Huskies bog down
SEATTLE – A quarterback switch couldn’t change the Huskies’ fortunes as Oregon State handed Washington its 14th consecutive Pac-10 football loss in an 18-10 defeat.
After putting together a scoreless first half under Isaiah Stanback, the Washington offense turned to backup Johnny DuRocher, but the move provided neither a spark nor any sort of momentum change.
On the rare day that the Huskies defense proved to be stout, the offense simply floundered and produced nothing but a late-game touchdown in a rain-soaked snoozer that gave the Beavers (5-4, 3-3 in Pac-10 play) their first back-to-back wins in Husky Stadium in 68 years.
Oregon State’s Alexis Serna converted six field goal attempts to account for all of the Beavers’ points and set a program record, while the defense limited Washington to 19 yards rushing.
“Obviously, offensively, we didn’t do enough things to win today. It’s disappointing because our defense gave us what I think was a great effort,” Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham said.
The story of the day, however, was the quarterback change, which was decided in the second quarter and implemented on the Huskies’ first drive of the third.
“That was it. We were looking for any type of momentum or spark,” offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said of the switch.
Stanback went 5 of 12 for 104 yards in the first half and fumbled when he was sacked by Keith Ellison. Fans booed as Stanback’s third-and-11 pass attempt fell incomplete with 8:13 left in the first half.
Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore, who had six interceptions a week earlier, engineered a 17-play drive that ate up the rest of the half and resulted in Serna’s second field goal – a 28-yard kick – that made the score 6-0 at halftime.
“I always say that we make all the decisions to put us in the best position to win. At that time, the way the game was going and what was taking place, that was the decision to make,” Willingham said.
The Beavers came out of the break and faced a third-and-17 when Yvenson Bernard blew right past the Huskies’ blitz for 57 yards. It was the biggest play of the day for either team and resulted in an 18-yard Serna field goal.
But DuRocher didn’t manage any better than Stanback.
He suffered an 8-yard sack and when the Huskies went to punt, punter Sean Douglas dropped the snap to give Oregon State the ball on Washington’s 12.
The defense again held strong. Dashon Goldson stuffed Bernard for a 5-yard loss to set up another field goal and make the score 12-0.
The Beavers managed just 263 total yards and never found the end zone. Bernard rushed for a game-high 122 yards and Washington limited All-American wide receiver to Mike Hass just five catches for 48 yards.
Washington’s offense wasn’t even in the same book, much less on the same page, though.
Oregon State brought pressure from both edges.
Lappano said the Huskies blocked seven, eight and even, at times, nine men, but nothing worked.
All the while, DuRocher struggled under the pressure.
He went 11 of 30 for 103 yards. He threw an interception and lucked out on another that was called off after a Beavers personal foul nixed the play and resulted in a first down.