Bowl Berth On The Line For Dawgs UW Coach Lambright Upbeat Prior To Matchup With Ucla

A pair of heartbreaking finishes the last two weeks have just about wiped out Washington’s hopes of playing in the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day.

Yet Huskies coach Jim Lambright remains remarkably upbeat.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with this team, with its competitiveness,” Lambright said. “To come off the two years of sanctions and to have struggled just keeping the team together, this is so much easier.

“The kids have worked so much harder. They could have left the program. You’re just really thankful for any reward they could get. A bowl is kind of the next thing you could grab a hold of.”

It’s possible a bowl will be on the line for both Washington and UCLA on Saturday when the 22nd-ranked Huskies (4-1-1 Pac-10, 5-3-1) play the Bruins (3-3, 6-3) at the Rose Bowl.

No. 12 Southern California (5-0-1, 7-1-1) can clinch the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl berth by beating Oregon State (0-6, 1-8) at Corvallis, Ore.

Washington quarterback Damon Huard has completed 142 of 223 passes for 1,880 yards and nine touchdowns, with only four interceptions.

A senior, Huard ranks second on the Washington career passing list with 5,157 yards - 339 behind Sonny Sixkiller.

Huard is eighth on the single-season passing list - 689 yards behind Cary Conklin, who passed for a school-record 2,569 yards in 1988.

UCLA, meanwhile, has allowed an average of 249.7 yards passing per game. Arizona State’s Jake Plummer threw for 312 yards last Saturday to lead the Sun Devils to a 37-33 victory over the Bruins.

“We’ve just got to get better and more consistent play (in the secondary),” UCLA coach Terry Donahue said. “We were provided a real challenge as a group (at ASU) and did not respond.

“Now, we’ve got a real fine quarterback coming in here Saturday and I’m hoping our secondary will respond and step up.”

Last weekend, Washington fought back from a 24-0 halftime deficit to Oregon, but fell short, losing to the 17th-ranked Ducks 24-22.

“I was pleased with the way our players came back,” Lambright said. “It just came down to missing two field goals in the last few minutes.”