Petersen didn’t see penalty on key punt return

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 1, 2016

SEATTLE — Chris Petersen spoke often Monday about penalties the Washington Huskies committed Saturday. And also about those they didn’t.

The latter might be receiving more attention in Salt Lake City. That the No. 4 Huskies beat No. 17 Utah was due in large part to junior receiver Dante Pettis and his 58-yard punt return for a touchdown that broke a 24-24 tie with 3:25 remaining … and to the, uh, borderline blocking he received on his way toward the end zone.

Many Utah fans — and some impartial observers, too — were certain at least one of the blocks that sprung Pettis should have been deemed illegal, because the UW blocker appeared to contact a Utes player in the back. There were two others that might not have qualified as egregious, but could still be deemed questionable.

But no flags were thrown. And Petersen won’t lose sleep wondering if they should have been.

(For what it’s worth, FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating, tweeted Saturday that “I thought all (the blocks) were with the force on the side and legal.”

“There were some close calls, but that’s the game,” Petersen said. “There’s a lot of close calls on about every play.”

Petersen is more concerned, then, about the penalties that were actually called. Three times after stopping Utah on third-down plays, the Huskies were called for personal-foul penalties that gave the Utes a fresh set of downs. Each of those three possessions yielded a Utah touchdown.

In other words: the Utes did not score a touchdown that wasn’t aided by a UW penalty committed during or after a third-down stop. The infraction that most aggravated Petersen was a taunting penalty committed by junior linebacker Azeem Victor, who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after tackling Utah quarterback Troy Williams for a two-yard loss on a third-and-goal play from UW’s 1-yard line.

During a subsequent possession, Victor was called for grabbing the facemask of Utah running back Joe Williams on a third-down play near the goal line.

Petersen said the facemask didn’t bother him nearly as much as the taunting penalty, because only the latter indicates a lack of poise.

“It’s hard stuff, because we want those kids playing right there to the edge,” Petersen said. “They have to play this game emotional and it is emotional, but you can play too emotional, for sure. I think that was a little bit of the case with our defense for a lot of the game.”

Victor has earned a reputation as a player who tests that edge a little too often. He was penalized for targeting during UW’s 17-12 victory at USC last season. After a game against California, Bears coach Sonny Dykes asked the Pac-12 office to review a play in which Victor hit Cal receiver Kenny Lawler with an elbow to the back of the head after his helmet had come off.

Petersen thinks Victor is getting better at harnessing his aggression.

“I do think he pays much closer attention to it, and I think we’re making progress,” Petersen said. “But those are critical situations. We kept drives alive two different times on two penalties like that that really shouldn’t happen, really can be back-breaking type penalties.”

As for the roughing-the-passer penalty committed by senior linebacker Psalm Wooching on a third-down stop in the fourth quarter — the foul allowed Utah to drive for a game-tying touchdown — Petersen said the Huskies simply need to be smarter around the quarterback.

“They’re always sensitive around the quarterback,” Petersen said. “There’s just no need for that. That one, they’re probably not going to call half the time, and then the other half they do call. So let’s not put it in their hands.”

USC kickoff time

Washington’s Nov. 12 home game against the USC Trojans will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. and air on FOX. It was announced Sunday that UW’s Saturday (Nov. 5) game at California will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and air on ESPN.

Victor, Pettis honored

Victor and Pettis earned player of the week recognition from the Pac-12.

Victor was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week after totaling a career-best 16 tackles against Utah, and Pettis’ punt-return touchdown earned him special-teams player of the week honors.

The two join Wooching and quarterback Jake Browning as UW players to receive such weekly recognition this season.

UW on watch lists

Victor was also named one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker.

Browning was named one of 18 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, given annually to the nation’s best player, and junior safety Budda Baker was named one of 18 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player.