Huskies’ woes continue in loss to Sun Devils

SEATTLE – Like the holiday that concludes this month, October continues to be a fright-fest for the Washington football team. And because of that, the sunny hopes that surrounded the Huskies at the end of September have dissolved into a harsh reality of another season that potentially could end prematurely.

Washington staged a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback behind a stout defense and backup quarterback Johnny DuRocher only to fall in overtime for the second-straight week, losing to Arizona State 26-23 in front of 58,822 fans Saturday at Husky Stadium.

The game was just the fifth overtime game in UW history and the first at Husky Stadium. Washington is now 2-3 in extra periods since overtime was implemented in 1997. Last week, the Huskies lost in extra time at California.

The Huskies have now lost 11 games in a row in October and their current four-game losing streak has dropped them to 2-4 in the Pacific-10 and 4-5 overall. They now sit in eighth place in the Pac-10 with three games remaining.

“We’re so close to being the type of team we want to be,” senior linebacker Scott White said. “But sometimes that’s the farthest distance to travel. We made so much progress and we’re right at the door. It’s time to kick it down.”

Time, though, is running out, and it’s certainly a concern that each week, Washington seems to get thinner and thinner. Already without starting running back Kenny James (sprained ankle), Washington lost quarterback Carl Bonnell to an apparent concussion on a late hit in the fourth quarter. The Huskies have made the decision to redshirt freshman Jake Locker, which left them with just DuRocher and walk-on Felix Sweetman.

Arizona State was unable to move the ball on its final drive and punted but the Huskies didn’t have enough time to get into scoring range and the game went to overtime.

The Sun Devils won the coin toss and gave the UW the ball and the Huskies immediately committed a false start, moving back to the 30, and DuRocher threw three incomplete passes. But Michael Braunstein connected on a 47-yard field goal to give Washington the lead.

But on ASU’s second play, Rudy Carpenter found tight end Brent Miller streaking past linebacker Dan Howell on the right sideline for the game-winning touchdown.

“We have practiced those things a million times,” Miller said. “Sometimes things don’t work out in the game and you have to keep from being discouraged.”

“He was on the line and they didn’t think of him as a primary target,” Carpenter said. “It worked out great.”