Photos
Sure, there have been easier wins in Washington football history, but the Huskies’ 31-14 win over Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday was a welcome reprieve from the seemingly endless run of anxiety-filled endings that have become a weekly tradition.
How decisive was it? Utah fans were filing out of their own homecoming game with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter – not a common occurrence for the Utes.
“When I was here, they had some really good teams and usually it was other team’s fans leaving early,” said linebacker Cort Dennison, a Utah native who grew up going to Utes games. “It was a pretty good feeling seeing that.”
So it had to be a little easier for coach Steve Sarkisian seeing his team win comfortably for a change. Right?
“I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle. “With our coaches, you would have thought it was 31-30 on that last series, our guys were so fired up. It feels great, though. That’s a good football team, Utah.”
Good? Yes. Pac-12 good? Maybe not yet.
The conference newcomer fell to 0-2 in league play, largely at the hands of a much-maligned Huskies defense, which manhandled the Utes at the line of the scrimmage and in the open field for much of the game.
“What I’m really proud about is our guys played physical,” said defensive coordinator Nick Holt. “We out-hit them.”
Washington came in giving up 453 yards of total offense and 33.2 points per game, but the Huskies held Utah to 322 yards of total offense and two touchdowns – the last of which was basically a meaningless score with seven seconds remaining in the game.
But there’s more. The Huskies (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-12) forced Utah into five turnovers, two of them when they were backed up inside their own 10-yard line.
They held Utah’s leading rusher John White – who came in averaging 126.7 yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry – to 35 hard-fought yards on 14 carries. As a team, the Utes managed just 17 yards of rushing on 23 carries, for an average of 0.7 yards per carry.
Oh, and the Huskies also knocked Utah starting quarterback Jordan Wynn out of the game with a separated left shoulder, forcing the Utes to plug in reserve Jon Hays.
“The defense won this football game for us tonight without a doubt,” Sarkisian said. “And I wanted them to know that.”
Conversely, the UW offense, which basically carried the team in the first four games, came out unusually sluggish, despite being given a 7-0 lead without having taken a snap.
On the game’s opening kickoff, Garrett Gilliland put a vicious hit on Utah returner Ryan Lacy that knocked the ball loose. The loose ball bounced right in front of Jamaal Kearse. The Lakes grad did the rest, scooping it up and sprinting 17 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw the ball come out and it kind of had a perfect bounce right into me,” he said. “Scoop and score.”
Up 7-0, the Huskies came up with a three-and-out in Utah’s first series. Riding the momentum, Washington drove into position to take a two-score lead. But a failed run attempt on fourth-and-1 at Utah’s 32 ended that prospect.
“You go with who you are and you have to believe in who you are,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t feel good about a field goal right there so we went for it.”
The failure typified a first half in which the Huskies couldn’t seem to find any rhythm on offense. Washington gained a scant 112 yards in the first half with one score – a 44-yard Erik Folk field goal.
Things improved in the third quarter. On their opening drive, the Huskies marched 80 yards on seven plays for a TD. A 49-yard burst by Chris Polk was the big gainer. Quarterback Keith Price later found Kasen Williams for an 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Huskies up 17-7.
That score seemed to calm Price’s nerves. After a Greg Ducre interception put Washington in good field position at the Utah 48, Price hit Jermaine Kearse four plays later with a 23-yard touchdown pass to put the game out of reach.
The win gave Washington a 4-1 record for the first time since 2006 and inspired optimism.
“We know we have a pretty good team,” Price said. “We still have a lot growing. Once we reach our potential. The sky is the limit.”
