In the days leading up to Saturday’s 38-17 dismantling of Oregon State, defensive tackle Terry Johnson tried to put his finger on what was wrong with the Washington Huskies.
“It’s like we’re playing in slow motion,” Johnson said. “We’re not using our speed to our advantage.”
They finally did Saturday night. They didn’t against UCLA. They certainly didn’t against Nevada. They really didn’t all year up to Saturday.
And it didn’t end with Charles Frederick’s three touchdowns, school-record 371 all-purpose yards and his blurring 86-yard punt return.
For the first time all season, the Husky defense flew around. The defense sacked Beavers quarterback Derek Anderson five times because the front seven was faster, more athletic and quicker than Oregon State’s offensive line.
The Huskies threw former Heisman Trophy candidate Steven Jackson, the nation’s second-leading rusher going into Saturday’s game, for losses eight times. Jackson’s 49 yards on 22 attempts was nearly 100 yards fewer than his season’s average.
Linebacker Greg Carothers picked up three tackles for loss, including a sack, because he burst around the edge and made the play. Defensive end Manase Hopoi is back from a sore ankle and had two tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman defensive end Donny Mateaki had his best and busiest day as a Husky, with four tackles, two for loss and a sack.
Speed did it. It turned a rather harmless UW pass rush into a pit bull. Finally, the front seven took advantage of the fact that the Beavers double-teamed Johnson, which offenses have done all year.
Only this time, Washington made the Beavers pay.
When Jackson flashed out of the backfield on pass routes, he always had a UW linebacker in his jersey, usually Marquis Cooper or Carothers. Cooper is one of the five best athletes the Huskies have, while Carothers is a converted safety. Both have the speed to keep up with Jackson.
Carothers’ interception came when his body snaked around Jackson and out-wrestled him for the ball. Cooper almost scored on his pick earlier.
Even without cornerback Roc Alexander, who didn’t make the trip because of a shoulder stinger, the Washington secondary allowed just one TD pass, and that was long after the game had been decided. Anderson was just 21-for-48 passing, with three picks, five sacks and a lot of booing from the 37,034 in attendance.
That said, it was Frederick’s game.
You remember Frederick. As an immature, frightened freshman who was 3,000 miles from his Florida home, his spot on the team was tenuous after several incidents with homesickness and unexcused absences.
All that seems so long ago.
As a junior, Frederick finally is beginning to show what a dynamic player he is. Frustratingly close to breaking a punt return for a touchdown several times this season, Frederick let loose a memorable 86-yarder in which he juked and dodged four defenders out of their cleats and outran the rest.
“He’s amazing, one of the quickest players I’ve ever seen,” Carothers said.
On his 35-yard TD catch, Frederick made a nasty move to the middle to get wide open and make the score 21-10 in the third quarter. On his 87-yarder, he simply outran everyone unfortunate enough to cover him.
Frederick finally burned a team that routinely double-teamed Reggie Williams.
“I just felt fast,” Frederick said. “I was in the flow. I was healthy. It was like being back in high school.”
Washington hammered a good team Saturday night with its filthy speed. Suddenly, the potential showed itself. And with just one conference defeat, the Huskies are in the thick of the Pacific-10 Conference race.
Who thought that was possible just one week ago, after the Nevada disaster?
John Sleeper is The Herald’s college writer.
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