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Washington Huskies vs Oregon State Beavers Football Recap

TIn a college football week filled with upsets, the University of Washington Huskies came out on top of a nail-biting double-overtime shootout against the 24th-ranked Oregon State Beavers, 35-34.

Washington, which has been notorious when it comes to losing close games on many occasions, found an ability to keep it together on defense this time, allowing Coach Steve Sarkisian’s club to come away with the one point victory.

With an opening Husky drive that ended on a Jake Locker fumble, it looked like things were heading back down the dark and winding losing path that has become Husky tradition in the past few seasons.

But … after forcing a quick Beaver three-and-out, Locker completed four of five passes including a connection with Jermaine Kearse for a Husky touchdown and the first lead of the game for UW.

Locker and the Huskies would score again on a short four yard pass to D’andre Goodwin just seven seconds into the second quarter. The Huskies continued to throw the rock, scoring again in the second quarter, off another Kearse connection with 11:41 remaining in the half.

After jumping out to an astonishing 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, things for the Husky offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders; more importantly, the Husky defense seemed to have found a way to eliminate the OSU passing game in the first quarter.  

The Beaver response? Jacquizz Rodgers. 

After sitting patiently with their running game, the Beavers began to adjust accordingly in the second quarter.  Rogers finished the game with 32 carries for 140 yards and three touchdowns against the Huskies. The younger Rodgers brother did everything he could to boost his team to victory at the Montlake, including adding four receptions against the struggling Husky secondary.

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Many questioned the ability for Jacquizz to lead the OSU team with his older brother sidelined a week prior against Arizona with a left knee injury. Doubting this junior running back may have been all the motivation Quizz needed. It looked as though the valiant efforts of the pint sized running back were going to be exactly what the Beavers needed when they tied the game at 21 with 15 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was all about the defenses in this game. Neither seemed to be able to find an answer for the running game, but each did an excellent job creating turnovers and capitalizing on momentum shifts to keep their respective team in the game.

Offensively for the Huskies, the usual parties were at work here: Locker returned to his comfort zone as a dual-threat quarterback, passing for 286 yards and five touchdowns and rushing for sixty yards including several must-have first downs. The Dawgs also looked to sophomore back Chris Polk, who ran for 105 total yards on 25 carries. As for Kearse, he redeemed himself for his performance last week against Arizona State with nine receptions and 146 yards and four touchdowns.

While the Beavers will not be starting their season 3-0 in conference as they had originally anticipated, the Pac-10 is shaping up to be a competition for the taking in 2010.

By Ganelle Swehla
DFN Sports Staff Writer