Dawgs have trouble running

BERKELEY, Calif. – Louis Rankin said he thinks he might have been thinking too much.

Offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said it was just a matter of not being physical enough.

Either way, Washington’s running game came up short when it needed it the most, and Lappano said that was the biggest problem in the game.

“It’s third-and-1 a couple times and we can’t hammer it in there and get a foot or get two feet or a yard,” Lappano said. “To win a game like this against a top-ranked team, you’ve got to be able to get a first down on third-and-1 without having to throw the football.”

Washington lost leading rusher Kenny James to an ankle injury in the first quarter, putting the game in Rankin’s hands.

And while Rankin has outstanding speed and big-play ability, running straight ahead has been an issue for him and continued to be on Saturday. He was stopped on three third-and-1s and, with Washington facing a first-and-goal from the 6 in overtime, was thrown for a 5-yard loss, running out to his right rather than forward.

“I probably over-thought,” Rankin said of the last play. “I should have made a cut earlier but I tried to go outside. I thought it was going to open up for me and I’d be able to sneak in.”

Rankin finished with 88 yards on 22 carries, but 44 of the yards came on one run. It was the most rushes Rankin had in a game since the 2005 season-opener against Air Force.

The day overall was a disappointment – once again – for the Husky two-back offense.

“We have to get physical and knock them off the football,” Lappano said. “Get physical running it, get physical up front, we’ve got to be more physical. That’s easy to see.”

Locker the guy: Willingham confirmed that true freshman Jake Locker is the backup quarterback. Locker had been competing with junior Johnny DuRocher for the job behind Carl Bonnell.

“Most likely I was going in that direction,” Willingham said when asked if Locker was the backup.

Going for two: Willingham said he never considered going for a two-point conversion after scoring on Bonnell’s 40-yard pass to Marlon Wood as time expired. A successful two-point conversion would have given Washington the win, but failing would have resulted in a loss. Willingham opted to kick the extra point and go to overtime.

“I felt comfortable that we’d be able to get it done in overtime,” Willingham said.

And the squib?: Willingham said he felt good about calling a squib kick after Washington had taken a 10-0 lead late in the second quarter.

Cal, which had been forced to punt five times and missed a field goal on its previous first-half drives, fielded the kick at the 30 and returned it to the Bears’ 42-yard line. Cal drove 54 yards on four plays, scoring a field goal to end the half.

“We were hoping to get it through,” Willingham said. “It bounced up high but their second level guy from the rear got it and gave them pretty good field position.”

Injury report: James was the only player to suffer a serious injury. Willingham said X-rays were negative on his ankle but the severity of it was not known. If James is out, that would leave the Huskies with just Rankin and Shelton Sampson at tailback. Sampson has not played this season. Receiver Anthony Russo also suffered a knee injury. He said he wasn’t sure if it was bruised or twisted.

Cornerback Dashon Goldson said he nearly was unable to play after aggravating his ankle during warmups. Goldson ended up playing nearly the entire game, finishing with six tackles and two passes broken up.

Lineup shuffle: Brandon Ala made his first start of the season at defensive end, replacing Greyson Gunheim, who had started the first seven games. Ala finished with four tackles and the team’s only sack. Goldson started at cornerback ahead of Matt Fountaine and Jordan Reffett started at defensive tackle in front of Donny Mateaki.

“Just trying to get the best people on the field,” defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. “I liked the changes.”

Bishop a force: Besides finishing the game with an interception, Cal middle linebacker Desmond Bishop was disruptive all game, finishing with a career-high 16 tackles, four for a loss, and also forced a fumble.