SEATTLE — The University of Washington football team started strong and celebrated late into the night Saturday.
In fact, the celebration started a little earlier than expected.
After apparently winning a back-and-forth game against Oregon State on a fourth-down incomplete pass in the second overtime, the Huskies overcame a pass-interference call, regrouped and had to win it again.
And they did, knocking down a two-point conversion on the final play of the second overtime for a 35-34 win over the 24th-ranked Beavers.
”It was like a roller coaster,” said UW receiver Jermaine Kearse, who caught two overtime touchdown passes to give him a total of four on the game. “… We just went out and did it again. We showed the heart we have and the strive we have to finish.”
The victory gives UW a .500 overall record (3-3) and keeps the Huskies (2-1 in the Pac-10) in the thick of conference race … for now.
Kearse scored touchdowns in both overtimes, and linebacker Cort Dennison broke up a two-point conversion attempt to pull off the upset. But the biggest play of the night came after OSU quarterback Ryan Katz overthrew his intended receiver on a fourth-and-goal play in the second overtime — only to have the on-field celebration get called back because of a pass-interference penalty on UW cornerback Desmond Trufant in the end zone.
One play later, OSU running back Jacquizz Rodgers marched in from 2 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the night.
The Beavers lined up for an extra point, then called timeout and decided to go for two. Katz’s pass intended for tight end Joe Halahuni was broken up by Dennison in the end zone to clinch the win.
Asked how much of the ball he tipped on the final pass, Dennison said: “I got a little bit. Obviously, I got enough for (Halahuni) not to catch it.”
Locker passed for 286 yards and five touchdowns, four of them to Kearse. UW’s Chris Polk added 105 rushing yards.
“I can’t say enough of how proud I am of this football team, the heart they display,” UW coach Steve Sarkisian said afterward.
The Huskies stormed out to a three-touchdown lead behind the rejuvenated passing combination of Locker-to-Kearse. The duo connected five times in the first 20 minutes, with two of them resulting in touchdowns.
When Locker hit Kearse on a 45-yard strike down the middle for their second touchdown of the game, it gave UW a 21-0 lead with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
The Beavers (3-3, 2-1) woke from their slumber at that point, scoring 14 unanswered points after a long touchdown drive and a Locker interception to go into halftime trailing by seven.
After Oregon State scored on its opening possession of the second half, tying the score at 21, Husky Stadium got so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
While the Huskies’ defense made several key stops down the stretch, including two big interceptions in the second half, UW couldn’t get the big drive it needed to finish off the 24th-ranked Beavers in regulation.
The Huskies shot themselves in the foot on their first two drives of the fourth quarter. Dependable kicker Erik Folk drove a 45-yard field goal wide left, then Locker fumbled the ball away on a third-down sack inside the 50-yard line three minutes later.
But the most disheartening drive-ender came on the next drive, after Locker had appeared to scramble for a first down on third-and-10 with 3:43 remaining. After what was ruled to be an 11-yard gain, officials looked at the replay and ruled that Locker’s knee was down at the UW 19-yard line — a foot short of the marker.
The Huskies punted, only to get the ball back after an OSU drive that included two costly penalties.
UW got the ball back with 1:25 remaining at its own 13-yard line and barely missed on a deep pass from Locker to D’Andre Goodwin that was just out of the receiver’s reach at the OSU 40. After that, the Huskies successfully ran some time off the clock to ensure that the Beavers wouldn’t get the ball back — and eventually the drive stalled out at the Huskies’ 45-yard line.
OSU’s Jacquizz Rodgers, who finished with a game-high 140 rushing yards, scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Katz on the opening drive of overtime. But the Huskies responded with Kearse’s third touchdown reception from Locker of the night, a 17-yard catch on third-and-2, to tie the score at 28.
Kearse caught another touchdown — his fourth of the game — on the opening drive of the second overtime. After a holding call had wiped out a nine-yard reception to the OSU 2, Locker floated a perfect pass to Kearse for the 35-28 lead.
On what would be OSU’s final drive of the night, Hau’oli Jamora had a sack and linebacker Victor Aiyewa had a tackle for loss before the Beavers got to the UW 3-yard line and faced a fourth-and-1.
Katz floated a pass well over the head of tight end John Reese, who got tangled up with Trufant in the end zone. When the ball fell to the turf, the UW players spilled onto the field in celebration.
But it didn’t last. The penalty on Trufant gave the Beavers new life, and Rodgers ran in for a 2-yard score to pull OSU within 35-34 before the fateful two-point try.
“I was kind of hoping they went for two,” Kearse said. “I was most confident in our defense; they definitely played great this game. I knew if they went for two, our defense was going to step up to the challenge.”
It marked the Huskies’ second win over a ranked opponent this season, both of them coming in a span of three weeks. UW upset then-No. 19 USC in Los Angeles, but lost momentum from that win when it dropped a home game to unranked Arizona State eight days ago.
The way the Huskies won Saturday night seemed to make up for the ASU loss.
“Anybody can win a blowout game,” UW’s Goodwin said, “but winning a close game like that shows how good we are.”
The Huskies can be really good on some nights, and not so good on others. With a .500 record at the midway point of the season, it’s still too early to tell which team will show up more down the stretch.
“When everyone steps up and does their job, the sky’s the limit for our team,” Dennison said late Saturday night.
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