Dawgs drop upset

Published 12:15 am Sunday, September 30, 2007

SEATTLE — Washington’s date with top-ranked USC ended so simply — and in the manner that most figured it would — with Trojans quarterback John David Booty taking a knee while the final seconds ticked away.

Very little else on this bizarre Saturday night was so routine, however, as the Trojans and Huskies stumbled and bumbled their way though four quarters in a game that ended as a 27-24 USC win in front of 68,654 fans at Husky Stadium.

Despite being outgained by 270 yards, the Huskies were in the game until the final seconds thanks to a multitude of USC errors, including two interceptions, a fumble, a blocked punt, and 16 penalties for 161 yards.

The Huskies were far from perfect themselves, however, which made what could have been a big upset into frustrating night of “what ifs?”

“At times we just don’t play to our full potential, and that’s hard,” said Husky cornerback Roy Lewis. “Especially when you have a team on the ropes, you have some momentum going, and all we have to do is turn the corner, we’re one play away, and something happens. Always something happens.”

Lewis made one of the biggest plays of the night for Washington when it looked like the game was all but over. With USC leading 27-17 with 1:12 left, Lewis blocked a punt after a high snap, recovered the block and returned it 18 yards to the USC 9-yard line. Three plays later, Jake Locker was in the end zone and it was a 3-point game.

USC’s Terrell Thomas caught Jared Ballman’s ensuing onside kickoff attempt with 33 seconds remaining, however, ending Washington’s comeback hopes.

The Trojans headed back to Los Angeles feeling lucky to escape with a win.

“We couldn’t do more things wrong in the game,” said USC coach Pete Carroll. “We just couldn’t get out of our own way … Washington was there to take it; all they needed was one more chance. On this night we overcame that. I am grateful to have this win under all of the circumstances and all of the stuff that happened … We almost beat ourselves tonight, we tried really hard.”

The mistakes started early for USC, as they helped Washington’s opening drive with two 15-yard penalties. In what would become the norm on this wild night, Washington failed to capitalize, as Jake Locker threw an interception on a second-and-7 from the 8-yard line.

After a Jason Wells interception gave Washington the ball back, the Huskies drove to the 30, where Locker overthrew a wide-open Corey Williams in the end zone. That drive ended with a punt.

USC gave Washington its first two touchdowns on turnovers. The first score, a 10-yard Locker run that gave the Huskies a 7-0 lead, came after the Trojans fumbled a snap at their own 14-yard line.

The Trojans answered that score with a touchdown of their own, then went ahead 14-7 with an 88-yard scoring drive. The Huskies then tied the game late in the half when safety Mesphin Forrester returned an interception 54 yards for a score.

Arguably Washington’s costliest error came in the fourth quarter, when, with the Huskies trailing by seven points, Anthony Russo fumbled a punt that USC recovered. The Huskies had stopped USC for a three-and-out for the third consecutive time, and had just made it a one-score game with a Ryan Perkins field goal.

Washington also had a chance to keep it a one-score game in the fourth quarter when Byron Davenport appeared to have an interception in the end zone. The play was reviewed and ruled an incomplete pass, allowing the Trojans to kick a field goal that ended up giving them the winning margin.

For the second week in a row, rush defense was a concern for Washington, as the Trojans had 224 yards rushing and became the second team in as many weeks to have a pair of 100-yard rushers in Stafon Johnson (122 yards on 14 carries) and Chauncey Washington (106 yards on 21 carries). As was the case in Pasadena, Calif., last Saturday, missed tackles were again one of the problems.

“I was very disappointed with the tackling,” said defensive coordinator Kent Baer. “I don’t like how we tackled.”

Despite playing the top-ranked team in the nation close, there was no feeling of satisfaction for the Huskies.

“It’s very frustrating,” Lewis said. “Everyone says great effort, but the fact of the matter is we didn’t come out victorious, and we knew that we had the opportunity to come out victorious, and that’s what it came down to. They made some mistakes, we made some mistakes, we kept fighting, they kept fighting, but in the end we didn’t capitalize enough.”

Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington Sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog