Huskies defense makes a wreck of Cougars

SEATTLE – That was no mere fender-Bender.

The wreckage was strewn over Husky Stadium for all to see on Friday afternoon, another Air Raid shot down by Washington’s young, hungry defense.

It’s a group that has labored all season under the self-imposed burden of insecurity, of living up to the standards of a 2014 unit that included three first-round NFL draft picks.

If that wasn’t motivation enough, there was the backs-to-the-wall mentality of being 5-6 and needing a win to secure a bowl bid – on Senior Day.

Compared to that, winning the Apple Cup was easy. Washington State made it even easier, serving up a post-Thanksgiving feast of seven turnovers in a 45-10 rout that was every bit as onesided as the score.

Three of those were cashed in for touchdowns by the UW defense, which for the third straight meeting had its way with WSU’s pass-heavy offense.

“That is pretty impressive,” UW coach Chris Petersen said of a group that includes six underclassmen. “Going in thinking we would have had seven turnovers and three scores, I don’t think I would have thought of that.”

Also, Petersen likely wouldn’t have asked his defense to hold the Cougars to 2.6 yards per rush and 5 yards per pass attempt while racking up 53 yards in tackles for loss. Or asking them to get their first pick-6 of the year and tie a school record by recovering five fumbles.

The Husky defenders played downhill from the opening kick, seldom missing a tackle and keeping the action in front of them. One got the impression it wouldn’t have mattered who started at quarterback for WSU.

“We were expecting (Luke) Falk, but looking at film, both quarterbacks are similar, so it wasn’t a big deal,” UW safety Brian Clay said.

But to a man, the Huskies expected to face first-stringer Falk. “You want to face the best,” UW defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said.

Instead they got freshman backup Peyton Bender, who had looked solid in relief against UCLA and Colorado and who looked up to the task in a 10-play drive that ended with a field goal to give the Cougars an early 3-0 lead.

The Huskies countered, changing up their pass rush to give Bender “some different looks,” Kwiatkowski said. That included power rushing against the wide splits on the WSU offensive line.

“That allowed us to power rush a lot more,” Kwiatkowski said. “When he steps up in the pocket, there’s not a lot of room to step up.”

Almost imperceptibly, the tide turned.

Late in the quarter, Bender had completed a 19-yard pass to Tyler Baker that set the Cougars up with a first-and-10 at the UW 25. Three incompletions later, Erik Powell missed a 42-yard field goal.

With the Cougars teetering, it fell to sophomore cornerback Sidney Jones to push them over the edge midway through the third quarter. Trailing 17-3 but with a second-and-10 at the UW 38, Bender looked to the right flat – and into double coverage.

The underthrown ball went straight to Jones.

“I was in the flat, and then the ball was coming to me. “I was thinking touchdown, nobody was in front of me,” Jones said.

By all accounts in the Husky locker room, it was the play of the game. “Once we got that score, that was huge – those are huge momentum swings,” Kwiatkowski said.