UW gambles, OSU scores on 80-yard TD pass

SEATTLE – If there was a turning point in Saturday’s game at Husky Stadium, it occurred midway through the third quarter with the University of Washington holding to a 17-13 lead.

On a first-down play after a UW punt for a touchback, Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore dropped back to pass. The Huskies were blitzing, but the extra pass rushers were picked up by the Beavers offensive line, giving Moore time to wait for a receiver to come open down the field.

Come open, did he ever.

With two Oregon State players running a crossing route, UW cornerback Roy Lewis got tangled up and knocked down, allowing Beavers wide receiver Sammie Stroughter to be left completely unguarded. After making the reception, Stroughter picked up a block on his way to the sideline and then eluded and outran two other Husky defensive backs on his way to the end zone.

The 80-yard scoring play put OSU on top 20-17, and the visitors tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter of their eventual 27-17 victory.

That play “definitely” was a turning point, said UW linebacker Dan Howell. “They made a big play. They capitalized, and then we didn’t swing back (to regain the momentum). I guess it kind of took the wind out of us.”

Huskies defensive coordinator Kent Baer called for a blitz on the play, “trying to make something happen,” he later explained.

The first problem was that Washington could not get pressure on Moore with the extra pass rushers, which included UW safety C.J. Wallace.

“Then we were in a (man-to-man) coverage and a guy fell down,” Baer said. “He got tripped on a crossing route, he fell down and the guy’s wide open.

“That,” he added, “is the chance you take” when a defense blitzes.

Don’t call it a letdown: Washington players and coaches insisted that the loss had nothing to do with a letdown from the USC loss, saying that that game was in the past and they had moved on from it.

“I don’t think so,” Willingham said. “If that was the case, we probably don’t make some of the plays that put us in the ball game. … We were doing good things, we just weren’t quite sharp enough. But I don’t think it was a USC hangover.”

“USC has nothing to do with this,” offensive guard Stanley Daniels added. “This has nothing to do with the USC game at all. That game has been over and we’ve already played another game. It’s easy for people to speculate. What happened out there was they played better than us.”

Injury update: Besides Isaiah Stanback’s foot, several other Huskies were hurt in the game, though none appear to be serious. Only linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo (stinger) did not return from his injury. Defensive back Dashon Goldson injured his ankle, but not the ankle that had already been sprained, and returned. Cornerback Roy Lewis had a bruised knee, guard Clay Walker injured his elbow, running back Kenny James had a stinger and defensive end Greyson Gunheim bruised his leg.

Can’t break free: Washington offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said one of the biggest problems on offense was his receivers’ inability to break free at the line of scrimmage from the physical play of the Oregon State defensive backs. That hurt Washington’s ability to go deep over the middle, which was a spot he thought the Huskies could exploit OSU.

“Shots over the top of them hurt them,” Lappano said of what he had seen in watching OSU film. “But we didn’t separate very often in order to do that.”

One of the times Washington did get separation was on the first play of the game, when Anthony Russo caught a 56-yard pass from Stanback, but Russo said he was disappointed the play didn’t result in a touchdown.

“It worked, but we didn’t get it in the end zone,” said Russo, who led Washington with four catches for 85 yards. “They were physical. I don’t feel like we were as physical as they were. We should have scored there. I thought that dropped our enthusiasm down.”

Taking the blame: Washington center Juan Garcia said he feels it was the offensive line’s fault that Stanback was injured.

“I told the other guys that might be our fault,” Garcia said. “If we could have just protected him he wouldn’t have had to come out and run. To see him go down like that, it was deflating.”

Garcia said as a whole, the offensive line was thoroughly outplayed, and the numbers would back that up. The Huskies’ quarterback was sacked six times after being sacked just five times coming into the game.

“I know for a fact if the line would have played better we would have beat these guys,” Garcia said. “The line came up short in this game. …If it doesn’t get fixed soon, you have to put other guys in there.”

Wells held out: Starting free safety Jason Wells did not play in the game after getting a concussion – his second of the season – against USC. Goldson started in his place.

Why go for it?: Washington had two situations where it went for it on fourth down when it seemed it may be in field goal range, especially after kicker Michael Braunstein booted a career-high 45-yarder earlier in the game.

Both times, Washington was stopped, the first on a pass from Stanback to Sonny Shackelford on fourth-and-5 from the 33 and the second on a run by Stanback on fourth-and-6 from the 35. So why try to get a first down instead of going for the kick?

“You’re in what I call an in-between sometimes,” Willingham said. “Where the field goal might be a little long and you might not gain that much from the punt. In those situations, I like to keep our offense on the field.”

It’s not unusual that the Huskies would not try for a field goal. Braunstein’s successful kick in the first quarter was the first field goal Washington has attempted at home all year.

He owns Husky Stadium: Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna continued to show that he can handle Husky Stadium’s unpredictable winds. The senior, who won the Lou Groza Award last year, was 2-for-2 on field goals, making him 13-for-13 in the last three seasons in Seattle.

Captains: Washington’s captains were receiver Sonny Shackelford, guard Clay Walker, cornerback Matt Fountaine and defensive back Dashon Goldson.