Polk: 'They didn't beat us'

Oct 6, 2009, 12:00 AM

Count Chris Polk among those who thought the Huskies caught a couple of bad breaks from the officials in Saturday's 37-30 loss to Notre Dame. Polk, who was ruled to have scored a touchdown late in the third quarter before the call was reversed and UW was subsequently stuffed four times at the goal line, said Monday that there was no doubt he crossed the goal line before his knee was down. The UW tailback also said that on Notre Dame's two-point conversion following its touchdown late in regulation, Robert Hughes' knee was down before he broke the plane with the ball. Hughes was ruled to have scored, giving the Irish a three-point lead instead of a one-point lead heading into the Huskies' final possession. Erik Folk ended up kicking a 37-yard field goal to send it to overtime. "Everybody knows if you watch the replays, they know that the two-point conversion that his knee was down and that when I scored, it was a touchdown," Polk said. "They didn't beat us. The refs beat us, in a sense." Well, OK then. For that reason, Polk's not taking the loss as hard as some might imagine. "I'm at peace with it because the nation knows we should have won, and [the Irish] know we should have won," he said. "So as long as they know that, I'm okay with it." Head coach Steve Sarkisian was a little more diplomatic but still said he didn't see any conclusive evidence to overturn Polk's reversed touchdown run. The Seattle Times is reporting that UW athletic director Scott Woodward has asked the Pac-10 to review the game's officiating. LOCKER SPEAKS Jake Locker probably took the loss harder than anyone, declining to speak to the media following the game. He said Monday that he simply didn't think he was in the right emotional state on Saturday to talk to reporters. "I didn't want to have to sit up here today and explain anything [that he may have said after the game]," Locker said. "I felt like it was in my best interest and the team's best interest to take some time to cool down. That's what I thought after the game. ... When you put that much effort into something, it's hard to not get the outcome that you'd like." ODDS AND ENDS As if the UW secondary doesn't have enough problems to deal with already, it's going to be missing one of its starting safeties for the rest of the season. That's because Justin Glenn had surgery to repair a broken fibula suffered in the loss to Notre Dame, and he's out for the season now. Sarkisian said that he was pleased with the way Victor Aiyewa filled in, and that he and Greg Walker will get the bulk of the playing time in Glenn's absence. D'Andre Goodwin and Nate Williams both suffered concussions on Saturday, but Sarkisian said both should be fine. He also thinks E.J. Savannah and Devin Aguilar, who both sat out Saturday, will be ready to go against Arizona. Nick Wood filled in for Gregory Christine at left guard for the better part of the second half against Notre Dame. Sarkisian said that Christine is battling an ankle injury and had a hard time getting his footing in the wet grass. Sarkisian isn't sure who's going to start against Arizona. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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