PULLMAN – Bishop Sankey didn’t hear many catcalls or insults from Cougars fans Friday. The Washington Huskies running back was too busy trying to fight off Washington State defenders and find yards that weren’t there.
The former Washington State commit and now 1,000 yard rusher for the Huskies ran for 84 yards on 26 carries – breaking his streak of three consecutive games more than 100 yards. And each of those yards were well earned.
“Their defense came ready,” Sankey said. “Tip my hat to them, they came to play.”
Washington State bottled up Sankey, particularly late in the game, never allowing him to be a factor or let the Huskies run out the clock on a second-half lead.
“Credit to Washington State up front, I felt like we’ve played better than we played up front tonight, we weren’t as physical and really firing off the ball as we would have liked to,” UW coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Sankey couldn’t find room to run. He also suffered a minor foot sprain in the game, but said it was nothing serious.
“Just a little thing in my foot, but it was good,” he said.
WIDE RIGHT
Cody Bruns knew the Huskies were in trouble from the start.
When Ryan Masel’s snap bounced to Bruns for the hold on Travis Coons’ game-winning field-goal attempt, everything was off.
“It’s every little bit,” Bruns said.
Coons was 7-for-11 coming into the game, but 2-for-4 from 30-39 yards prior to the 35-yard attempt. He had one game-winner earlier in the year when Washington upset Oregon State on Coons’ 30-yarder with 1:20 left in the game.
His kick wobbled wide right Friday. Though just 35 yards away, the ball barely made it past the uprights.
“I’ve been working with Travis and the kickers for a long time,” Bruns said. “I can feel when they don’t get all of it. That one obviously didn’t feel right. Just kind of tailed off, unfortunately.”
ASJ HURTING
The limp from Austin Seferian-Jenkins couldn’t be missed. It started early in the game and became more pronounced.
The Huskies’ play-making tight end suffered an ankle sprain against Oregon and hasn’t had enough time to let it completely heal.
“He was hobbled a little bit tonight and he’s had a nagging ankle for quite some time,” Sarkisian said.
On his first catch of the game in the first quarter, Seferian-Jenkins tweaked the sore left ankle.
“It has been hurt but that’s no excuse, I still think I’m playing at a pretty high level,” he said.
The Gig Harbor graduate finished with five catches for 38 yards and a touchdown.
todd.dybas@thenewstribune.com ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.