Gilbertson bows out
PULLMAN – University of Washington football coach Keith Gilbertson entered a small weight room that doubles as the postgame interview area for visiting teams. As he was surrounded by about 25 members of the media, somebody rolled a medicine ball in front of him, presumably to use as a chair. “With my season,” Gilbertson deadpanned, “that thing would probably pop.”
Gilbertson officially became unemployed Saturday night following a 28-25 loss to Washington State University that left UW 1-10 overall and winless in conference for the first time since an 0-7 trek through the Pacific-8 in 1973.
A few things Gilbertson didn’t lose during Washington’s dreadful season: His sense of humor (he prefers the gallows variety); his belief in team rules (he suspended two players for missing a Friday workout); and his hope that the Huskies can rebound in the near future.
“What a year,” he said, “what a year. First of all, I was really pleased with how our guys scrapped and competed and went right to the wire. Our guys have a great respect for the game and for the rivalry. That’s the best second half we’ve had in quite some time.”
Gilbertson, who announced his resignation three weeks ago, effective at the end of the season, was asked to summarize his feelings as the final seconds ticked away.
“I wish I had another timeout,” he joked.
Gilbertson described the season “as an unbelievable 11 games. I don’t know if I’ve seen a team have as many bad things happen to it as this team. They never gave up the ship, never cashed it in. They were great to coach from start to finish.
“If you took a pointer and pointed at 12-14 names on our depth chart and said, ‘You can’t lose these guys,’ I think you’d see we lost those guys. This team had a lot of things happen and a lot of bad luck, but it kept battling.”
Gilbertson said he plans to continue coaching. “Maybe I’ll go to Franklin (High) and coach offensive line for (former Husky receiver) Mario (Bailey) next year,” he said, cracking a smile.
Gilbertson acknowledged that there will be considerable second-guessing of the season, but he believes that’s wasted energy.
“It’s probably a fact that there’s going to be a ton of people that say, ‘How did this happen? Who do we blame?’ he said. “I’ll take my fair share of it, but I think the energy should be spent on getting it back right … to where we’re all used to it being.”
Hill has it
The record was in his hands, and he dropped it. Wide receiver Jason Hill came into the Apple Cup with 11 touchdown receptions to his name, good enough for a tie with Kevin McKenzie (1997), Chris Jackson (1997) and Devard Darling (2002) for the best single-season total in Cougar history.
Not only did Hill drop that second-quarter pass at the goal line, but he paid the price as well. Washington strong safety C.J. Wallace caught Hill with a huge hit just after he dropped the ball, sending him to the ground for about a minute as trainers came out to help the receiver off the field.
“Jason’s one of the toughest guys I’ve played with,” running back Jerome Harrison said. “When I saw him get up, I knew he’d be back in.”
At first, that didn’t look like a sure thing as Hill was examined for a possible concussion as well as an ankle problem. But he re-entered the game in the third quarter with the Cougars driving.
And on his first play, he ran a post pattern — the same route he had run on the drop — and beat cornerback Sam Cunningham for a 22-yard scoring grab and the record 12th touchdown.
Hill, who has made a habit this year of handing the ball off to the official after each score, changed his routine, spiking the ball through the uprights and earning a 15-yard penalty to go with the record.
“He apologized for that,” head coach Bill Doba said, more than willing to forgive the transgression after the win.
White left home
Sophomore linebacker Scott White, Washington’s third-leading tackler, didn’t play because he missed a Friday walkthrough practice in Seattle, Gilbertson said. Seldom-used fullback Dan Foafoa also missed the practice and stayed home.
“I thought it was unfortunate someone who had a big year for the defense would find a way to not show up on time for a practice,” Gilbertson said, “And the rules are the rules. I left him home.”
Asked if White had an explanation, Gilbertson said tersely, “I really wasn’t in the mood to listen to an excuse.
“Everyone has an itinerary on Thursday and we go over it in the meeting. So there’s no excuse – 68, 69 other guys made it.”
Notes
Martin Stadium was packed with 34,334 fans for Saturday’s Apple Cup. The Cougars finished the year with a 2-3 record in its home building, although one of those two wins was technically accomplished as the road team against Idaho. … Defensive tackle Odell Howard was able to spell starters Steve Cook and Ropati Pitoitua after being a question mark during the week with a back strain. … Washington punter Sean Douglas’ 78-yard boot was the second-longest in Husky history. … Graham Siderius came on to attempt a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter, missing wide right. Siderius was the team’s designated kicker for field goals longer than 27 yards, while Loren Langley was to handle shorter attempts. No other field goals were attempted by the Cougars, but Langley went 4 for 4 on extra points. … Husain Abdullah made a nice play on a Kyle Basler punt, leaping across the goal line to swat the ball back into the field of play, pinning the Huskies deep in their own territory.