Pickett involved in two key plays

SEATTLE – Washington quarterback Cody Pickett was involved in two huge, momentum-swinging plays Saturday in the Huskies’ 43-23 defeat to USC.

In the first quarter, Pickett threw an interception to USC corner Ronald Dunn, who ran it back 57 yards for a touchdown. The TD gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead, which they would never give up.

The pass seemed particularly ill-advised. Pickett was under pressure, chased by defensive end Kenechi Udeze, who grabbed Pickett as he tried to throw. The ball hung in the air and was grabbed by Nunn, who ran untouched into the end zone.

It was speculated that Pickett was trying to hit tight end Joe Toledo, but that, Pickett said, was incorrect.

“I was about to get sacked,” Pickett said. “I was just trying to throw the ball out of bounds. I had no idea the guy was out there. I got tackled, looked up and the guy was running the other way.”

UW coach Keith Gilbertson said Pickett should have held onto the ball and taken the sack. It would have made it fourth-and-long, but at least Washington would still be in a 7-7 tie.

The other play happened in the third quarter. The Huskies, down 26-17, had recovered a fumble on the Trojans 14-yard line.

But on the next two plays, wideout Reggie Williams was called for holding and Pickett missed tight end Ben Bandel, who was wide-open in the end zone.

On second-and-18, Udeze hit Pickett as he was about to throw. The officials ruled it a fumble, interpreting that Pickett’s arm was going back.

The ball was batted 32 yards behind the line of scrimmage by the time UW tackle Khalif Barnes pounced on it on the Husky 44-yard line. Gone was any possibility of points. Seven would put the Huskies down two points; three would cut the lead to six.

Instead, zero points and a punt by Washington.

“I thought I’d thrown the ball,” Pickett said. “My arm was coming forward. I was throwing a corner route and it might have been a touchdown. I thought it was an incompletion, but what can you do?”

USC drove to the Washington 1-yard line, but couldn’t convert it into a touchdown. Instead, the Trojans settled for a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Killeen for a 29-17 advantage.

Frederick injured: UW wide receiver Charles Frederick was injured Saturday on a kickoff return in the first quarter and spent the rest of the game in street clothes with his arm in a sling.

Early reports indicated that Frederick hurt the A.C. joint in a shoulder and possibly damaged a rib. The extent of the injuries weren’t immediately known, but Gilbertson said he didn’t think Frederick would be available Saturday against Oregon.

Frederick had a school-record 371 all-purpose yards a week ago against Oregon State. Included in those yards were nine catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

Without Frederick, the Huskies struggled on offense. USC blanketed UW receiver Reggie Williams, double-teaming him for most of the rest of the game. None of his nine catches for 115 yards came after halftime.

“They put a corner and a safety on me most of the time,” Williams said. “That made it difficult to get open.”

Williams and Frederick are the only two healthy Washington receivers with any experience. The Huskies tried to replace Frederick with true freshmen Sonny Shackelford, Quintin Daniels and Corey Williams. Of the three, only Shackelford caught a pass, for 12 yards, late in the game.

“You have to go out there and play three freshmen with Reggie Williams, where out of one receiving group, Reggie is the only veteran guy,” Gilbertson said. “We are not a very experienced group in the skill positions. When you lose a guy as valuable as Charles, it really takes a lot out of the offense.”

Much of the burden of covering Williams fell of USC cornerback Will Poole, credited with nine tackles, seven solo and a broken-up pass.

“He did a spectacular job of covering the best guy they have,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “Time and time a gain, he made great plays. He couldn’t wait for the matchup and did just a spectacular job.”

Poole is a senior transfer from Boston College.

Owens honored: Former Husky coach Jim Owens was honored at halftime with a statue of his likeness, which will be placed near Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Washington’s head coach from 1957 to 1974, Owens is credited for bringing Husky football to prominence.

Owens’ Husky teams went to three Rose Bowls. A 44-7 win in 1960 over Wisconsin marked Washington’s first-ever Rose Bowl victory.

His last years at Washington were marked by racial unrest, brought on by alleged “stacking” of black players by position and unfair punishment of a black team member. Owens has denied the allegations.

Now 74, Owens thanked the Husky Stadium crowd, those responsible for the statue and the scholarship fund raised in his name, as well as sculptor Ken Bjorge.

Then he addressed the racial issue.

“To my players, I thank then and apologize for any hurt they may feel,” he said. “I hope today we can heal some of the wounds of the past.”

Short bursts: USC’s 43 points were the third-highest total scored by either team in a USC-Washington game and the most since the Trojans beat UW 44-7 in 1931. The most is 48, when USC beat Washington 48-0 in 1929. … USC’s 565 yards were the highest the Huskies have given up since BYU rolled to 575 on Sept. 9, 1989. … Pickett moved past Stanford’s John Elway to No. 6 on the Pac-10 all-time passing-yardage list. With 274 yards Saturday, Pickett has 9,364 career passing yards. Elway threw for 9,349. Next on the list is Oregon State’s Erik Wilhelm (9,393). … Williams is third in the conference’s career receiving-yards list with 3,265. He passed USC’s Johnny Morton (3,201) and Arizona’s Dennis Northcutt (3,252) Saturday. Williams also moved to sixth in career receptions with 212. … Thanks largely to injuries, Williams had his first career kickoff return and first career punt return in the second quarter. Shelton Sampson and Isaiah Stanback also had their first career kick returns as well. … USC freshman tailback Reggie Bush’s 60-yard TD reception in the third quarter was his first career receiving touchdown. It also was Matt Leinart’s longest career completion. … USC’s Ronald Nunn’s 57-yard interception return for a TD was the Trojans’ fourth such TD this year and the year’s longest for USC. It was the first career interception for Nunn, who also recovered a UW fumble. … UW cornerback Derrick Johnson saw his streak of four games with at least one interception broken, but he did recover a fumble in the third quarter. … USC’s 214 rushing yards were the most Washington has given up this season. The previous high was Ohio State’s 163 in the opener. … Tight end Joe Toledo suffered a high ankle sprain and may be out for the season.