By John Sleeper and Scott Johnson
Herald Writers
BERKELEY, Calif. – This was supposed to be a defense that was faster, more aggressive and more effective than any University of Washington defense in a decade.
In the first quarter, however, of the Huskies’ 31-28 victory over Cal, the defense made Bears quarterback Kyle Boller look like John Elway.
In the first quarter, in which Cal took a 14-0 lead on two drives that totaled 162 yards, 24 plays and 7 minutes, 54 seconds, Boller was 12 of 14 passing for 169 yards and a pair of TD passes.
It didn’t end there. The Bears scored 21 points in the first 16:52.
Fact was, the Huskies were confused. They saw formations the Bears hadn’t used before. They saw different plays the Bears used when they lined up in familiar formations.
They were confused by a Cal team that had fooled no one this season.
“Cal came at us with a fury,” UW inside linebacker Jamaun Willis said. “They threw the kitchen sink at us, everything they had. They got to us a little bit. They ran some new plays. Trickery. Much respect to Cal, because they came out fighting.”
Cal, behind Joe Igber, ran the ball away from Washington’s blitzes. They found holes in Washington’s zones.
But then, all the tomfoolery stopped. The Huskies made necessary adjustments. They clamped down on Boller, Igber and fullback Marcus Fields, who burned them for 54 yards on three receptions.
All told, after Cal put up 21 points in the first 16 minutes, it managed just seven in the final 43:08. The major adjustments were made at halftime, after which the Bears had just seven of their 23 first downs and 101 of their 370 yards for the game.
“We had to regroup,” UW defensive coordinator Tim Hundley said. “There’s always a time to get that down. Don’t think we ever thought that we wouldn’t. Some of the hardest times to fix things are between series because there’s limited time.”
The problems were within the Huskies themselves, Hundley said.
“We told them there are two ways to stop them in the second half,” he said. “One is by us executing. There was nothing out there that we couldn’t defend, although some things were tougher on us than others. The other was to change up the coverage so that we could have a little different look.”
Stevens missed: Although Jerramy Stevens’ absence appeared substantial, especially when the Husky offense had its first-half struggles, UW coach Rick Neuheisel said he saw reason for optimism among the all-Pac-10 tight end’s replacements, Joe Collier, John Westra and Kevin Ware.
Stevens is projected to miss all but the tail end of the season with a broken left foot. UW quarterback Cody Pickett completed just one pass, a 17-yarder to Ware on second-and-10 in the third quarter for a first down. That was one play before Pickett and Paul Arnold connected on a 62-yard scoring play that cut the Bears lead to 21-17.
“We’re going to miss Jerramy,” Neuheisel said. “He’s a fantastic player. He’s a weapon. But I thought Kevin Ware made a sensational play today that kept us going. We were second-and-long and he gets us a first down with a diving catch. It’s a confidence booster.”
Neuheisel added that Collier and Westra also were important as blockers.
“That option game is going because the tight ends are doing a great job blocking on the edges, so we can get the corner,” Neuheisel said. “I feel very confident that we have capable players. They don’t have Jerramy Stevens’ numbers, so we have to work within our schemes to get them the ball so that they are a weapon.”
McLaughlin booms one: UW punter Derek McLaughlin set a school record in the first quarter with a 74-yard punt that he got off in his own end zone. The kick broke the previous record of set by Ryan Fleming in 1999 against BYU.
“Our punting game was a highlight,” Neuheisel said. “Derek McLaughlin, I thought, was sensational as a freshman punter. He played really, really well and gave us hope.”
McLaughlin, who averaged 49.7 yards a kick, plunked two inside the 20, including one at the Cal 2-yard line.
But the 74-yarder not only got the Huskies out of a hole, it became a weapon, especially after Cal was whistled for an illegal block, which stuffed the Bears on their own 15-yard line.
“Anytime you’re backed up like that, the thought is just, ‘Let’s speed it up. Let’s get it out. Let the guys cover it,’” McLaughlin said. “Usually when you speed it up, the punt goes shorter. I was expecting a 35- or 40-yard punt.”
McLaughlin said he has kicked longer than 74 in practice.
It’s no snap: Elliott Zajac, who is the Huskies’ snapper on field-goal attempts, had problems all day. He snapped one that almost sailed over holder Cody Pickett’s head and two more that were low. Placekicker John Anderson made one kick on the high snap from 40 yards out. He missed from 34 and 21, when the snaps appeared to skim along the turf en route to Pickett.
Neuheisel said one reason was that Zajac also plays strong guard and may be tired when he snaps.
“He’s taking every snap as an offensive lineman,” Neuheisel said. “I don’t know if it’s a fatigue deal. He mentioned that there were some issues with them hitting at the ball. I’d really have to look at the tape to see if that’s a legitimate complaint. Obviously, we need to shore that it, because we needed those two field goals.”
Special teams gaffes: While Cal’s offense sputtered for most of the final three quarters, and the defense couldn’t stop UW in the second half, the Bears’ special teams play frustrated coach Tom Holmoe more than anything.
“Various individuals just flipped out today – totally flipped out,” Holmoe said of Cal’s special teams.
The Bears got flagged for unnecessary roughness during one kickoff that went out of the end zone. After stopping one UW drive in the second half, the Bears were penalized for roughing the kicker during a Husky punt – even though the Cal coaches hadn’t called for anyone to rush the kicker.
“We played with a lot of heart, but we still did some real dumb things,” Holmoe said. “And that prohibited us from winning.”
Cal disciplines starter: The Bears played without starting strong safety Nnamdi Asomugha, who was suspended for the game because he arrived late for a team meeting.
Free safety Dewey Hale moved over to play Asomugha’s position, while junior Bert Watts stepped into the starting lineup.
Short routes: An interested observer on the Husky sideline was former UW quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, now a reserve with the Oakland Raiders … Cal’s 14 first-quarter points are the most the Bears have scored in a quarter this season … Pickett’s 42-yard scoring pass to Paul Arnold was the first TD pass of his career … Arnold’s 62-yard TD reception was the longest of his career and the longest Cal has given up this season … Arnold’s five receptions also were the most of his career … Cal’s first TD in the first quarter was the first it had scored this season on an opening drive … The win was the UW’s 10th fourth-quarter comeback in Neuheisel’s two-plus seasons as head coach.
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