This time the Washington Huskies played like a team with nothing to lose except an 11th consecutive game.
In the end, the Huskies endured that school-record 11th consecutive loss. But in front of a half-filled Husky Stadium on Saturday, they pulled out all stops to avoid that fate.
Suddenly, the basic little playbook that had produced only seven points over the previous two games was flung open wide. The Huskies tried end-around passes, direct snaps to a receiver, double-reverses and even a pass to the quarterback. They mixed their defensive looks, as well. And they were aggressive on fourth down.
Not all of it paid off. There were some costly backfires. But at least this time the Huskies traveled a different road to a familiar result: a 39-19 loss to Arizona State.
“We had some swagger in the locker room that I’ve never seen since I’ve been here, and I loved it,” offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. “There was some juice in the locker room. I feel like they felt that they could win. Our whole thing this week was we’ve got to start fast, and that was part of the special plays that we designed was to help us start fast and make something happen.”
The new approach kept the Huskies in the game into the fourth quarter. Washington (0-9 overall, 0-6 Pacific-10 Conference) jumped ahead 3-0 – its first lead since the Oregon State game Oct. 18. UW also led 13-10 in the second quarter and 19-16 late in the third quarter. The game was tied three times and the lead changed hands five times.
However, Arizona State (3-6, 2-4) ran off the final 23 points, and the stadium was nearly empty as the last minutes wound down.
“We’ll take any win after six losses,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “It’s just good to get that feeling back. It’s been a while. … (The Huskies) gave us everything we wanted, obviously. And we were able to do some things in the fourth quarter and win the game.”
However, for a time, the Huskies energized themselves and the crowd with out-of-the-box play calling.
One creative call paid off early in the second quarter at the ASU 6-yard line when quarterback Ronnie Fouch threw a lateral to freshman receiver Cody Bruns, and Bruns passed across the field back to Fouch who caught the first touchdown pass of his career at any level.
However, other aggressive calls blew up in the Huskies’ faces.
ASU took its first lead early in the second quarter when coach Tyrone Willingham decided to go for it on fourth and 1 at the UW 43. Fullback Paul Homer seemed to get the needed yard, but he lost control of the ball and ASU safety Troy Nolan scooped it up and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown that gave the Sun Devils their first lead, 10-3.
“I tried to reach the ball out as I was looking to the side just to get another yard and as I was reaching it out, it fell out,” Homer said. “If Coach is going to rely on me, I just have to get that first down.”
Another gamble went wrong midway through the third quarter with UW ahead, 19-16. The Huskies tried a double reverse on which the ball was finally pitched back to the quarterback. However, one potential receiver botched his assignment and Fouch was nailed for a 12-yard loss. That led to a three-and-out, which led to a punt, which led to ASU taking the lead it never surrendered.
But if the trick plays were inconsistent, the Huskies were helplessly punchless when they stuck to the basics.
Fouch completed 13 of 40 passes with two interceptions. The Huskies managed only 52 rushing yards with an average of 1.9 yards per carry.
“The run game is non-existent right now … and that makes it tough in the red zone,” Lappano said. “It comes down to we didn’t make the plays in the second half to win the football game.”
Arizona State got by with the basics. Senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter completed 22 of 31 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Tailback Keegan Herring came off the bench for an ASU-season-high 144 rushing yards.
The loss kept the Huskies as the nation’s only winless team with three-quarters of the season behind them.
Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
blogs.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
UW game in review
Arizona State 39, Washington 19
Player of the game
Arizona State senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter completed 22 of 33 passes for 218 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“We just had to stay with our plan, stay patient, keep on going,” Carpenter said. “We were going to get our chances to score, which we did.”
Husky of the game
Receiver Cody Bruns caught two passes for 19 yards. He also completed two passes, including a 6-yard touchdown throw to quarterback Ronnie Fouch.
Turning point
Midway through the third quarter, UW had possession and a 19-16 lead. A trick play was ordered in which Bruns took the snap, handed to receiver Jermaine Kearse on a reverse and Kearse flipped the ball back to Fouch who was supposed to throw downfield. However, Fouch’s primary receiver was covered and the secondary receiver didn’t complete his route, forcing Fouch to take a sack for a 12-yard loss. The Huskies couldn’t make up that yardage, and punted to the Sun Devils, who promptly began a run of 23 unanswered points.
“We were trying to do a little reverse pass to D’Andre (Goodwin), but he was covered,” Fouch said. “My outlet was Jermaine down the sideline, but we just had a miscommunication between me and him.”
Happy homecoming
Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson grew up in Everett and spent many afternoons at Husky Stadium. However, this was his first win there as a coach.
“This stadium is someplace I grew up around, and I haven’t been very lucky here,” Erickson said. “So it was nice to win here, but that wasn’t the biggest thing. The big thing is getting a win for our team.”
Injury report
UW’s Ryan Perkins connected on a career-high four field goals, one short of John Anderson’s school record five in the 2002 Apple Cup. Perkins said he will give up the game after this season due to a history of knee troubles. … UW returner/receiver Jordan Polk suffered a concussion, and defensive back Vonzell McDowell Jr. left the game late with an apparent arm injury. No prognosis was available for either player.
Extra points
Terrance Dailey ran for 66 yards. That gives him 240 for the season and moves him past injured quarterback Jake Locker for the UW rushing lead. … Washington entered the game with five sacks on the season and recorded two on ASU’s first drive of the game. … UW linebacker Chris Stevens blocked a punt in the third quarter, the first blocked punt by a Husky this season. … ASU’s Troy Nolan’s 44-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was the first such play by a UW opponent since Arizona’s Wilrey Fontenot did it on Nov. 6, 2004. … UW game captains were Michael Gottlieb, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, Paul Homer and Stevens.
Next
The Huskies close their home season with a visit from former UW coach Rick Neuheisel and UCLA at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. The game will be shown on FSN.
Don Ruiz, The News Tribune
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