Hold your applause

LOS ANGELES – Pity applause, that’s how bad this season has become for the Huskies.

On the way to a 0-8 start this season, Washington has been blown out a number of times, and now, in a new twist on a humiliating season, the Huskies are now getting sympathy cheers from opposing crowds.

There are plenty of numbers to show how ugly Saturday evening’s loss was for Washington, most notably the 56-0 final score, but one moment in the second quarter told the story of Saturday’s loss – the Huskies’ eighth straight this season and 10th straight going back to last year – better than any of the lopsided statistics.

Midway through the second quarter, Washington had, up to that point, gone three-and-out on four possessions, and Ronnie Fouch threw an interception on the fifth. Trailing 35-0, the Huskies finally managed a first down on their sixth possession after Terrance Dailey rushed for 5 yards on second-and-4.

That’s when the pity applause came from USC’s fans, who, knowing their team was well on its way to a lopsided win, apparently felt compelled to acknowledge the Huskies’ minor accomplishment.

“It’s tough,” said tailback Terrance Dailey, who was held to just 30 yards on nine carries. “I feel like every week it’s just a week with the same thing. It’s like a broken record.”

Only this record keeps getting worse. During a season in which the Huskies keep finding new ways to hit rock bottom, they found yet another low in front of 80,216 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This version of the bottom capped a tumultuous week for the Huskies, who learned Monday that their coach, Tyrone Willingham, will be relieved of his duties at the end of the season.

The shutout was the first for Washington since losing here 38-0 in 2004, and the most lopsided loss for the Huskies since 2001’s 65-7 thrashing at Miami. It was also the worst loss in a shutout since a 58-0 loss at Oregon in 1973.

Thanks to North Texas’ 51-40 victory over Western Kentucky Saturday, Washington is now the only winless team in Division I-A football.

And the scary part for Washington is that it could have been much worse.

After scoring on their first six possessions, the Trojans got the ball at their 38-yard line with 1:51 remaining following a UW turnover on downs. Rather than let Mark Sanchez – who had completed 15 of 17 pass attempts up to that point – attempt to lead the team down the field, the Trojans instead handed the ball off four straight times until time ran out.

Sanchez, who completed 15 of 19 attempts for 167 yards, was out of the game at the 7:56 mark of the third quarter, and most of the Trojans’ starters didn’t play much past that point either. From that point on the Trojans attempted only one pass.

USC could have also added a score at the end of the game, but let time run out at the Washington 6-yard line.

The Trojans outgained Washington 485 to 184. Against USC’s starters, the numbers were much worse for Washington, as USC had 325 first-half yards to just 35 for the Huskies.

USC also had 18 first-half first downs to just two for Washington.