Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Huskies suffer historic setback at home

By MOLLY YANITY

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

There was a time not too long ago when the Washington Huskies owned the California Golden Bears. Saturday's 56-17 Cal victory at Husky Stadium showed that those days are further away than just three years might make it seem. Cal simply clobbered the Huskies, who have never given up that many points at home.  The Bears racked up 557 yards of offense. Their quarterback, Joe Ayoob, made the most of his first NCAA Division I start with a 17-for-27 performance good for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Backup tailback Marcus O'Keith rushed for 103 yards with two touchdowns. Cal held the Huskies to 68 rushing yards, returned an interception for a touchdown and forced seven punts.  The Huskies's start was so promising, too.

Darin Harris intercepted Ayoob's first pass attempt on the Bears' first play from scrimmage. Huskies quarterback Isaiah Stanback then hit Sonny Shackelford for a 56-yard touchdown on UW's first offensive play. On Cal's ensuing possession, Washington forced a three-and-out. A spark of hope lit up the afternoon crowd of 57,775.  But the reality that Washington lacks confidence crept in. The notion that the Huskies are outmanned began to be realized. The idea that a better team stood on the other side of the ball was being proved.  Ayoob, who went 0-for-10 last Saturday in relief of the injured Nate Longshore, finally got going and the Huskies secondary was helpless.

After taking the 7-0 lead, the Huskies watched Ayoob hit Robert Jordan for touchdown passes of 9 and 24 yards.  Evan Knudson knocked through a 46-yard field goal to tie his career high and put the Huskies within striking distance at 14-10 with 8:25 left in the first half.  But Washington's defense couldn't stop Ayoob.  He hit Jordan for a 58-yard touchdown to complete a drive that started at the Bears' 6-yard line.  The Huskies then went three-and-out, but punter Sean Douglas was rushed by Thomas DeCoud, couldn't get the punt off and went down at the 14.  Ayoob needed just one play -- a pass to David Gray -- to make the score 28-10, which held until halftime.

"There were some points in the ballgame where we could have gotten back into it, but we couldn't make the plays to get it done. You have to understand those moments. Good football teams do. And you have to make the plays," UW coach Tyrone Willingham said.  The plays the Huskies couldn't make were painfully obvious.  On a third-and-24, Ayoob withstood pressure and shoveled a pass to Marshawn Lynch, who bounced off potential tacklers and got the first down.  Cal was six of 10 on third-down conversions.  "Look very closely at those third-down plays. There were times we could've gotten off the field and we didn't," Willingham said.

"There were times in that first half where if someone would've stepped up and made a play, it could've been different," UW defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "We didn't execute very well." Even though Lynch, Cal's star running back, left the game in the third quarter with a fractured pinky finger on his left hand, the Huskies couldn't stop the Bears' offensive assault.  Marcus O'Keith finished with a game-high 103 rushing yards on just six carries. He had two touchdowns, including a 71-yarder in the fourth quarter. Johnson finished with 192 receiving yards on 11 catches with three touchdowns.

Daymeion Hughes returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown and Cal scored as the game clock expired when Justin Forsett scored on a 35-yard run. The point-after kick was the final play of the game.  Stanback was solid with a 22-for-27 outing good for 301 yards, two touchdowns and the fourth-quarter interception. It was the Huskies' first turnover of the season. Shackelford led Washington with 124 yards on six catches, but the Huskies struggled on the ground. Louis Rankin was the leader with just 38 yards on 13 carries.  Cal has defeated Washington in the teams' last four meetings. That hasn't happened since the Bears won four consecutive times from 1973-76. It also marked Willingham's first-ever loss to Cal. He had been 7-0 against Cal while at Stanford.  Washington has lost eight in a row going back to last season.  "Here's our problem the way I see it. It's not just this loss. This football team has seen a lot of losses," Willingham said. "It's not just losing games, it's the attitude that goes with that. When we break that and start to do the little things that good football teams, that champions do, we'll be over the hump. ... You know when you're there."