Run game stalling as Huskies head to South Bend

Oct 2, 2009, 12:00 AM

A struggling offensive line could have Jake Locker running for his life as the Huskies face Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon. But considering the fact that they haven't been able to move the ball on the ground either, Locker might have to save the Huskies' lives by running. That's one thought as to how Washington can get its offense going and improve on its somewhat paltry 108.6 yard per-game rushing average. That's ninth in the Pac-10. Locker, who set a UW record for a quarterback by rushing for 987 yards in 2007, has cut back on that facet of his game since head coach Steve Sarkisian took over and implemented a more pro-style offense. It was a move intended to keep Locker healthy and turn him into a better passer, which has worked so far. Sarkisian, though, has no plans to change that approach now. "I think we would be hitting the panic button today to say Jake needed to have 10 or 12 quarterback runs this week because we can't run the ball," Sarkisian said Monday. "And then the next thing you know, he gets nicked up, and where are we?" Locker, never one to publicly question the status quo, said he doesn't have any problems with it, either. He's taken just 33 carries for 74 yards this year - sacks included - and his rushing attempts have dipped dramatically since he ran the ball 12 times in the opener against LSU. There have been times when it could be argued that Locker made the wrong decision by not taking off, though. He made a throw into double coverage against USC that could have been easily intercepted, even though the entire right side of the field was vacant and he likely could have ran for a touchdown. And against Stanford, he forced a throw into double coverage that was intercepted on the Huskies' first drive and ended up setting a frustrating tone for the rest of the game. Was he more likely to tuck it and run last season? "I think so," Locker said. "But like I said, I think that play gave us an opportunity to score a touchdown, and I don't know if tucking the ball and running would have. But I know the play called did, and I think we had a couple opportunities that we weren't able to convert on." Even if it's not Locker with the ball - and obviously, that's still not likely - the Huskies are going to have to find some answers on the ground if they're going to overcome the challenge of facing the Irish on the road. That was the problem against Stanford last week, when UW gained only 99 yards rushing. Tailback Chris Polk has been effective when he's had room to run, and his tough running style has helped compensate for the lack of space at times. It's an issue that starts with the offensive line. "I think there is a little bit of lack of communication there that takes place," Sarkisian said. "We need to assess from a coaching standpoint what we are doing and how we are doing it. Is it too much for these guys? We'll assess that. But we are better than that, and I know we are better than that, and we just haven't run the ball the last couple of weeks the way I know we are capable of, and that's a huge part of our offense." Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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