STANFORD, Calif. – Don’t expect another quarterback change when Washington plays host to San Jose State Saturday.
UW coach Keith Gilbertson said he was happy with Carl Bonnell’s first-ever starting performance in the Huskies’ 27-13 defeat at Stanford Saturday, despite the fact the redshirt freshman was just 9-for-25 passing for 118 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He did make good decisions while running option plays.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Gilbertson said. “He did the things I wanted him to. He ran the option well and he ran out of trouble. At the end of the game, he looked exhausted, so we took him out. He took a couple of shots. I was pleased with how he played.”
Once Bonnell left, with 61/2 minutes remaining in the game, Casey Paus entered and fared well. He was 8-of-14 passing for 91 yards and one touchdown pass, to Sonny Shackelford for 28 yards late in the game. It came at the end of a nine-play, 80-yard drive that took 3:02.
Bonnell took the reins from Paus in the second half of the Huskies’ 38-3 loss at Notre Dame last week. Paus had been struggling most of the season, having completed just 44 percent of his passes.
While Bonnell wasn’t spectacular, he was good enough to merit another start, against the Spartans in Husky Stadium.
“As far as we know, yeah,” Gilbertson said.
Bonnell led the Huskies on a 12-play, 64-yard drive in the second quarter that pulled the UW to a 14-7 deficit. On the drive, Bonnell completed two of three passes for 18 yards. It was the running game that took over, although the offense would never run that efficiently again when the game was still competitive.
“The line was blocking well and the option was working,” Bonnell said. “We were running out of the shotgun and the offense was really clicking.”
He said better days are ahead – better for him and better for the Huskies.
“We have 100-some guys here who expect us to turn it around,” Bonnell said. “We expect to come back to the top of things.”
Dropping the subject: Husky receivers were without starters Charles Frederick (hamstring) and Corey Williams (fracture), which means some young players had to step into the fray.
Shackelford led Washington with five catches for 54 yards and a TD. Tight end Jon Lyon had four receptions for 38 yards, and Quintin Daniels added three catches for 64 yards, including a 45-yarder, the Huskies’ longest play of the day.
Yet, not all was rosy. The receivers dropped 10 passes, six in the first half.
“It’s a huge issue,” Gilbertson said. “It’s been an issue for four weeks. They’re receivers. They’ve got to catch the ball.”
Teevens upset: While the UW coaching staff was heaping praise on a Stanford team that completely dominated, Cardinal coach Buddy Teevens was less than pleased.
“This was the ugliest game I think I’ve ever seen, and unfortunately, I coached in it,” he said.
Teevens was honked about three interceptions thrown by sophomore quarterback Trent Edwards, who otherwise had a fine day with 23-of-35 passing for 211 yards. Edwards had thrown only one interception all season, with seven TD passes.
Teevens also didn’t like J.R. Lemon’s lost fumble near the Husky goal line in the fourth quarter, and the fact Stanford was whistled for eight penalties for 77 yards.
“I think we forced the ball and we haven’t been doing that so far,” Teevens said of the interceptions. “We were a little short on the deep ball early on. The tough thing is turning the ball over in the red zone and not getting those points, but the lesson is learned and we have to regroup against a strong Notre Dame team (Saturday in South Bend, Ind.).”
Edwards said he didn’t feel right, both in the game and in the week’s practices.
“I was impressed with a few of the things we did, but on the whole, we didn’t get the job done,” he said. “I was lethargic all week and didn’t come out with a lot of intensity. My teammates expect more out of me, and hopefully I can get better next week.”
Ref leaves: Referee Gordon Riese had to leave the game in the first quarter with a concussion.
UW safety Dashon Goldson picked off a pass, then tossed the ball to Riese. Riese wasn’t looking and the ball hit him in the left temple area.
He was helped to the sidelines and didn’t return to the game.
Clock follies: Stanford was driving in the second half when Edwards hit Lemon with a 5-yard pass to the Huskies’ 20-yard line. Despite the fact that the Cardinal were out of timeouts, the clock stopped at eight seconds left in the half.
The Huskies protested their lungs out when Stanford, with the clock stopped, hurried into field-goal formation. Officials huddled, however, and rightly ended the half.
Short bursts: Kenny James’ 1-yard TD run in the second quarter was the Huskies’ first touchdown in 107 minutes, since the Huskies scored with seven minutes left in the UCLA game … Strong safety Jimmy Newell was one co-captain Saturday. The Huskies were missing co-captains Zach Tuiasosopo (broken leg) and Charles Frederick (pulled hamstring) … An interested observer on the Husky sideline was former quarterback Cody Pickett, a backup for the San Francisco 49ers … Cornerback Derrick Johnson suffered what appeared to be the only lasting injury for Washington. Johnson pulled a groin muscle on his left side and may be out for several weeks … Safety C.J. Wallace didn’t play the latter stages Saturday because of a concussion … Washington corner Sam Cunningham picked off two passes Saturday. He has three for his career … Stanford snapped a six-game losing streak to Washington. It was the Cardinal’s first victory against the Huskies since 1994 … UW redshirt freshman receiver Craig Chambers saw his first action as a Husky, playing a few snaps in both halves. He did not catch a pass.
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