Sloppy second half costs Huskies in loss to BYU

PROVO, Utah – Steve Sarkisian didn’t show up for the halftime celebration that honored him and seven other former Brigham Young University quarterbacks on Saturday.

And then Sarkisian’s University of Washington football team failed to show up for the second half.

UW’s high hopes for the exciting season that has long eluded this program got delayed Saturday night when the Huskies watched BYU score 10 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 23-17 loss. It marked the Huskies’ 13th consecutive road loss, a streak that extends to November 2007.

The loss carried a few elements that were familiar, like occasional defensive lapses, the lack of a pass rush and an opponent that was more physical at the line. There were also some expected factors, like a shaky special-teams unit that had concerned Sarkisian in the weeks leading up to his second season opener as UW’s head coach.

But the most alarming aspect of the loss came from an explosive offense that was, at best, inconsistent. One key member of the unit went as far as to say that UW’s offense was undisciplined – especially after halftime.

“We just made our own stuff up,” sophomore running back Chris Polk said of an offense that went scoreless over the final 30 minutes. “We didn’t do what we were coached to do. We just came out and tried to do our own thing. When we were doing what our coaches told us to do, (the BYU defense) couldn’t stop us.”

Despite it all, the Huskies had a couple chances to win the game in the final minutes. Two failed fourth-down opportunities in BYU territory served as the defining moments of an afternoon unfulfilled.

“In the fourth quarter, we were on their side of the field three times and came up with no points. Ultimately, that’s on me,” said Sarkisian, whose offense had 193 yards in the second half and 133 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get on the scoreboard. “We’ve got to do a better job.”

Senior quarterback Jake Locker put up decent numbers but couldn’t make the plays when it counted most. A lot of that had to do with BYU’s defense, which made sure that running back J.J. DiLuigi’s 48-yard touchdown reception with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter stood up as the game-winner.

UW had three offensive possessions after that touchdown, all of which crossed midfield, but the Huskies couldn’t score a point.

With 12:24 remaining in the game, and the Huskies staring at a fourth-and-2 from the BYU 23-yard line, the Cougars correctly defended a designed rollout play by sending two defenders to cover both the run and pass options. Instead of running or trying to throw to Polk in the flat, Locker had to force a pass into the end zone to a covered Jermaine Kearse. BYU cornerback Brian Logan knocked the ball down to end that drive.

After another drive stalled out at the Cougars’ 46-yard line, the Huskies got the ball back with 5:55 remaining and went on a patient, time-consuming drive that resulted in another incomplete pass on fourth down.

After Locker had driven UW 48 yards to the BYU 27, his pass attempt to tight end Chris Izbicki over the middle was batted down by defensive tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna on fourth-and-7.

“You don’t usually worry about defensive tackles,” Locker said of his final pass, which came with 1:51 remaining and the Huskies possessing only one timeout.

Afterward, Sarkisian defended both the time-consuming play calling and the decision not to attempt an earlier field goal.

He said his final drive, which included five running plays but just three passes, was not about trying to eat up the clock but about wanting “to make sure we weren’t in chaos, that we were running the best plays we could at that time.”

He added that he opted to pass up an earlier field goal because the Huskies struggled on special teams all night, and he was also concerned that UW’s game-long struggle with field position might not give the offense another chance to get close enough to score again.

“All in all, it felt like a first football game,” said Sarkisian, who was one of eight former All-America quarterbacks from BYU who were honored at halftime.

Washington	7	10	0	0—17
BYU	5	8	10	0—23

First Quarter

Wash—Je.Kearse 19 pass from Locker (Folk kick), 10:02.

BYU—Safety, 4:30.

BYU—FG Payne 22:31.

Second Quarter

BYU—Quezada 9 pass from R.Nelson (R.Nelson run), 12:08.

Wash—Locker 9 run (Folk kick), 8:43.

Wash—FG Folk 54, :00.

Third Quarter

BYU—FG Payne 29, 6:59.

BYU—Di Luigi 48 pass from R.Nelson (Payne kick), 4:23.

A—63,771.

	Wash	BYU
First downs	20	23
Rushes-yards	31-128	33-146
Passing	266	262
Comp-Att-Int	20-39-0	24-40-0
Return Yards	0	26
Punts-Avg.	6-45.2	6-37.2
Fumbles-Lost	2-0	2-0
Penalties-Yards	5-66	6-60
Time of Possession	25:53	34:07

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Washington, C.Polk 16-92, Callier 2-40, Locker 11-29, J.Fogerson 1-6, Mahan 1-(minus 39). BYU, Di Luigi 13-69, R.Nelson 8-45, Kariya 8-20, Chambers 1-8, Heaps 1-6, Team 2-(minus 2).

PASSING—Washington, Locker 20-37-0-266, Aguilar 0-1-0-0, Team 0-1-0-0. BYU, Heaps 13-23-0-131, R.Nelson 11-17-0-131.

RECEIVING—Washington, Je.Kearse 5-108, Aguilar 5-57, Bruns 3-25, Callier 2-15, J.Polk 1-25, Izbicki 1-15, Sylvester 1-9, C.Polk 1-7, Goodwin 1-5. BYU, Ashworth 6-24, Di Luigi 4-83, Wilson 3-45, Jacobson 3-33, Chambers 3-21, Mathews 1-17, Muehlmann 1-15, Hoffman 1-14, Quezada 1-9, Kariya 1-1.