Huskies' bowl hopes take fatal blow at UCLA

Breaking down UW's 24-23 loss to UCLA on Saturday... WHY THEY LOST Because Steve Sarkisian is a terrible coach who needs to be fired, and isn't the answer, and is a rookie, and is making too many mistakes, and hey, how is he any better than Tyrone Willingham, anyway? OK, maybe that's just the message-board version. In reality, the Huskies lost because they forced five turnovers and only converted them into 13 points, and again seemed almost dead-set against scoring when they moved the ball inside the 20-yard line. That happened six times, UW settling for field-goal attempts on four of those occasions, making three and missing one. And they had another series that started inside the UCLA 5-yard line and ended with a field goal after three failed tries to get it into the end zone. So, as much as people want to blame this loss on Sarkisian's play calling, or his decision not to call a timeout after a controversial touchdown catch by UCLA late in the third quarter -- which would have given the replay officials more time to take a look at it -- the simple fact is that the Huskies had their chances and didn't execute. At some point, that's on the players, and there probably aren't a whole lot of guys on the UW sideline who would pin this loss on much of what Sarkisian did. Also, they lost because their pass defense just isn't very good, even against a third-string quarterback who set a school record for interceptions in a season last year. Kevin Prince was dissecting the UW's defense before he had to leave with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Donald Butler - Prince had thrown for 212 yards when he was knocked out of the game late in the first half - and even when Kevin Craft took over for him, the UW secondary still looked just as lost. Craft, much maligned in his UCLA career, threw for 159 yards and a touchdown. That's 371 yards through the air for a team that had lost its first five conference games and had scored fewer touchdowns heading into the game than Washington State. Washington's one turnover was the only one of the game that really ended up mattering. Jake Locker's 40th pass attempt of the game was intercepted by Rahim Moore, a designed pass-play for Jermaine Kearse down the sidelines that Moore interrupted. UCLA ran out the clock after that. BUT GOOD STUFF HAPPENED, TOO Such as Chris Polk's breakout game. The freshman took 15 carries for 132 yards, ripping off a couple of gashing runs that seemed to indicate he was set to have a career-defining day. But he bruised some ribs, had to sit out for a little bit, and the Huskies went away from the run - one more reason why Sarkisian will likely be criticized for a while for losing this one. And Butler had 13 tackles and was all over the place, also knocking Prince out of the game in what looked, at the time, to be a pretty pivotal moment. THAT WAS WEIRD One of the bigger gripes with the coaching, as noted above, is that Sarkisian didn't call a timeout to give the replay booth more time to look over Terrence Austin's 29-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter. Austin laid out, had the ball momentarily, then it appeared to bounce off the turf, up into the air, and into Austin's hands as he rolled over into the end zone. It was ruled a touchdown, and UCLA added the extra point before anyone did anything about it. Whether it would have been overruled is up for debate. It looked like the ball could have touched the ground, but that doesn't mean there was conclusive evidence. Still, UW fans will wonder why Sarkisian didn't call a timeout to at least make sure. SO WHAT NOW? Probably not a bowl game, which is what likely makes this one the hardest of any of their close losses to swallow. They'll have to run the table against Oregon State, Washington State and California now to get to 6-6, and to call that a longshot would be a bit like saying water is wet. What is a sure thing, though, is that Sarkisian will start to take some sustained criticism for this one, some of it deserved. But most of it will likely come from those who are simply frustrated with the fact that UW can't finish games, ignoring the fact that frustration like that is also an indication of a team that's improving.

Just don't tell them that. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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