SEATTLE – Carl Bonnell recognizes the absurdity of it.
But if any five-interception game can be considered a good game, it was Bonnell’s five-pick performance in Washington’s loss to California last week.
On the one hand, Bonnell poised, confident and made plays.. He moved the ball well against a tough defense, passing for 284 yards and two touchdowns and amassing 64 rushing yards and a running TD.
On the other hand, he did have the five interceptions, several of which were costly. He tried to force too many balls and wasn’t always on the same page as his receivers.
So, good game or bad game?
“There were a lot of things he did well in the ball game,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said. “I loved a lot of the balls that he threw. I loved the command he had of our offensive system, his leadership, getting our guys in the right place and for the most part doing the right things. From that standpoint, he did an excellent job. The disappointment obviously are the interceptions, but all of those are not to be placed on Carl. Overall, I thought Carl did a great job.”
Bonnell said he goes into this week with a bit of a different mindset than he did last week because the job is clearly his. There’s no longer hope of Isaiah Stanback returning, and the talk of freshman Jake Locker taking over has been quieted. It will be, without question, Bonnell on the field when the Huskies (2-3 Pacific-10, 4-4 overall) host Arizona State (1-3, 4-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Husky Stadium.
“Last week we didn’t know the deal with Isaiah,” Bonnell said. “This week we know what to do and we know we can move the ball without Isaiah.”
Going into the California game, there was some concern about how well the Huskies could generate offense without the dynamic Stanback, but Bonnell showed that, if he isn’t as fast as Stanback, he’s at least capable of avoiding a rush and gaining yards on the ground.
Bonnell also showed a strong arm and by all accounts was calm and collected in the huddle, even under the most pressure-filled circumstances. In fact, that’s what impressed Husky offensive coordinator Tim Lappano the most.
“His poise and his presence and his leadership, that was outstanding,” Lappano said.
Of course, there were those interceptions.
Lappano reiterated Tuesday that not all of the interceptions were Bonnell’s fault, but Bonnell is certainly the one taking the blame for them.
“They’re definitely all on me,” Bonnell said. “Even if it’s miscommunication, it’s the quarterback who has to know what everybody’s doing on every play. I have to make the play. It’s my job to hold onto the ball, move the ball and get some points.”
“He made a couple throws that when he saw the film, he said, ‘What was I doing?’” Lappano said. “That’s just experience. We can correct that in one week. But he’ll be the first to tell you we can’t operate that way. But other than that, you take a couple of those interceptions away, he played pretty good. He gave us a chance.”
This week Bonnell faces another aggressive defense that will put pressure on him. ASU has 23 sacks and will play a lot of man defense with physical play against the Husky receivers, similar to the way Oregon State played.
Arizona State allows just 181 yards a game through the air and has eight interceptions, but also has allowed a Pac-10 worst 14 passing touchdowns.
Neither Bonnell nor Lappano expect the five interceptions or ASU’s strong pass defense to intimidate Bonnell into a poor passing game.
“The thing about Carl is, Isaiah was a cautious passer,” Lappano said. “Carl has so much confidence in his accuracy and his arm strength, he’s going to take some of those shots down the seam.”
“When I see something, I feel like I can get it there,” Bonnell said. “But my mind should be saying, ‘It’s not going to work out, just hold it down and look for the next guy.’ That will come with time and I’ll do a lot better this week.”
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