Huskies hoping to snap two game losing streak as they take on Beavers

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) travel down to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers(2-8,2-5) hoping to snap a two game losing streak this year. Last year the Huskies snapped a six game losing streak to the Beavers 35-34 in double overtime as Jake Locker threw five touchdown passes including four to Jermaine Kearse. The Beavers like they did in 1998 decided to go for two and the win came up short. That game proved the difference between the Huskies going to a bowl game and the Beavers not going just like in 1998. Now the Huskies are taking on a struggling Beavers team suffering their worst season in the Mike Riley era as this has been a trying season for the Beavers. Riley has made a quarterback switch this year. Riley is going with the youth movement as the Beavers are starting a freshman quarterback.

The Beavers are led by their freshman quarterback Sean Mannion who has completed 64.3% of his passes for 2,694 yards(6.8 YPA) with 11 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. His favorite target is Markus Wheaton who has 64 receptions for 822 yards but only one touchdown. James Rodgers is healthy this year and has 41 receptions for 470 yards with two touchdowns. The Beavers leading rusher this year is Malcolm Agnew who has rushed for 419 yards(4.7 YPC) with five touchdowns. The Beavers are just a bad team overall though as they rank 119th in rushing yards with just 87.8 a game, 105th in scoring offense at 20.3 points per game and 85th in defense at 30 points per game. They have suffered an embarassing loss to begin the season to D-1AA Sacramento State and their season has gone downhill ever since. The Beavers are also ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the Pac-12 in rushing defense which isn't very good considering Chris Polk is on the Huskies.

The Huskies will be looking to exploit the Beavers weak rushing defense. The Huskies will also see redshirt freshman Nick Montana make his first career start this Saturday. Look for Sarkisian to feature the run against a Beavers defense that ranks 11th out of 12 teams in the conference in rushing yards allowed. The Huskies feature Polk who has ran for 1,132 yards(5.2 YPC) with 10 rushing touchdowns. Last year against the Beavers Polk ran for 94 yards on 25 carries(3.8 YPC) with two receptions for 29 yards. The previous year down in Corvallis Polk ran for 116 yards on 19 carries(6.1 YPC) with two receptions for 11 yards. The one thing Polk hasn't done is rush for a touchdown against the Beavers. Polk will probably share some of the load which will feature the run with Jesse Callier who has ran for 198 yards(5.2 YPC) with a touchdown on the season as well as Bishop Sankey who has rushed for 175 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. The Huskies will ease their young quarterback in his first start by pounding the ball most would think.

The man of the week as the son of Joe Montana Nick Montana will be making his first career start. Montana has appeared in four games off the bench in either mop up duty or in the case of the Oregon game to fill in for injury. Montana on the season is 13-20(65.0%) for 147 yards(7.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. With a full week to prepare I imagine Montana should be fine. Jermaine Kearse who has slumped recently has 36 receptions for 429 yards with six touchdowns. Last year against the Beavers Kearse caught four touchdown passes including the game tying touchdown then the game winning touchdown. Devin Aguilar has 31 receptions for 466 yards with three touchdowns. Then lately the emerging Kasen Williams who has 25 receptions for 280 yards with four touchdowns. Williams and Montana appear to have a good chemistry. Look for tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to factor into this game as he has 26 receptions for 377 yards with four touchdowns on the year.

In conclusion, the Huskies are playing an opponent that has been blown out three straight games and is already looking forward to next season. The Huskies should take care of business as they are looking to win their seventh regular season game for the first time since 2002. The Huskies are looking for their first win down in Corvallis since 2003. The Huskies although starting a new quarterback have plenty of weapons and should be just fine against the Beavers. Sarkisian needs to remember to feed the ball to Polk and the Huskies will win this game pretty easily. The Huskies have a chance to close out the season strong it's just a matter of will they?

Trojans embarass Huskies 40-17 in Sarkisian's return to old stomping grounds

By Kshell

The USC Trojans(8-2,5-2) made sure there was no last second game winning field goals by Erik Folk as the Trojans destroyed the Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) 40-17. Steve Sarkisian who had previously been 2-0 against the team he coached for many years had one of his worst losses as a head coach with all things considered. The Trojans dominated this game as they rushed for 252 yards while the Huskies offense which features Chris Polk was held to just 42 yards rushing as a team. For the third straight week Keith Price has struggled and was injured during the game which leaves him out for the following week. This was yet another bad blowout loss for Sarkisian's Huskies who have been outscored 74-34 the last two weeks after starting off the season 6-2.

The Huskies began the game with two three and outs while the Trojans on the second possession took advantage. Starting from their own 20 yard line on second down Matt Barkley hit Brice Butler for an incredible diving 36 yard catch on the Huskies 34 yard line as the Huskies had a penalty the prior play. After a Barkley eight yard pass that set up third and one from the 25 yard line. That is when running back Marc Tyler busted a 24 yard run down to the Huskeis one yard line. Barkley then finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown keeper to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. The Huskies offense once again went three and out. After stopping the Trojans the Huskies offense finally had a drive going. Price hit Austin Seferian-Jenkins for gains of 22 yards, 11 yards and then 12 yards. The Huskies offense stalled as Folk ended the drive with a 46 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the following series is when the Trojans would change momentum back to their side.

The Trojans once again began on their own 20 yard line but Barkley completed back to back passes to their own 38. After a loss of nine yards the Trojans were facing a 3rd and 19. The Huskies were called for a suspect pass interference call which was on an uncatchable pass. The Trojans were facing a second and 20 saw Barkley complete an 11 yard pass to set up third and nine. The Huskies defense recorded the stop which appeared the Trojans on their own 45 yard line would punt. Instead Lane Kiffin called a fake punt which saw punter Kyle Negrete rush up the middle for a 35 yard run which 33 yards he went untouched. Kiffin found a weakness in Sarkisian's special teams and took advantage. Curtis McNeal then ran for 15 yards on the next two carries plus a Huskies penalty gave the Trojans the ball on the two yard line. After the Huskies had back to back stops on McNeal the Trojans turned to Tyler who ran it in from one yard out to give the Trojans a 14-3 lead over the Huskies.

The game changed after the fake punt as the Huskies self destructed. After a short kickoff return and a penalty the Huskies found themselves starting on their own eight yard line. After a short run by Polk it had appeared that Keith Price hit Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 25 yards. Despite the call on the field being a catch and there was no conclusive evidence the catch was overturned. Facing a third and nine from the 10 Price was sacked in the endzone for a safety giving the Trojans a 16-3 lead while also gaining possession. Starting from their own 49 yard line the Trojans went to work as McNeal busted a 19 yard run then a five yard run to the Huskies 27 yard line. On third and three Tyler ran for four yards to the 21 yard line. McNeal then ran for 12 more yards to the Huskies nine yard line. That is when Barkley finished the drive with a nine yard touchdown pass to Marqise Lee to give the Trojans a commanding 23-3 lead at halftime over the Huskies.

The second half began with the Trojans receiving the ball first. As if there was any doubt in the game Lee made sure there wasn't as he took the kickoff 88 yards to the House to give the Trojans a 30-3 lead over the Huskies. The Huskies offense would actually respond to that as Kevin Smith ran back to the kick 40 yards to their own 43 yard line. Bishop Sankey began the drive with a gain of three yards. Then Price hit Smith on a crossing route which Smith using his speed busted 53 yards as he was tackled at the one yard line. That is when the Huskies rewarded Polk for the one yard touchdown run. That was Polk's 10th rushing touchdown of the season which was a career high for Polk who bested his mark of last season of nine rushing touchdowns.



With the score cutdown to 30-10 the Trojans made sure this game was still going to be a blowout. Starting from their own 20 yard line after a one yard run by McNeal is when the game went back to being ugly. McNeal busted it 79 yards untouched for the touchdown to give the Trojans back their commanding lead of 37-10. The Huskies offense would go three and out the next three drives while two drives later the Trojans went on a 15 play, 61 yard drive which took up over seven and a half minutes resulting in a field goal to go up 40-10 over the Huskies. This game turned ugly when many including myself expected a good close game. The Huskies as if things couldn't get any worse lost starting quarterback Keith Price during the game due to injury while the Trojans made damn well sure this game wasn't going to be a repeat of the last two years. The Trojans took care of business over the Huskies with big plays and I'm sure Nick Holt was re-thinking his statement on whether he would rather face them than Oregon. The Trojans put the hurting on the Huskies and the only left in this game was to see how Nick Montana the son of Joe Montana would handle the quarterback position in mop up duty.

The last drive of the game meant nothing far as the game goes but meant everything towards this week. The Huskies began on their own 31 yard line. Sankey had a rush of four yards then Montana hit Michael Hartvigson for a gain of 10 yards. Sankey followed that up with a 17 yard run to the Trojans 38 yard line. Montana then hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of six yards setting up a third and four. Montana hit Hartvigson again for a gain of six yards to pick up the first down. Montana completed a pass to Sankey for a gain of six yards to the 20 yard line. Facing a fourth and four Montana threw the ball up for grabs as he saw Kasen Williams had one on one coverage and for the second straight week Williams came down with the pass and the touchdown. For the third straight week Williams has been more productive than either senior wide receiver. The Huskies would go on to lose this game 40-17 as they lost their quarterback.

The Trojans blew out the Huskies 40-17 led by their rushing attack. Curtis McNeal had 148 yards rushing on 18 carries(8.2 YPC) including a touchdown. Marc Tyler had 50 yards on seven carries(7.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Matt Barkley played a solid game when the game was still in doubt. Barkley was 18-28(64.3%) for 174 yards(6.2 YPA) with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Marqise Lee had nine receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown while also having an 88 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

For the Huskies they have had better days no doubt. Keith Price finished 12-16(75.0%) for 125 yards(7.8 YPA) while being sacked four times. His backup Nick Montana had mixed results as Montana was 9-15(60.0%) for 73 yards(4.9 YPA) with his first career touchdown pass. The rushing game was nowhere to be seen as Chris Polk was held to season lows in carries with nine and yards with 36(4.0 YPC) while rushing for a touchdown. Bishop Sankey ran for 22 yards on four carries(5.5 YPC) and Kevin Smith ran once for six yards. The receiving game was featured by the youngsters led by Smith who had one catch for 53 yards. Then Seferian-Jenkins broke out of his slump with four receptions for 48 yards. Kasen Williams added five receptions for 44 yards with a touchdown. Sankey also had four receptions on the game as well. This was a horrible loss for the Huskies program hoping their days of returning to glory would start now.

All in all, these type of losses need to end for Sarkisian like ASAP. The Huskies have had a horrible habit of getting blown out quite a bit despite being a decent team. I'm aware there are growing pains but these type of losses need to stop. The high powered offense has looked beyond average the last two weeks which might have some to do with their opponent. Despite the sanctions the Trojans are a good team which features two top three picks in the NFL draft next year plus many other NFL players. The Huskies for the second straight week found out they are a long ways away from competing for Rose Bowls.

Observations:

- When the team is winning the quarterback receives too much credit. Likewise when the team is losing the quarterback receives too much blame. Take this game for an example Price didn't turn the ball over, completed 75% of his passes and his yards per attempt was close to eight. Yet all over facebook and twitter fans were bashing on Price.

Price has had a bad habit the last two weeks of constantly checking the ball down which is the smart play. By checking the ball down all the time though the Huskies are scoring points which ultimately as the quarterback is your job. For the year though Price is having a great season as he is completing 67.2% of his passes for 2,258 yards(7.9 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He has been sacked 25 times including 10 in the last two games alone. Due to all those sacks Price will have to miss this next game and hopefully he'll be able to return for the apple cup.

- Chris Polk had just nine carries for 36 yards with a touchdown while catching just one pass for zero yards. Why Sarkisian neglected to use his best weapon on the road has been the mystery. Polk is a speed back who has proven to get better as the game goes on. With Price getting hit on practically every play why not pound Polk more to ease the pressure off of Price?

Polk for the year is still having one of the great seasons for a Huskies running back and judging by the poor rush defenses he faces the next two weeks he should be adding quite a bit to his totals. For the year Polk has ran for 1,132 yards(5.2 YPC) with 10 touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns.  Sarkisian needs to feature his best weapon or the Huskies are going to have a disappointing end to a once promising season.

- The play of Kasen Williams lately has been nice to see. Williams the last three weeks has stepped his game up and appears to have figured out the playbook. That also could be due to Montana playing more as well as those two seemed to have good chemistry. Williams the last three weeks has caught 13 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns. For the season Williams now has 25 receptions for 280 yards with four touchdowns. So as you can see he has improved quite a bit as the season has worn on.

The other true freshman on the team are doing pretty well too. I'll start with Austin Seferian-Jenkins who broke out of his slump with four receptions fo 48 yards. On the year Seferian-Jenkins has 26 receptions for 383 yards with four touchdowns. The other true freshman who is having a nice year on offense is Bishop Sankey who appears to have passed up Jesse Callier as the number two back and always seems to bust one long run a game. For the year Sankey has ran for 175 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. The last five weeks Sankey has ran for 154 yards(7.7 YPC) with a touchdown. Sankey for the year has also caught five passes.

-  Nick Montana as everyone probably knows is the son of four-time super bowl winning quarterback Joe Montana. Montana[Nick] will be starting this next saturday against the Oregon State Beavers. Montana showed to be a bit rusty in his debut turning the ball over twice in his first two games. Now Montana appears comfortable as he came in the Oregon game with a beautiful 53 yard pass to Williams then this week threw a nice 20 yard touchdown pass to Williams.

For the year Montana is 13-20(65.0%) for 147 yards(7.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. Montana has shown the last two weeks where he went 10-16 for 126 yards with a touchdown that he is more than capable of filling in for the injured Keith Price. Montana is only a redshirt freshman and while fans expect him to be like his dad that is completely unfair. Let's allow Montana to play his whole career before passing judgement.

- Last year Sarkisian after beating USC called it the greatest day of his life besides when his kids were born. What a contrast a year makes as the Huskies were embarassed once again against a ranked opponent. For the year against ranked opponents the Huskies are 0-4 having been outscored 190-93 which is an average score of 47.5-23.2 which is completely unaccetapable.

Sarkisian needs to avoid these blowouts if he really is going to be the guy for this program for decades to come. Any coach can coach this team for the short term which Willingham proved. It takes a great coach to last for a decade plus with one school. I believe Sarkisian is more than capable of being that guy but he needs to stop letting his team get blown out so often.

In conclusion, this is your classic game where you throw the game tape away as the Huskies simply gave up once again. The offense looks to be struggling while the defense continues to be overmatched in year three of this coaching staff's regime. Unless things change Sarkisian will be faced with some tough decisions on his coaching staff but I'll get into that later in the year. Sarkisian still can salvage the season as the Huskies will be heavy favorites the next two games. Since Don James retired at the end of the 1992 season the Huskies have won only won eight games in the regular season just twice and eight games three times overall. The Huskies can still do that with wins the next two weeks which any fan including myself would take. The Huskies failed the big test once again so to make up for it they have to ace the quizzes the next two weeks.

Oregon closes out Husky Stadium with win over Huskies 34-17

By Kshell

The #6 Oregon Ducks(8-1,6-0) defeated the Washington Huskies(6-3,4-2) 34-17 in the final game at old Husky Stadium. The Ducks who rushed for 212 yards were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards including a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric as the Huskies honored their 1991 National Championship team amongst others. Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn't suit up the 1991 team and their current team struggled offensively. For the first time all year Steve Sarkisian saw his team struggle which was highlighted by Keith Price throwing two interceptions in the opening half which set up 14 points for the Ducks. The Huskies battled the Ducks but once again came up well short of the victory against their rivals and against top tier opponents. For the Ducks this win sets up a Pac-10 showdown this week as they take on undefeated Stanford Cardinal.

The game started off terribly for the Huskies. After Keith Price completed a 13 yard pass to Chris Polk down the middle it was all downhill from there. Price two plays later threw an interception which was returned to the Huskies 38 yard line. Darron Thomas completed a pass for 13 yards to the Huskies 25 yard line. Then LaMichael James took over first rushing for seven yards to the Huskies 18 yard line. James then finished off the drive with an 18 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an early 7-0 lead. On the following series the Huskies offense continued to be shutdown and went three and out. The Ducks would take over possession with the ball on their own 35 yard line.

That is when the Huskies caught a break. The Ducks Darron Thomas went back to pass but fumbled the ball. The Huskies recovered on the Ducks 32 yard line. Price immediately completed a 13 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse. After that the Huskies would go backwards and would have to settle on an Erik Folk 42 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the ensuing kickoff DeAnthony Thomas busted it 69 yards and was tackled from behind by Justin Glenn to the Huskies 21 yard line. The defense got tough and pushed the Ducks high powered offense backwards. The Ducks would have to settle on a 40 yard field goal to give them a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies were driving into Oregon territory after the teams had traded punts. The Huskies were on the Oregon 43 yard line when Price threw another costly interception which was returned 49 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. James started the drive off with an eight yard run to the Huskies 26 yard line. James again ran for 16 yards to the Huskies 10 yard line. Darron Thomas kept it for six yards to set up second and goal from the four yard line. Thomas then hit David Paulson for the wide open four yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 17-3 lead. The Huskies offense continued to struggle on the next possession giving up another sack. While this time the defense three and outed the Ducks giving the offense the ball back at midfield with over six minutes left in the half.

The Huskies would go on a perfect drive which ate up all the clock so Oregon could respond. The drive began with four straight runs to Chris Polk which he gained 19 yards to set up a third and one from the Oregon 30. Price on a play action hit fullback Tim Tucker for a gain of five yards to move the chains. Once again Price was sacked for a loss of two but Polk would gain eight yards back setting up a crucial third and four. Price hit Jesse Callier in the flat for a gain of five yards to the Oregon 14 yard line. After a short run by Polk the Huskies once again went to the pass as Price connected with Kearse for a gain of nine yards to the Oregon three yard line. Sarkisian called for a fake to Polk and have Price keep it which appeared Price scored a touchdown but was ruled out at the one yard line. On the next play the Huskies faked the fullback dive to Polk as Price hit a wide open Michael Hartvigson for the one yard touchdown pass. The Ducks would drive down but would run out of time as they missed a field goal. The Huskies were only down 17-10 at halftime.

The Ducks began the second half with the ball first. After a penalty the Ducks were starting on their own 10 yard line as well. James began the drive with a 22 yard run  to the 32 yard line. Thomas completed a 12 yard pass then James rushed again for 16 yards to the Huskies 40 yard line. Thomas completed back to back passes to the Huskies 26 yard line. Facing a third and six from the Huskies 26 yard line Kenjon Barner rushed for eight yards to pick up the crucial first down. James ran for six yards to the Huskies 12 yard line setting up a third and four. Barner would again pick up the first down with a gain of eight yards. Facing a second and goal from the one yard line Barner would cap the drive with a touchdown to give the Ducks a 24-10 lead. The Ducks went on a 12 play drive for 90 yards to open up the second half to silent the Huskies crowd. The Huskies were once again trailing in the second half by 14 points to the powerful Ducks team who had crushed the Huskies by over 20 points the previous seven meetings. The third quarter was typically the Ducks big quarter as well so the Huskies offense had to respond to the score.

The Huskies knew the Ducks offense was about to wake up so they had to respond. After an incomplete pass from their own 25 yard line Polk ran for 14 yards to their own 39 yard line. Price completed a seven yard pass to Polk. Facing a third and four Price hit Polk again for six yards to the Ducks 49 yard line. True freshman Bishop Sankey then had the longest run of the game for 19 yards to the Ducks 30 yard line. On the next play Price would hit Devin Aguilar over the middle for a gain of 20 yards. The next play Price threw an out route in the back of the endzone to true freshman Kasen Williams. Williams went up and caught the ball while dragging his feet for the touchdown. After the review the play was confirmed Williams made the spectatular touchdown catch to pull the Huskies within 24-17. For Price he bounced back from two interceptions with two touchdowns giving him 25 touchdown passes on the season which puts him at three behind the school record. More importantly the Huskies answered the Ducks touchdown with a score of their own hoping to make this a game unlike the past seven years. The Huskies defense would have to make a key stop on the Ducks offense to truly make this a game.

The Ducks were facing a crucial third and nine from their own 31 yard line. The Huskies defense had a chance to three and out the Ducks after scoring a touchdown. That is when the Ducks made the play of the game when Thomas hit Paulson down the middle for a gain of 34 yards to the Huskies 35 yard line. Thomas completed a 19 yard pass to the Huskies 16 yard line. James ran for seven yards to the Huskies nine yard line. The Ducks called an option play as Darron Thomas pitched it to DeAnthony Thomas for the nine yard score giving the Ducks a 31-17 lead. The Huskies on the following drive after Price hit Aguilar for a gain of 14 yards were at midfield. Trailing by 14 points the Huskies were facing a fourth and four from the 49 yard line. That is when Price was under pressure tried to shovel pass to Polk but he was stopped well short. The Ducks then put the game away going on a nine play drive ending in a field goal putting them up 34-17. The Huskies fumbled on the following drive but the Ducks missed the field goal.

The Huskies had one last chance to make this a game in the fourth quarter. Price completed a pass to the fullback Tucker for a gain of seven yards to the 27 yard line. Price on the following play was sacked and was laying on the ground appearing to have hurt his non throwing shoulder. Nick Montana came into the game facing a third and 10 from the 20 yard line. Montana completed a long pass down the sideline to Kasen Williams for 53 yards down to the Oregon 27 yard line. Price then immediately came in for Montana and hit Kearse over the middle to see Kearse drop the ball. On third and 10 Price had Kevin Smith in the endzone wide open but Smith had the ball hit his number for the drop. On fourth down Price was rushed out of the pocket and threw an incomplete pass. From there on out the Ducks ran out the clock for the 34-17 victory over the Huskies.

The Ducks won the game 34-17. They were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Kenjon Barner ran for 41 yards(4.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Darron Thomas was 13-25 passing(52.0%) for 169 yards(6.8 YPA) with a touchdown. David Paulson had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. For the Huskies their offense struggled behind Keith Price who was 24-35(68.6%) passing for 143 yards(4.1 YPA) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Nick Montana in relief was 1-1 passing for 53 yards. The running game struggled as Chris Polk rushed for only 80 yards(3.3 YPC) but did have six receptions for 31 yards. Bishop Sankey had 21 yards rushing on two carries including the longest run for the Huskies. Another true freshman had a breakout game in Kasen Williams who had six receptions for 79 yards(13.2 YPC) with a touchdown. The receptions and yards were a career high for Williams. Aguilar was next in line with two receptions for 34 yards. Kearse was held to just 24 yards receiving on three receptions. Kevin Smith had just one reception for 14 yards. The Huskies offense was just shut down all game long.

All in all, the Huskies just aren't ready to beat top 10 teams like the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies in their last 13 games are 0-3 against top 10 ranked opponents but 10-0 against the rest. That shows the Huskies are a good program but not a great program. Steve Sarkisian has this program progessing pretty well which is taking time. The Ducks dominated the line of scrimmage and until the Huskies improve up front they aren't going to win these type of big games. In front of a great atmosphere under the lights Husky Stadium will be closed for a year. Even though the Huskies lost these seniors have helped change the program for the better. The Ducks are the class of the Pac-12 and until a team dethroans them they will remain on top.

Observations:

- The atmosphere was pretty incredible pregame. Very rarely does legendary head coach Don James go to the games anymore. There was definately a who's who on the sidelines. You had several big names as all the Husky legends were at the game. James did the opening coin toss and the crowd gave him a thunderest standing ovation. James while at Washington went to six Rose Bowls, won four Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl and most importantly won a National Championship in 1991. James was also 10-4 in bowl games while at Washington when he coached the Huskies from 1975-1992. The 1991 team was honored as well as other Husky greats throughout the contest. It was nice seeing Don James and Jim Lambright at the game as well as many other great legends.

- I'm a big fan of the Huskies wearing the black uniforms.This was the first and probably only time I was disappointed though. Most Husky fans were hoping the Huskies would come out in the 1991 uniforms to honor the 1991 team.

This was also the final game in old Husky Stadium so I was hoping the Huskies would wear traditional uniforms. Like I said I'm not against wearing the black uniforms the Huskies were previously 3-0 all-time when wearing the black uniforms. I think in the Apple Cup wearing the black uniforms would be terrific as well especially if the Cougars are wearing their all grey's. Had the Huskies won this game the uniforms wouldn't be an issue though.

- The Huskies have to stop killing themselves with dropped passes. Last week in a win over the Arizona Wildcats the Huskies receivers dropped several passes including a touchdown and two more that went for interceptions.

This week Jermaine Kearse continued to drop multiple key passes. Devin Aguilar had some key drops as well. No drop was bigger than Kevin Smith who as you can see let the ball hit off his number for a wide open touchdown. Price had poor numbers but his receivers aren't helping him at all. The Huskies receivers are too talented to be dropping as many passes as they have been dropping the last two weeks. Hopefully going forward the dropped passes problem goes away or the Huskies might lose another game or two.

- The lone bright spot on offense was wide receiver Kasen Williams. Williams has had a struggling first season with the Huskies. Prior to two weeks ago Williams season high for yards receiving in a game was only 30 yards. In the last two weeks though Williams has played really well. Last week in a win over Arizona Williams had two receptions for 60 yards including a key 48 yard reception.

This week Williams had easily his best game in a Huskies uniform. He had six receptioins for 79 yards with a touchdown including a 53 yard reception. The last two weeks Williams has been part of the offense and has made long receptions. For the year now Williams has 20 receptions for 236 yards with three touchdowns in eight games. Williams came in as a heralded five star recruit but the Huskies receiving corp has been pretty loaded. That was nice to see Williams have a breakout game in a big game. Williams touchdown catch in the endzone was an incredible touchdown reception. He went up to grab the ball and held on for the tough catch. Williams is a future star and look for Sarkisian to feature him more in the next coming weeks especially if the other receivers are dropping passes.

-  Chris Polk for only the second time all year was held under 100 yards rushing and was also held out of the endzone. First time all year he was held under 100 rushing and without a touchdown in the same game. Polk's longest rush of the game was only 14 yards as the Ducks defensive line dominated the Huskies upfront.

Polk for being shut down still had 111 total yards offense. Polk also tied for the team lead in receptions with six as he had six receptions for 31 yards. On the year Polk has rushed for 1,096 yards(5.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 24 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns on the season. Polk has yet to have a game where he was held to under 100 yards of total offense. Polk had a rough game but showing why he is a good player still had a productive game when it was all said and done.

-  Keith Price had his worst game as a Husky and has appeared to have slowed down since starting off so hot. Price was sacked six times last game and threw two interceptions. Price has thrown five interceptions the last two weeks after throwing only five interceptions his first seven games. Price was checking off way too much this game throwing the ball 35 times yet only passing for 141 yards.

Price had two interceptions that led to 14 points for the Ducks. For the year Price is still having a great season completing 66.8% of his passes for 2,133 yards(7.8 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Price is only a sophomore quarterback so growing pains was bound to happen. He will have better days ahead of him and hopefully this was just one of those games. The receivers dropping all those passes are hurting his touchdowns and interceptions the last two weeks. With more help for his receivers and his offensive line Price can be comfortable and play "Keith Price" football once again.

In conclusion, this game was a tough loss but overall a great day. My friend Camden Rider went to high school with Jon Brockman so I had the pleasure of talking to Brockman prior to the game. You couldn't even tell he was an NBA player(besides his size) as he was just a low key person. As for the game itself the Huskies as a program will have better days. Sarkisian as a coach will have better days as will his quarterback Keith Price. The Huskies lost to a top 10 team and now must turn their focus onto USC. The Huskies are still a 6-3 football team who has a chance to be the third best team overall in the conference this week with a win over USC. The Huskies program is still going in the right direction while Husky Stadium is closed for over a year. I'm going to miss Husky Stadium quite a bit and I hope the Huskies open up their new temporary home Century Link with a victory in two weeks.

#7 Stanford thrashes #22 Washington 65-21 to remain undefeated!

By Kshell

The #7 Stanford Cardinal(7-0,5-0) for the second straight season defeated the #22 Washington Huskies(5-2,3-1) by over 40 points as they won 65-21. This is the type of loss that has raised plenty of eyebrows at Montlake as the Huskies defense allowed a staggering 615 yards of total offense including 446 on the ground. The Cardinal rushing attacked averaged 9.3 yards per play and 10.1 yards per carry average. The Cardinal had two guys rush for over 100 yards and a third break 90 yards. Heisman trophy candidate Andrew Luck didn't need to do much as he threw for only 169 yards but did complete 76.2% of his passes with two touchdowns. This was a good all around butt kicking as the Huskies received a harsh smack of reality check. This was also the first time the Huskies were held under 30 points and quarterback Keith Price's six game streak of at least three touchdown passes was snapped as well. The Cardinal offense punted once the entire game which was late in the fourth quarter as they have beaten the Huskies 106-21 the last two seasons.

The game started off beautifully for the Cardinal as they won the toss they chose to receive. Starting on their own 24 yard line the Cardinal ran a reverse to Chris Owusu for a gain of 45 yards to the Huskies 31 yard line. After a short run Stepfan Taylor busted a 17 yard run to the Huskies 13 yard line. A five yard penalty set the Cardinal back to the 18 yard line when Andrew Luck finally attempted a pass as he completed back to back passes for 16 yards to the Huskies two yard line. That is when the Cardinal  gave the ball to their fullback Jeremy Stewart for the two yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. On defense the Cardinal after allowing a third down pushed the Huskies offense back forcing the Huskies to punt. The Huskies knew they were in for a buzz saw as their offense couldn't protect Keith Price while defensively the Huskies were pushed back despite having a potential first round pick in Alameda Ta'amu at defensive tackle. The Huskies were forced to punt the ball to the Cardinal offense as they took over on their own 27 yard line leading 7-0. That was the first time the Huskies had trailed in nine quarters.

On this drive the Cardinal decided to feature Luck which almost cost them. Luck started the drive by hitting Griff Whalen for a gain of 32 yards to the Huskies 41 yard line. Luck then hit Owusu for a gain of 12 yards to the Huskies 29 yard line. Luck on the next pass almost gave the Huskies a gift but they couldn't take advantage. There was a miscommunication as Luck threw the ball in the right endzone with just Desmond Trufant there who dropped the interception. Luck would complete an eight yard pass to Owusu to set up a third and two. Luck hit his tight end but Huskies safety Sean Parker knocked the ball out of his hands preventing the long pass. The Cardinal would settle for a Jordan Williamson 39 yard field goal giving the Cardinal a 10-0 lead and for the season had outscored their opponents 60-0 in the first quarter. The Huskies were suddenly facing a must score if they had any chance at keeping this a game.

The Huskies offense like they had done all season long would respond. Price facing the rush would hit Chris Polk for a gain of two yards giving Polk three receptions early in the game. He would hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of five yards as the Huskies faced a critical third and three from their own 27 yard line. Price completed a pass to Devin Aguilar that was short of the first down but Aguilar trucked his defender then ran for a gain of 13 yards to their own 40 yard line. Back to back runs went nowhere setting up a third and six as Price would hit Aguilar again for a key first down for a gain of 10 yards. After Price threw an incomplete pass Steve Sarkisian had a great play call as the Cardinal kept blitzing. The Huskies called a draw play to Chris Polk who busted it for a 46 yard touchdown untouched to cut the lead to 10-7. That was the first score the Cardinal had allowed all season long in the first quarter.

The Cardinal would respond to the Huskies score with a score of their own. Starting from their own 20 yard line the Cardinal would pound Taylor for a gain of four yards. Tyler Gafney busted a 24 yard run to their own 48 yard line. After a short run Gafney busted another long run of 30 yards to the Huskies 21 yard line as the Cardinal were just pounding the ball on the Huskies all game long. After two short gains the Cardinal were facing a third and four from the Huskies 15 yard line. The Huskies sent Trufant on a blitz as Whalen was wide open for a gain of 14 yards as Justin Glenn saved the touchdown stopping him at the one yard line. Luck would finish the drive with a beautiful pass over the head of Greg Ducre to all-american candidate tight end Cody Fleener for a one yard touchdown to give the Cardinal a 17-7 lead over the Huskies. Once again the Huskies offense had to respond or this game would turn into a blowout.

The Huskies once again were facing a must score as the Cardinal looked like they were not going to be stopped. After a penalty by the Cardinal the Huskies began on their own 31 yard line. They continued to go with Polk who ran for eight yards to the Cardinal 39 yard line. Then another draw to Polk who busted it 61 yards untouched for the touchdown. With that touchdown the Huskies pulled within 17-14 as this game appeared to be a shootout. For Polkhe went over 100 yards for the 17th time in his career for the Huskies which tied him with Napoleon Kaufman for most 100 yard rushing performances in Huskies history. The Huskies have had plenty of great running backs led by Kaufman so that was a big accomplishment. The Huskies unfortunately wouldn't get any closer in this game as the Cardinal quickly stole the momentum right back.

The Cardinal with the ball on their own 30 yard line up only 17-14 decided to not mess around. Calling a simple run play to Taylor who busted it to the outside then went all the way for the 70 yard touchdown. That play was one of many devastating plays that turned this game towards the eventual blowout as the Cardinal led 24-14. The Cardinal at that point in the game was dominated the Huskies defensive line. Once again the Huskies offense had to respond to the challenge and try to answer the Cardinal score with a score of their own. Starting from their own 21 yard line Price hit Austin Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 20 yards to their own 41 yard line. He then completed a seven yard pass to Kasen Williams and followed that up with a 17 yard completion to Kearse on the right to the Cardinal 35. Facing a third and 10 the Huskies called on the draw play as Polk ran for 11 yards for the first down. That is when the Huskies offense due to a questionable penalty started to stall. They would have to settle on an Erik Folk 46 yard field goal attempt which hit the goal post and was no good. The Cardinal offense would take advantage of the the Huskies missed opportunity.

Taking over from their own 28 yard line the Cardinal had a ball control offensive possession. After two short runs by Taylor setting up a crucial third and four the Huskies allowed a five yard run to Luck for a first down. Taylor would rush for eight yards then for 24 yards to the Huskies 29 yard line. Facing another third and four from the Huskies 23 yard line Luck would complete a pass to Owusu for a gain of five yards to move the chains. Luck then completed a pass to Zach Ertz for a gain of 14 yards down the middle to the Huskies four yard line. On the next play Luck would throw his second touchdown pass of the game to Drew Terrell from five yards out to give the Cardinal a 31-14 lead. With under four minutes left in the half and with having the ball first in the second half the Huskies weren't quiet yet out of the game. The Cardinal though would put the Huskies down for good on the following drive.

The Huskies were facing another must score and had a nice head start as Kevin Smith ran the kickoff 36 yards to their own 37 yard line. Polk would rush for eight yards then rush for another eight yards as the Huskies were in Cardinal territory. Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of nine yards to the Cardinal 38 yard line. On second and one the Huskies tried Polk up the middle but he was blown up for a three yard loss. On third and four the game would turn into a laugher as Price didn't see an open Aguilar instead trying to force the ball into Kearse which was picked off by Michael Thomas for a 61 yard interception for a touchdown to give the Cardinal a commanding 38-14 lead. The Huskies still had a minute left before the half ended as Price tried to salvage the game still. Price hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 11 yards to the Huskies 36. Polk ran for three yards which set up a Price completion to Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 28 yards but the Huskies also committed a 15 yard penalty. Price hit Seferian-Jenkins again for a gain of nine yards to the Cardinal 39 yard line. With one play left Price completed the hail marry well short of the endzone to Aguilar for a gain of 30 yards as the half ended. The Cardinal outscored the Huskies 28-7 in the second quarter. Despite being only outgained 356-316 in the first half the Huskies had trailed by 24 points. The Cardinal were led by Luck who was 11-13 passing for 109 yards with two touchdowns and a strong rushing attack led by Taylor who had 130 yards rushing on just eight carries including a touchdown. The Huskies saw Price make that costly mistake but played solid going 17-24 for 186 yards with the interception. Seferian-Jenkins had five receptions for 77 yards while Aguilar had four receptions for 58 yards. The Huskies were led by Polk who had 143 yards rushing on just 10 carries with two touchdowns while catching three passes. The second half would see more Cardinal scoring as the Huskies defense had no answer.

The second half which the Cardinal are so successful at put the Huskies away. The offense went three and out to begin the second half punting the ball to the Cardinal offense. The Cardinal took the ball out of Luck's hands and still scored a touchdown. The drive began with a four yard run to Taylor, then a five yard run to Anthony Wilkerson setting up a third and one. The Cardinal called a fullback dive which went for three yards. Gaffney rushed up the middle for a gain of 16 yards to the Huskies 36 yard line. Gaffney followed up that run with 32 yard run to the Huskies four yard line. Gaffney finished off the drive with a four yard touchdown run to give the Cardinal a 45-14 lead. The Huskies offense continued to sputter in the second half as they went three and out once again. The Cardinal would then go on an 11 play 52 yard drive but would have to settle for a field goal as they led 48-14 over the Huskies. The Huskies offense went three and out once again as they punted the ball back to Stanford. The Huskies finally forced a Cardinal punt for the first and only time all game long.

The Huskies offense had one last drive in them for pride.  After Kasen Williams returned the punt 12 yards to their own 32 yard line is when Price would finish off his last drive of the game. After a short completion facing a second and 15 Price hit Aguilar for a gain of 15 yards. Facing another second and long Price hit Kearse for a gain of 29 yards to the Cardinal 20 yard line. Price hit James Johnson for a gain of 12 yards to the eight yard line. Facing a third and goal from the three Price would hit Kearse who bobbled the ball and ended up dropping the ball. After a Cardinal penalty the Huskies had new life as Price hit third tight end Evan Hudson for his first career reception which was a two yard touchdown pass which cut the score to 48-21. For Price that would be his final pass of the game as he was getting drilled all game long.

The Cardinal were hell bent on running up the score this game as Luck played into the fourth quarter and they were throwing passes to the endzone at the end of the fourth quarter. The Cardinal would tack on some more points. After a run the Cardinal had the ball on their own 40 yard line when Luck hit Whalen for a gain of 18 yards. Luck completed two more passes for 26 yards to the Huskies 18 yard line. Wilkerson finished the drive with an 18 yard touchdown run giving the Cardinal a 55-21 lead. Kevin Smith would fumble the kickoff as the Cardinal recovered settling on a field goal to go up 58-21. Nick Montana would come in for Price as the game was a blowout. Montana would throw an interception setting up yet another score for the Cardinal. Wilkerson on the final drive carried the ball seven times for 58 yards including his 38 yard touchdown run two minutes left in the game to give the Cardinal a 65-21 lead.

The Huskies loss was very demoralizing as it was impressive for the Cardinal. The Cardinal saw Luck complete 16-21(76.2%) of his passes for 169 yards(8.0 YPA) with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Luck also ran for 23 yards. His favorite target was Whalen who had four receptions for 76 yards. The Cardinal rushing attack was too much for the Huskies. Stepfan Taylor led the rushing attack with 138 yards on 10 carries(13.8 YPC) with a touchdown. Tyler Gaffney added 117 yards on the ground on just nine carries(13.0 YPC) with a touchdown. Anthony Wilkerson ran for 93 yards on 14 carries(6.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. For the Huskies Keith Price has seen better days but didn't play bad. Price completed 23 of 36 passes(63.9%) for 247 yards(6.9 YPA) with a touchdown and a costly interception. His main targets were Austin Seferian-Jenkins who had five receptions for 77 yards. Devin Aguilar added five receptions for 71 yards while Jermaine Kearse had four for 52 yards receiving. The Huskies rushing game was actually pretty good led by Chris Polk who ran for 144 yards on 15 carries(9.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. Then in garbage time true freshman Bishop Sankey ran for 31 yards on five carries(6.2 YPC). The Huskies loss feels like more than just one game but it is just that one game.

All in all, this is a devastating loss to the Huskies program who appeared ready for such games like this. Instead for Sarkisian it is looking more and more that he is going to have to make a tough decision regarding his friend Nick Holt in the offseason. The Huskies defense appears to be getting worse the longer Holt is there. The Huskies were hoping to make a statement this game instead they just showed how far away they really are. The Huskies are still a bowl team but the Stanford Cardinal proved there is a huge difference between a middle of the road bowl team and a national championship team. Those are the facts the Cardinal are competing for a national title while the Huskies are three years removed from 0-12. Losses like this are completely unacceptable as it shows the Huskies still have a long ways to go.

Observations:

- This was Price's worst game as a Husky quarterback this season. Shows how well he's played when he throws for 247 yards and completes 63.9% of his passes against a good defense. Price was under pressure all game long as it was pretty obvious early in the game that Stanford was dominating both lines of scrimmage. Still the game was somewhat in balance at 31-14 when Price didn't see an open Aguilar instead throwing the pick six. If the Huskies let's say trail 31-21 or 31-17 at halftime maybe this doesn't turn into quite the blowout.

 I still think Price played well enough for the Huskies to win. You aren't going to beat anyone giving up 65 points I don't care who your quarterback is. Price saw his three touchdown a game streak snapped but is still have a great season. For the year Price is completing 68.4% of his throws for 1,713 yards(8.3 YPA) with 22 touchdowns to five interceptions on the season. Not bad for a sophomore quarterback who many picked as the worst quarterback in the Pac-12 heading into the season.

- I do like the fact that the Huskies finally have a tight end to throw the ball to. Austin Seferian-Jenkins is only a true freshman but is going to be a future probowl tight end in the NFL bank on it. This guy will be a first round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft after he leaves his junior year. For the game Seferian-Jenkins had five receptions for 77 yards as he was catching passes over the middle, breaking tackles and using his speed. On the first Polk touchdown run Seferian-Jenkins had a key block which set that touchdown run up. Seferian-Jenkins has had the biggest impact freshman season for the Huskies since Reggie Williams in 2001 by far.

He'll be a freshman all-american and make some sort of all pac-12 team this year. For the season Seferian-Jenkins has 20 receptions for 321 yards(16.0 YPC) with four touchdowns. He is on pace for 34 receptions for 550 yards receiving and 6.9 touchdowns this season not counting the bowl game. Seferian-Jenkins has became a big part of this offense and as he gets older look for him to be the Huskies leading receiver.

- Chris Polk is awesome and the Huskies are going to miss him next year. I know Polk is a junior but he's had big games on the national spotlight this year against Stanford and Nebraska. He has shown he is an everydown back too as he has the speed to bust off long runs, the power to earn those tough yards plus he can catch passes out of the backfield. Against a Stanford defense which had allowed only 52 yards rushing a game Polk ran for 144 yards on just 15 carries. Had the game been close he could have gone off for 200 yards. For the year Polk has ran over 100 yards in six of the seven games. The one game he didn't was against California where he had 85 yards receiving so he has yet to have a game where he wasn't over 100 yards all-purpose.

Polk also tied legendary running back Napoleon Kaufman for most 100 yard rushing performances in Huskies history. He has still has five more games left(one against the Cougars who can't stop anyone from rushing) so he'll certainly break Kaufman's record. For the year Polk has ran for 844 yards(5.7 YPC) with five rushing touchdowns. He also has 14 receptions for 149 yards(10.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. Polk is on pace to rush for 1,446 yards in the regular season and including the bowl game 1,567 yards which is an incredible season. Polk is easily in the Huskies top five running backs of all-time and I personally would put him third only behind Kaufman(most exciting Husky ever) and Hugh  McElhenny(all-time great). The Huskies have had plenty of great running backs and Polk deserves to be high up on that list.

- The Huskies defense in year three shouldn't be allowing 65 points including 446 on the ground. Teams who are passing teams are throwing for over 300 yards on the Huskies at will. The two teams who run the ball well like Nebraska and Stanford have embarassed the Huskies. At what point does Sarkisian realize that Nick Holt simply isn't that good? It could be Sarkisian isn't recruiting well enough on defense either way the defense has been a problem and has gotten worse each year. Here are some stats that I got from KJR's Mitch in the Morning that I'll post up.

Huskies Defense in the Holt era:
Pts per game allowed: 2009 - 26.66, 2010 - 31.16, 2011 - 33.71
Yards per game allowed: 2009 - 389.5, 2010 - 401.17, 2011 - 431.28 (thru 7 games).
 Sacks per game: 2009 - 2.5, 2010 - 2.33, 2011 - 1.86 (thru 7 games)

As you can clearly see the Huskies defense is allowing more points and yardage each season while recording less sacks. I know the team has lost NFL players such as Donald Butler and Mason Foster the last two years I understand that. Still the team has Cort Dennison and Alameda Ta'amu not to mention other highly recruited players. With the exception of Sean Parker the Sarkisian/Holt guys on defense have yet to do anything. I think if the Huskies want to reach the next level they have to seriously sit down and think hard if Holt is the right guy or not.

- For Steve Sarkisian this was tough loss. In year three I figured these type of blowout losses were over and done with. Last year the Huskies lost four games by over 30 points and until this loss the Huskies only other loss was a competitive loss to Nebraska. I do like that after losses Sarkisian always puts the blame on him instead of the players which is nice to see. His offense is still playing at a high level as they moved the ball on the Stanford defense. The Huskies offense has moved the ball on all their opponents this year just couldn't score this game was the only problem.

I'd say overall Sarkisian is doing a fantastic job as the Huskies are still 5-2. If the Huskies just win the games they are supposed to they'll go 8-4 and just pull off one upset that is 9-3 heading into the bowl game. I think a year after losing Jake Locker most fans would take 8-4 or 9-3 just three years removed form 0-12. The defense has allowed over 20 points in six of the seven games and over 30 points in three games. Shows how successful Sarkisian's offense is that they are 5-2 with such a rough defense.

In conclusion, the Huskies aren't ready for primetime games. Someday they could be as their offense I feel is ready the defense though is years away. The Cardinal scored 65 points with Andrew Luck not having to do much but game manage. So even if Luck didn't play I suspect the Cardinal would have won in a blowout anyways. The Huskies simply can't let this loss lose them the next game against Arizona. Under Sarkisian after the six game mark the Huskies have gone on losing streaks of four games in year one then three games in year two. The Huskies lost the first game after the sixth game hopefully that trend ends this Saturday. A loss on Saturday can be devastating with Oregon and USC on the road looming. For the Huskies the offense is solid but unless the defense gets fixed in a hurry they are years away from seriously competing for a Rose Bowl. The Cardinal for the third straight year punched the Huskies in the mouth and left them without any bite. Back to back years the Cardinal put the Huskies at "rock bottom". Last year the team won four of the next five games after losing 41-0 to the Cardinal. We'll find out a lot about this Huskies team this Saturday night at home against the Arizona Wildcats.