PASADENA — A week after feeling like they gave away a game with mistakes, the Huskies were simply out-played Saturday.
If nothing else, however, the Huskies deserve credit for keeping their 44-31 loss to UCLA interesting for most of the game.
On a night when they were statistically dominated and looked to be down for the count on multiple occasions in the second half, the Huskies hung around into the fourth quarter before UCLA pulled away for the victory in front of 72,124 fans at the Rose Bowl.
It was Washington’s sixth straight loss to UCLA in Pasadena since beating the Bruins in 1995.
If not for a pair of UCLA turnovers that led to two Washington touchdowns, this game wouldn’t have been as close as the 13-point margin indicated.
UCLA had 536 yards of total offense to Washington’s 340. Ten UCLA penalties, two turnovers, and a missed field goal, however, prevented the game from turning into a blowout early.
The loss continued a trend of struggling offense for Washington.
After scoring 66 points in their first six quarters of the season, the Huskies have now scored 45 in their past two and half games.
The Bruins took control of the game with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. They opened the quarter with a 74-yard drive, then held Washington to three-and-outs on their next two possession. On Washington’s third possession of the second half, Jake Locker was intercepted by Dennis Keyes, who returned the errant pass 60 yards for a touchdown.
Locker struggled throwing the ball, completing just 17 of 36 passes for 216 yards and was intercepted twice. For the third-straight game, he provided most of the rushing offense, gaining 16 yards on 84 carries.
Just when it looked like the Bruins were comfortably ahead, however, Dan Howell intercepted a Patrick Cowan pass to give Washington the ball on the UCLA 20 yard line. Two plays later, Locker found Anthony Russo for a 20-yard touchdown.
That play set off a back-and-forth exchange of quick touchdowns. UCLA quickly re-established a two-score lead on a 72-yard run by Chris Markey, who finished with a game-high 192 yards on just 14 carries. Washington answered right back with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Locker to Russo.
The Bruins responded one more time, however, as Matthew Slater returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and a 38-24 lead.
After a Bruins field goal, Locker connected with Corey Williams for an 11-yard touchdown with 4:30 remaining to make the score 41-31. The Huskies could not recover the onside kick that followed, however, ending their comeback hopes.
The game was tied at half despite a rather dominant performance by the Bruins. UCLA out-gained the Huskies 283 yards to 132. Locker gained 63 of those first half yards on two carries, the second of which set up a 35-yard Ryan Perkins field goal to tie the score at 10.
After missing a 41-yard field-goal attempt on the Bruins’ opening drive, Kia Forbath redeemed himself with a 47-yard kick to put the Bruins ahead 3-0.
The Huskies caught a big break in the second quarter to set up their first touchdown. Punting for the fourth time in four possessions, Washington got a turnover to help make up for their lack of first-half offense. Jared Ballman’s punt hit Michael Norris, a blocker on the play who was on the ground, and Chris Stevens recovered at the UCLA 26.
While it wasn’t particularly efficient in the half, Washington’s offense proved to be opportunistic, turning the short field into a touchdown. On third and goal at the four, Locker rolled to his right and found an open Marcel Reece in the end zone for the score.
UCLA answered back with a touchdown of its own however, to regain the lead. The Bruins used a bit of trickery to set up their score on the drive, gaining 57 yards on a pass from receiver Brandon Breazell to Terrence Austin. Patrick Cowan connected with Dominique Johnson three plays later for a two-yard touchdown.
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
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