
Player of the game ... Washington SS C.J. Wallace made 17
tackles, two tackles for loss, and forced a fumble Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 15-26, 151 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Isaiah Stanback, 12-91, 1 TD,. Receiving:
Anthony Russo, 4-34 Fresno State - Passing: Tom Brandstater,
11-21, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dwayne Wright, 28-136, 2 TD Receiving:
Paul Williams, 6-85, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It
doesn't matter how it happened, Washington has a 2-1 record and a
world of confidence going into the Pac 10 season after the win over
Fresno State. State of mind was a big issue over the last few years
with all the losing building and building on the team causing
several problems, and now it appears to be ready to battle a rested
UCLA team next week. Isaiah Stanback is a difference maker when he
can get defenses worrying about him running. Now he's making teams
pay through the air. Punter Sean Douglas is blasting the ball; he
was terrific against the Bulldogs.
Sept. 9
Oklahoma 37 ... Washington 20
Paul Thompson and Malcolm Kelly combined for two touchdowns
highlighted by a 35-yarder in the third quarter to break open a
13-13 tie. Adrian Peterson took over in the second half running for
two scores to help the Sooners finish off a 27-point run. Washington
started off hot with a tremendous 54-yard scoring dash from Kenny
James and closed out with a two-yard touchdown catch from Sonny
Shackelford, but it couldn't keep up in the second half once OU
started scoring. Player of the game ... Oklahoma WR Malcolm Kelly caught
six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 9-22, 139 yds Rushing: Louis Rankin, 17-112,. Receiving:
Anthony Russo. 3-70 Oklahoma - Passing: Paul Thompson, 21-33,
272 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Adrian Peterson, 32-165, 2 TD Receiving:
Malcolm Kelly, 6-121, 2 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Washington showed off a good running game against Oklahoma and
played far better than expected early on, but the lack of a
consistent passing game proved to be a killer once the game started
to get out of hand. The defense simply wore down against the Sooners
once Paul Thompson started throwing the ball well, and then Adrian
Peterson took over. Fresno State is going to be tough for the Dawgs
to get by unless they're more physical on the defensive front for a
full 60 minutes.
Sept. 2
Washington 35 ... San Jose State 29
Washington got two touchdowns from Kenny James and Louis
Rankin and out rushed the Spartans 300 yards to 50, but it needed to
withstand a storm as Adam Tafralis stepped in and bombed away for
323 yards and three second half touchdowns to James Jones including
a six-yard strike with just over two minutes to play. Washington
recovered the onside kick and held on. Isaiah Stanback had a
brilliant game throwing a touchdown pass and rushing for 102 yards
and a score. Player of the game ... Washington QB Isaiah Stanback
completed 16 of 25 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown with an
interception. He also ran 17 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. Stat Leaders: Washington- Passing:
Isaiah Stanback, 16-25, 168 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Louis Rankin, 10-145, 2 TD. Receiving:
Anthony Russo, 5-43 San Jose State - Passing: Adam Tafralis,
28-35, 323 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Yonus Davis, 9-33. Receiving: James Jones,
9-130, 3 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Panic sirens will go off after the close
call to San Jose State, but there were some major positives to come
out of the win and a lot to get excited about. First, Isaiah
Stanback played like a quarterback who can carry the team on his
back. Stanback, Louis Rankin and the running game were excellent,
punter Sean Douglas had a brilliant game, and the run defense was
stout. However, the secondary had way too many problems.
Fortunately, Oklahoma can't throw the ball, so if the defensive
front seven can keep Adrian Peterson in check, next week could be
interesting.
The program can blame past coaching staffs, turmoil and a
silly blowup over an NCAA basketball bracket for the speedy downfall
from superpower to also-ran to dregs, but now the concern is whether
or not things can ever be back to the way they were.
The problem for Washington, at this point, isn't if it can get
any better, it's if the rest of the Pac 10 can come back to the
pack. USC isn't looking like it's going to slow down too much, Oregon has
rebounded, Cal is on the verge of really big things, Arizona State
and UCLA continue to be strong, Arizona isn't going to get any
worse, Stanford showed last year it can hang with anyone, and Oregon
State and Washington State appear to be better. Unless the Huskies
have a few tricks up their sleeve, this might be another very long
season.
So what was learned by beating Idaho, Arizona and San Jose
State over the last two seasons? That's what second year head man Ty
Willingham and his staff must figure out right away. There are good
athletes on both sides of the ball and there are players with Pac 10
talent, at least there are as many as most of the teams that'll
finish in the bottom half. Now they need a little bit of confidence
that can only come from winning.
Things couldn't have
started out worse for Willingham as he tried to pull the team up out of
the 2004 nosedive. There was the stunning last-minute home loss to Air
Force to start the season followed up by a blowout by Cal and then seven
more losses out of the final nine games. Ticket sales have been a
problem, the Seahawks are one of the NFL's best teams putting more
interest in the pro game, and once again, the Pac 10 has improved.
But that doesn't mean this can't be the Pac 10's deep sleeper. If
you believe the adage that veteran teams win close games, then the 15
returning starters, along with all the experienced depth in many key
spots, should be enough to win the squeakers that last year's struggling
team lost. A confident, positive attitude team would've beaten Air
Force. It would've hung on against UCLA, found a way to get by the weird
game against Oregon State, and would've come up with the Apple Cup win.
Veteran, positive teams tend to get the needed breaks for a 6-5 season
instead of a 2-9 stinker.
If QB Isaiah Stanback can be this year's Michael Robinson and make the
senior year transformation the former Penn State star was able to make,
and if the deep stable of running backs turns into something special,
and if the questions can be answered at corner, and if there can be some
semblance of a steady pass rush from the front four, this really, truly
could be a turnaround season.
The Schedule: It's
not a peach after the opener against San Jose State. Forget about
the road trip to Oklahoma, the team really needs to not clunk at
home against Fresno State with UCLA coming into town the following
week. The Huskies aren't likely to beat USC, Cal or Oregon this year
without things being drastically different, so those games might as
well be on the road. However, that means home dates with teams like
Oregon State and Stanford are must wins to have any hope of a bowl
season
.
Best
Offensive Player: Redshirt freshman J.R. Hasty. But he's not on
the team this year being declared academically ineligible. The Washington state high school superstar is one
of the few potential difference makers on the offense ... next year. QB Isaiah Stanback might turn out to be the team's best offensive player, and
number one receiver Sonny Shackelford is the team's steadiest
offensive producer, and RB Louis Rankin might get the starting call
on opening day, but Hasty is the most talented player on offense.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior SS C.J. Wallace. Safety/corner Dashon
Goldson is the far better pro prospect, but Wallace is the tone
setter for the defensive back seven with his linebacker-like hits
and great support in the running game. Now he has to make more plays
when the ball is in the air.
Key
player to a successful season: Senior QB Isaiah Stanback. If he
doesn't pull out a least three wins by the end of September, there
might be a change at quarterback just to get looks at some of the
other talented options. Washington fans know all too well what has
happened over the last few years when the quarterbacks start to
rotate. Stanback has to be the one who makes the team a winner in
his third year under center.
The
season will be a success if ... Washington wins seven games.
There has to be a big upset or two to set a fire under the fan base,
while a win in the Apple Cup over Washington State, and a 5-1 home
record, would do wonders to get the program rolling into 2007 when
the program will finally be three years removed from all the past
problems.
Key
game: Sept. 23 vs. UCLA. Washington must win the Pac 10 home
opener for confidence before a two game road trip to Arizona and USC.
The Wildcats are going to want payback after last year's 38-14 loss,
while USC is, well, USC. A win over the Bruins would do wonders for
the team's psyche and could set the tone for a good home season.
2005
Fun Stats:
- Fourth quarter scoring: Opponents 116 - Washington 70
- Penalties: Opponents 85 for 712 yards - Washington 68 for 556
yards
- Completion percentage: Opponents 66.8% - Washington 52.5%
The Last Time Washington…
…played in a bowl game…2002 (Sun Bowl vs. Purdue)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…1997 (USC)
…was shutout…2004 (USC)
…scored 50 points…2001 (Idaho)
…went undefeated…1991
…won a conference title…2000
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2003 (Cody Pickett)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…1997 (Rashaan Shehee)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2003 (Reggie Williams)
…had a first-round draft choice…2004 (WR Reggie Williams)
