Huskies look better in loss to LSU

There were some mistakes, sure, a few too many to be a winning football team. And in the end, there was a 31-23 LSU victory, and more than a touch of frustration from Washington football players and head coach Steve Sarkisian, again declaring no moral victory to be sufficient after a losing effort. But for the first time in a very long while, there was competitive football played by the home team in Husky Stadium on Saturday night, a close, entertaining game against a nationally ranked opponent on national TV. So in the end, this might have been just about the most encouraging loss in program history, as Sarkisian, attempting to rebuild this team from an 0-12 finish one season ago, put a product on the field that already looks light years ahead of anything the 69,161 in attendance Saturday night saw last season. Sarkisian said last Monday that the goal for the Huskies every week will be to earn their opponent's respect. It's hard to say they didn't do that on Saturday. "I have a feeling they (LSU) respect the Washington Husky football team," Sarkisian said. "With all of that being said, it's not acceptable. We play the game to win and unfortunately, we were in the red zone five times and we settled for four field goals and had a turnover. That's how you can lose." But even in a loss, the Huskies looked like a completely different team than they did under former coach Tyrone Willingham. They scored on the first drive of the game, and 85-yard push that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jake Locker to freshman receiver James Johnson. They gained 479 yards of total offense against a traditionally stout SEC defense. They were 11-for-19 on third down conversions, and a surprisingly revamped defense forced several three-and-outs and made a couple of nice stops that kept UW in the game. "From the hotel until now, everybody played with a lot of confidence," linebacker Mason Foster said. "I thought we should have won, but a loss is a loss and I felt like we improved. We're getting there, but it takes a while to change things." LSU players seemed a little surprised by the challenge UW presented, considering the Tigers came in as 17-point favorites. "We came out and I've got to give props to Washington," LSU tailback Charles Scott said. "They came out and played a hell of a game, they made a stand against us, and they dominated. We just had to fight back, make a few adjustments, and overcome some of the stuff we're not used to seeing." The source of frustration for UW stemmed from two first-half turnovers, the first of which was a tipped Jake Locker pass that LSU linebacker Jacob Cutrera snatched and returned 29 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead. With Washington leading 7-3 and still riding the momentum of its first scoring drive, that interception might have been the game's turning point. "I thought the middle linebacker was going to come on a blitz and they just brought the SAM (strong side linebacker), pushed out on number two (receiver) and I didn't carry my eyes outside," Locker said. "So I just need to be a little better in my progression on that play." Locker was otherwise efficient, completing 25 of 45 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns. He also hit Kavario Middleton from nine yards out as time expired to account for UW's final score. There were chances throughout the second half for the Huskies to keep pace, but LSU made a few too many big plays for UW to overcome. Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Toliver with 5:39 left in the third quarter that gave the Tigers a 24-13 lead. The Huskies didn't respond until Erik Folk hit a field goal with 5:34 left in the game-he'd missed one from 41 yards out on their previous drive-that cut it to 24-16, but LSU went on a game-clinching, 67-yard scoring drive to finally put the Huskies away after a Brandon LaFell touchdown catch with 1:54 to play. Washington's red zone execution was lacking all night. The second crucial Husky error came late in the first quarter, when Chris Polk took a first-and-goal carry from the LSU five yard line and coughed it up. LSU recovered. Polk compensated for the mistake by taking 21 carries for 90 yards. Those two turnovers were more or less the only difference on this night between the suddenly revived Huskies and the No. 11 team in the country. "I think we're really close," Locker said. "It's just a matter of being a little more disciplined, take care of the football, and I think the sky's the limit for this football team."

Huskies look better in loss to LSU

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