Sooners blast Huskies

SEATTLE – Thousands of Washington football fans expressed their displeasure at halftime with a cascade of boos and an early mass exodus.

The Huskies had two quarters left at that point, but Oklahoma’s dominance was enough to send many of 67,716 in attendance heading for Husky Stadium’s exits well before the third-ranked Sooners put the finishing touches on a 55-14 thrashing.

“I didn’t give them anything to get excited about,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said when asked what his message to those angry fans would be. “We didn’t do that, and that’s the honest truth.”

Washington can’t blame the officials after this one.

The Huskies can’t talk about how close the game was, or how it was just a play here, a bad bounce there that cost them the game.

This one was a beating, plain and simple.

What started as a beautiful September afternoon on the shores of Lake Washington quickly turned into an ugly evening for the Huskies, who head into a bye week with a 0-3 record that features two blowout losses.

“I love the Husky fans and they’ve always been there for us,” said sophomore linebacker Mason Foster. “To have them walk out just shows you that we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do. We’ve got to do better. If Husky fans of all fans are leaving the game early, it just shows that they’re fed up with the losing. We’ve just got to do better.”

Plenty of the Huskies’ woes had to do with the team they were playing. Oklahoma looked every bit the part of a national title contender.

“Tonight, I think it’s obvious we played one of the best football teams that we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Willingham said. “They were good in all aspects of the game, running it, throwing it, defending it, and I thought all around it was probably as strong of a football team as I’ve seen.”

Oklahoma’s offense was every bit as good as advertised, piling up 330 yards and 34 points in the first half. The Sooners finished with 591 total yards, with 274 coming on the ground and 317 coming through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford continued his impressive sophomore campaign, completing 18 of 21 passes for 304 yards and five touchdowns before giving way to backup quarterback Joey Halzle in the third quarter.

The Sooners also had two running backs gain 100 yards, as Chris Brown had 107 on 12 carries and DeMarco Murray had 100 on 16 touches. Even third-string back Mossis Madu had 46 yards and two touchdowns.

“They’re a great offense, they execute well, great backs, great O-line, great coaching, great scheme, but we’ve got to do better than that,” Foster said. “No matter how good the offense is, we’ve got to be a lot better.”

Oklahoma’s offense was as quick as it was impressive. The Sooners’ no-huddle offense kept Washington’s defense on its heels and put up points in a hurry. Three of Oklahoma’s touchdown drives took less than 2 minutes, and all eight lasted less than 4.

“We weren’t ready for that pace, so it took us a while to get adjusted, and once we did we settled down,” said freshman safety Johri Fogerson. “But it was fast.”

Washington’s offense, meanwhile, did not start well. The Huskies had three and outs on their first two possessions, and punted on their third possession as well. When Washington managed to move the ball a little, fumbles undid any positive momentum.

Jake Locker fumbled late in the first quarter after a 19-yard run to give the Sooners the ball at the UW 47-yard line. Two plays later, Bradford connected with Jermaine Gresham for a score and two-touchdown lead.

For the third time in as many games, Locker was Washington’s leading rusher with 44 yards on 12 carries.