Obviously not fun times at the postgame press conference today. The game came down to a questionable call that went against the Huskies, but to their credit, nobody came out and ripped the officials… well, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano certainly gave them an ear full after the game, but by the time he met with reporters, he was calm and admitted he shouldn’t have done what he did after the game.
For those wondering, the unsportsmanlike conduct call on Locker was, according to the officials, a rule they are required to enforce in that situation.
For rules buffs, that can be found under rule 9, section 2 article 1c, which prohibits throwing the ball high into the air.
Locker, who said he has never been called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in his life, was obviously disappointed that the call ended up hurting the team.
“I was kind of disappointed in myself that I had done that,” he said. “I’ve never done anything like that in the past. I wasn’t trying to show anybody up by doing in. That’s not what I’m about. I have much respect for the guys that we played. That’s a good football team. I just was excited. I like to play the game with emotion and it got the best of me tonight.”
Said Tyrone Willingham:
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s almost one they have to call. It really should be a no-call, but it’s one they have to call if they see it. That’s what they’ve been prepped for all year.”
The best news that came out of the postgame is that safety Darin Harris, who left the game in an ambulance, has a concussion, but no neck or spine injuries. He will spend the night at Harborview, and is not expected to play next week, but other than the concussion it sounds like he’ll be ok.
The other big injury of the day was a dislocated shoulder suffered by Chris Polk, who did not play after leaving the game late in the first half. No word yet on when he’ll be back.
A few stats that stand out:
BYU had 475 yards of offense, 137 rushing and 338 passing.
Washington had 337, with 133 coming on the ground and 204 via the pass.
Harvey Unga rushed for 136 yards on 23 carries, and also had five catches for 39 yards.
Max Hall was 30 for 41 for 338 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Tight end Dennis Pitta led the Cougars with 148 yards on 10 catches.
Like he was in many games last year, Jake Locker was most of Washington’s offense, rushing for 62 yards and two scores, and passing for 204. He completed 17 of 32 attempts and had one touchdown with no interceptions.
Freshman tailback David Freeman replaced Polk, and had a nice second half, gaining 30 yards on six carries.
D’Andre Goodwin had five catches for 83 yards. Freshman tight end Kavario Middleton had his second straight four-catch game, gaining 30 yards.
Jared Ballman, who struggled punting against Oregon, bounced back nicely with an average of 47.8 yards on five punts, three of which pinned BYU inside its own 20 yard line.
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