LINCOLN, Neb. – It wasn’t difficult for UW coach Steve Sarkisian to find positives in the Huskies’ 51-38 loss to 11th-ranked Nebraska.
For all that went wrong at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the Washington offense was mostly right, putting up 420 yards of total offense.
OK, that third quarter wasn’t exactly efficient – Washington was held scoreless, had a pair of three-and-out possessions and failed to convert on a crucial fourth-and-2 when the game was spinning out of control.
But in the fourth quarter, the Huskies rolled up 21 points as Chris Polk rushed for a touchdown and quarterback Keith Price threw a pair of scores to James Johnson.
“I think we could have easily cashed it in there when the game was out of hand,” Sarkisian said. “I thought our guys competed for four quarters.”
Price was solid in a hostile environment. He completed 21 of 37 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. By comparison, Jake Locker threw for fewer than 150 yards combined in the two games against Nebraska last season.
Price marched the Huskies down the field on the first drive on 4-of-4 passing accuracy, including a 38-yard touchdown to Jermaine Kearse. The two hooked up for a 6-yard scoring strike in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Price clearly laboring and beaten up, connected with Johnson on a 10-yard touchdown pass and then a 52-yard scoring play.
“He really battled and competed,” Sarkisian said of Price. “He’s playing with a knee that isn’t 100 percent and he took a couple good shots.”
Actually, Price had two bad knees. He tweaked his right knee in the third quarter on a pass play where he flipped the ball to Devin Aguilar for a 3-yard gain before getting hit.
“I’m not sure what happened, I think somebody came down on it,” said Price, who added that he will be fine for this week’s game against California.
Price wasn’t perfect, however. He threw a costly interception deep inside Nebraska territory in the first quarter. He underthrew an out route to Austin Seferian-Jenkins that squandered a prime scoring opportunity.
“Bad play by me,” Price said. “(I’ve) got to use Austin better and throw him a higher ball. The ball was too low.”
Polk was also effective despite tweaking his calf a little. He ran for 130 yards on 22 carries including a touchdown. The yards weren’t easy, considering the talent that Nebraska has on the defensive line and at linebacker. And Polk was getting plenty of attention from those defenders.
“They were going for my knee caps or more for my ankles,” he said. “The majority of the tackles came low.”
It was third straight 100-yard game this season for Polk, who has five in a row dating back to last season.
Washington had six players catch passes – led by Johnson, who had six receptions for 108 yards and the two touchdowns.
In three games, Washington is averaging 36 points a game. But against Nebraska, missed opportunities were left out on the field. Price admitted he wanted a few throws back, Aguilar had two costly drops, and the Huskies failed to convert on a key fourth-and-2 in the third quarter.
But with the special teams falling apart and the defense failing to get necessary stops, it was the offense that kept the game from being a 40-point blowout.
“I’m just happy we kept playing and we didn’t give up,” Price said. “We still have a long way to go. … But we’ll get it right, trust me.”
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
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