SEATTLE — Two days later, there were still no easy answers.
Meeting with the media Monday, Tyrone Willingham was unable to pinpoint what has led to the third-quarter woes that have helped lead to Washington’s four-game losing streak.
“It was quite simple, we didn’t make plays in the third quarter, and obviously didn’t make enough in the fourth quarter either” he said. “So those are things that we’ve got to attack and keep bringing forward to our football team, and we’ve got to start making plays.”
Just why they aren’t making those plays isn’t as easy to figure out, Willingham said.
Willingham asked if it was a conditioning issue, and said that it was not. On Saturday, he was asked about halftime adjustments and the team’s mental preparedness. Both then and on Monday, Willingham said he and his coaching staff are still searching for answers.
“I know everybody’s trying to find the pinpoint reason, but please understand, you’re not searching any harder than I am,” Willingham said.
Despite the four-game skid, Willingham said his team’s mental state is still good.
“They’ll be fine,” he said. “This is an important football game (Saturday against Oregon) for anyone that’s a Husky, so I think that understanding should be clear. This is an important football game and I think that our guys understand that.”
Willingham said the fight hasn’t left the team.
“It’s still not perfect, but I think the drive, the desire, the effort is there,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can look at that football team and say they lack the effort, lack the will to try to do things.”
Quarterback Jake Locker agreed that the team is not losing confidence.
“We all understand that we have a good football team and we’re good enough to play with these teams,” he said. “We just need to put four quarters together and give ourselves the best opportunity to win, because we haven’t done that. We’ve made too many mistakes, we killed ourselves too much this weekend to win the game, and I think that’s kind of been the story these last four weeks… I think we have a really confident group.”
Injury update: Wide receiver Quintin Daniels, who left Saturday’s game with what Willingham called a knee sprain, will miss this week’s game and could be out for an extended period of time. Left tackle Ben Ossai, who injured his ankle against Arizona State, is expected to be ready for this week’s game.
The injury picture isn’t as good for Oregon. Mike Bellotti said Monday that receiver Cameron Colvin (ankle) and running back Jeremiah Jonson (knee) are both out for the season after suffering injuries in the Ducks’ win over Washington State. Receiver Brian Paysinger, who hurt his knee earlier this season, is also out for the season.
Depth chart changes: There are a few less “ors” on Washington’s depth chart this week. J.R. Hasty is now listed as the backup behind Louis Rankin, ahead of Brandon Johnson and Curtis Shaw.
Jordan Murchison is also now listed as a backup cornerback behind Roy Lewis, and Darrion Jones, who played briefly against Arizona State, has been added as a backup at defensive end after missing most of the season with an injury.
Players of the week: Louis Rankin (offense), Greyson Gunheim (defense) and Jared Ballman (Special teams) were named Washington’s players of the week. Scout team honors went to Jovon O’Connor (defense) Ronnie Fouch (offense) and Brandon Huppert (special teams).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
