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College Football - Washington Scores TDs on Its First 5 Possessions, Drops Idaho 42-23

By Ed Bagley

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 06Oct2009 Word count: 728 Viewed: 438 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

It's a funny thing about winners—you never have to announce them, they announce themselves. That is exactly what happened when the University of Washington coaches and players stepped into the sunlight for the first time in 22 months, beating Idaho 42-23 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

For the Husky faithful, it was reminiscent of Perry Como's singing again, "the bluest skies I ever saw were in Seattle."

Rising from the ashes of an 0-12 nightmare season, Washington played the 7th-ranked LSU Tigers tough in their season opener, only to lose 31-23. The 136th-rated Idaho Vandals from Moscow (Idaho, not Russia) caught the wrath of Washington's final exit from nothingness.

With new coaches, a new system and newly rejuvenated players, the Huskies scored touchdowns on their first 5 possessions—minus a fumble on the opening kickoff of the 2nd half.

Junior quarterback Jake Locker, Washington's most talented and versatile player, scored first on a 3-yard run the opening drive. That set the offensive tone for the afternoon as Locker then completed a 24-yard TD pass to talented sophomore tailback Johri Fogerson, a 31-yard TD to freshman sensation wide receiver James Johnson, and a 2-yard TD to sophomore tight end Chris Izbicki.

Washington also scored on a 1-yard run by redshirt freshman and speedy sensation Chris Polk, and another score by Johri Fogerson on a 2-yard run. Yes, the Huskies have some great young talent. The Huskies went 11-for-14 on third down plays.

Locker, who is getting used to being a pocket passer in head coach Steve Sarkisian's offense, went 17-for-25 for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns. Locker completed passes to 9 different receivers. You tell me if Locker is getting the hang of being a future NFL pocket passer.

The ever so sweet victory for the Huskies ended a 15-game losing streak dating to a November victory over California in 2007.

Unfortunately, defensive coordinator Nick Holt almost went hoarse yelling at his defenders to toe the line. Idaho, which is not that good of a team, moved the ball at will against Washington, piling up 412 offensive yards to the Huskies' 374. The Vandals also scored 2 touchdowns, and 3 field goals on stopped drives. If the 3 field goals had been TDs, Washington would have been in serious trouble. It was clear, however, that Washington could score a touchdown for every Idaho score.

Eventually, Sarkisian felt safe enough to put in some reserves, and the Vandals did add their second TD with 13 seconds left. Now that Washington has won again, and appears ready to win again this season, Sarkisian needs to note that his Huskies did win, but did not cover—trust me when I say that boosters notice the failure to cover.

Had "Sark" let his top guys score once more before pulling them, the Husky reserves could have given up the last Vandal TD and Washington—a 21-point favorite—still could have covered.

One defensive gem should not go unnoticed—junior linebacker Mason Foster's interception and 56-yard return that set up Chris Polk's 1-yard scoring plunge to give Washington a 28-9 lead. Senior linebacker E. J. Savannah is leading the team with 19 tackles in 2 games; senior linebacker Donald Butler has 14 tackles.

Steve Sarkisian's world comes full circle Saturday when 3rd-ranked Southern California invades Husky Stadium with their own freshman sensation, QB Matt Barkley, who engineered a last-minute, 14-play, 86-yard TD drive on the road to beat 11th-ranked Ohio State 18-15.

As an official Ohio State critic, it was good to see the Buckeyes drop their 6th straight game to a Top 5 team, including two national championship games as well as a 35-3 romp to USC last year in Los Angeles. You gotta love the Buckeyes—they have risen dropping big games to an art form.

Sarkisian left USC last year as its assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. When he left Southern Cal, he took defensive coordinator Nick Holt with him. USC coach Pete Carroll, Sarkisian's mentor, apparently harbors no ill will.

One thing is for sure—Idaho is no USC, and the Trojans could easily score 7 times against the Husky defense. What might make it interesting is that Sarkisian's offense just might score 7 in return. Let the dawg fight begin. They don't call these new Huskies dawgs for nothing.

(Ed's Note: Any team rankings or ratings in this article are taken from the most recent Coaches' Top 25 Poll and the Sagarin Ratings.)

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