By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Omare Lowe called it.
Just moments before, Lowe got so close to blocking Hayden Epstein’s field-goal attempt that he felt the ball as it hurtled end-over-end past his arm.
Then he went to special teams coach Bobby Hauck.
“I said to coach Hauck, ‘block right, block right; I can get it,’” the Washington Husky starting cornerback said.
Get it, Lowe did. Has a nasty bruise on his arm to prove it. And after Lowe blocked it, the Huskies’ Roc Alexander picked it up and ran 77 yards for a touchdown. It finally put No. 15 Washington (1-0) ahead to stay, 13-12, en route to a 23-18 non-conference victory over No. 11 Michigan (1-1) before 74,080 fans at Husky Stadium Saturday.
Lowe wasn’t finished. Husky fans have long noticed that these things come in bunches, even when the Huskies’ fortunes don’t look particularly scintillating.
On Michigan’s next series, Lowe intercepted a pass by John Navarre that tailback Chris Perry slightly tipped. Lowe, still winded from a long defensive stand the previous series and his own block, returned the interception 21 yards for a touchdown to give Washington all the cushion it needed with a 20-12 advantage.
In a season-opener that the Huskies showed little inclination to pull out, Lowe was a symbol of their struggle. Beaten time after time by Wolverines wideout Marquise Walker (15 receptions, 159 yards, two touchdowns), Lowe finally got the chance for redemption and took advantage.
So it was with the Huskies. On offense, Washington twice ventured inside the Michigan 7-yard line, but came away with just three points, when John Anderson made and later missed a field-goal attempt.
Michigan’s defense gave Washington’s young offensive line fits all day with a series of confusing blitzes and stunts. The Wolverines held the Huskies’ running game to 69 net yards. It pressured quarterback Cody Pickett, in his first collegiate start, into making throws before he wanted to. Yes, he was 13-for-22 passing for 199 yards, but 74 of those yards came on one play, a third-quarter strike to true freshman Reggie Williams.
However, the silver lining UW coach Rick Neuheisel saw came in the form of what Washington’s offense didn’t do.
Recognizing that his young offense couldn’t afford to try things beyond its means, Neuheisel opted for a rather conservative scheme, one whose most important aspect was to not make mistakes. The aim was to hang close into the fourth quarter, and, as Neuheisel’s mantra says, find a way to win.
It worked. The UW offense had no turnovers and few penalties. Then special teams and defense pulled it out, the 14th time in Neuheisel’s 19 victories as head coach that Washington won after being behind.
“We knew going into the ballgame that we needed to play a very consistent, non-flashy, error-free game,” Neuheisel said. “Michigan made us do exactly that.”
Instead, it was the Wolverines who imploded. Lowe went unblocked when he ruined Epstein’s field goal. Then Navarre threw high to Perry, and Perry could only get a hand on the ball before Lowe picked it off and scored.
Two plays. And they turned a 12-6 Michigan lead to a 20-12 Washington advantage.
“I told the team after the game that it is disappointing to lose a game, but to give the game away is the most disappointing,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Anderson later hit a 30-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining to give Washington its biggest lead at 23-12. Later, working against a prevent defense, Navarre hit Walker with a 20-yard TD pass to close to 23-18 with 49 seconds left.
Washington’s Paul Arnold pounced on Epstein’s onside kick and time ran out on Michigan.
For the first 28 minutes, the offenses largely spun their tires. The Huskies got a pair of field goals by Anderson, while the Wolverines came up with a safety when Walker blocked a Derek McLaughlin punt and the ball skittered through the end zone.
Michigan finally got its offense rolling on its last possession of the half, taking over on the Washington 32-yard line on a fine return by Julius Curry.
In the last two minutes of the half, Navarre teamed up with Walker to pick on Lowe. Navarre hit Walker four times in the drive, the last on a 5-yard TD pass in which Walker faked an inside pattern, then juked outside. He gathered Navarre’s throw on the UW 1, and pranced in for six points, giving the Wolverines a 9-6 halftime advantage.
On their first possession of the second half, the Wolverines used up better than five minutes on a 13-play, 46-yard drive that ended with a 38-yard field goal by Epstein. That gave UM a 12-6 lead.
Washington’s next possession was marked by great promises lost. On the first play of the drive, Pickett hit Williams on a 74-yard pass to the UM 6. But after the Huskies sputtered, Anderson missed a 31-yard field goal.
And so it’s on to No. 1 Miami, which won’t be so forgiving of Washington’s shortcomings, should they resurface in the Orange Bowl.
“I’m sure we will find all kinds of things we can fix,” Neuheisel said. “But I’m really, really proud of the way our coaches coached and the way the team played.”
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