There’s no quit in these Dawgs

Published 10:56 pm Sunday, November 18, 2007

SEATTLE — For all of their flaws this season, and there have been plenty, give the Huskies credit for what they did Saturday.

They didn’t quit.

And for all of their flaws this season, give the coaches credit for what they did Saturday.

They didn’t let their team quit.

After a seventh loss ended Washington’s bowl hopes, it would have been really easy for the Huskies to pack it in. To go through the motions and stumble to an 0-3 finish. Instead, Washington played Saturday’s game like it still mattered. The Huskies played with the fire and intensity of a team that still had everything to play for, and the result was a 37-23 win over California.

“It was a great victory for us out there today,” said senior defensive tackle Jordan Reffett. “Cal’s a great football team and a lot of people left us for dead, but these Dawgs are back. We want to keep winning. It doesn’t matter that a bowl game’s not possible, we want to end this season on a good note and leave these younger guys with a good foundation.”

Reffett, like the rest of the departing seniors, could have looked at a career without a winning season or a bowl game, hung his head, and given in to frustration and disappointment. Instead, there was Reffett, all 295 pounds of him, rumbling down field in the third quarter to cause a fumble after a 17-yard pass completion.

Asked the last time he made a tackle that far down field, Reffett joked, “I don’t know, but I was tired, I know that.”

A defense that could have lost confidence after a string of embarrassing performances earlier this season instead got better. Since giving up 510 passing yards to Arizona, the Husky defense has avoided big numbers, and in the second half Saturday, allowed just three points and 115 yards.

“I am so proud of those guys how hard they played,” said defensive coordinator Kent Baer. “They didn’t do everything right — nobody does everything right — but I’m really excited about how hard they played and flew to the football and played aggressive. I liked that.”

An offense that could have taken a defeatist mentality playing without quarterback Jake Locker, instead got nasty up front as Louis Rankin and Brandon Jones led a 334-yard rushing attack.

It’s easy to say that these guys should be up for every game regardless of the motivation. That playing for pride and playing for their school should be enough, but that’s not always the case. Just look at Cal, which came into the game reeling having lost four of five after a 5-0 start. The Bears went from national champion contenders to Pac-10 also-rans in a month, and it showed Saturday afternoon. While the Huskies came out inspired and played one of their best games of the year, Cal seemed distracted before the game ever started, when a mix up on the coin toss gave the Huskies the ball at the start of both halfs.

The Bears never seemed recovered from Thomas DeCoud’s self-described “brain fart” on the coin toss, and were down 14-0 before they knew what hit them (it was Louis Rankin, by the way, along with a dominating offensive line).

“Early in the game, they scored the first two drives and I looked around and everyone was down,” said Cal receiver Robert Jordan. “We brought it back up to about 21-20, but I can tell that we’re having confidence problems.”

So it could be worse. At least the Huskies, bowl hopes dashed, are still playing hard. Their heads are still in the game (and the pregame coin toss) and they still have confidence.

“We looked at this game just like the first game of the season,” said Reffett. “You want to go out there and play as hard as you can. You’re playing for pride, you’re playing to win.”

Center Juan Garcia admitted that it wasn’t easy getting up for Saturday’s game. After a meeting with offensive line coach Mike Denbrock, who asked his line’s leader to help motivate his team, Garcia got on his teammates following a lackluster Wednesday practice.

“Guys, we took yesterday off, so today we better go like our hair’s on fire,” he told them. “And Thursday was the best practice we had all year. Not having that bowl game there, and knowing that we practiced Thursday that hard, I was like, ‘Man, we’ve still got something.’”

And on Saturday, with nothing but pride at state, the Huskies showed it.

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