Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

UW Comes Back With Authority After Serving Two Years Of Ncaa Sanctions, The Huskies Are Finally Going Bowling

John Nadel Associated Press

UCLA and Washington were both coming in off very tough losses. While the Bruins played flat, the Huskies bounced back.

UCLA lost star running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar on its first scrimmage play, then committed five turnovers, four of which were turned into touchdowns, in losing to the 22nd-ranked Huskies 38-14 Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Damon Huard passed for 259 yards and one touchdown and Rashaan Shehee ran for three scores as Washington qualified for a bowl bid for the first time in three seasons.

Pac-10 sanctions prevented the Huskies from competing in a bowl the last two years.

“Last week’s loss definitely helped get us motivated for this game,” said Washington coach Jim Lambright, referring to his team’s narrow 24-22 defeat to No. 16 Oregon. “I could not be more proud of four quarters of football by our team.

“This was the best all-around game we’ve played all year.”

“This was nice after last week’s embarrassment,” Huard said. “The guys were down all week. I did not know how we would respond.”

The answer came early. Abdul-Jabbar, who had rushed for more than 200 yards in three straight games - two short of the NCAA record sprained his right ankle while being held to no gain and limped off the field. He wouldn’t return.

Three plays later, the Bruins punted, and Washington then moved 69 yards on seven plays for what turned out to be the first of two touchdowns in a span of less than four minutes.

The Huskies (6-3-1, 5-1-1 Pac-10) were in command the rest of the way in preventing UCLA coach Terry Donahue from winning his 98th conference game, which would have broken the record for league victories he shares with former Washington coach Don James.

“We tried to play with the same game plan (after Abdul-Jabbar’s injury) until it became apparent that we couldn’t run the ball, and we couldn’t move the ball on offense,” Donahue said. “You cannot turn it over like we have the last two weeks.

“You can’t expect to beat a team like Washington with five turnovers. They gave us a real whipping.”

The Bruins blew a 27-10 halftime lead over Arizona State on Nov. 4, losing 37-33. Four turnovers in the second half proved fatal in that game, and unlike Washington, they didn’t bounce back.

“They played a lot harder than us,” said UCLA quarterback Cade McNown, who completed just 7-of-19 passes for 61 yards with three interceptions before being relieved by Ryan Fien midway through the third quarter.

“To lose one of our star players on the very first play was a huge loss,” McNown added. “But that’s not a reason to give up and not fight back.”

Abdul-Jabbar, who entered the game as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, didn’t speak to reporters afterward, but Donahue termed his star running back “very, very doubtful” for next Saturday’s game against No. 11 Southern California.

It’s still possible the Bruins (6-4, 3-4) will play in a bowl game, but they have to beat USC to make that happen.

The Bruins have beaten the Trojans four straight times.

Huard threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. Shehee’s touchdowns came on runs of 9, 1 and 3 yards. Richard Thomas also scored on a 1-yard run for the Huskies, whose final points came midway through the third quarter on a 27-yard field goal by John Wales.