Close is not far enough

By Ben Miller

Oct 3, 2005, 12:00 AM

As the Bruins kneeled the final play of the game on Saturday, you couldn't help but think of what could have happened. You couldn't help but think it should have been the Huskies doing the kneeling to run out the end of the game clock. Not the Bruins. Now a statement like that seemed preposterous just two days earlier, as Washington was a 21.5 point underdog to undefeated UCLA. But, after watching that game, it was a game as winnable as any we have seen over the last two years. A few hours before the contest at the Rose Bowl started, I had been watching Arizona State take on a USC team that had seemed utterly unbeatable in their previous three games. However, at halftime the Trojans trailed the Sun Devils 21-3. ASU looked prime for the upset, but in the end Southern Cal pulled out the victory. All good teams win the close ones. Now, even though Arizona State came up on the losing end of the game, a thought crossed my mind. If they could come close to taking down the defending national champions, why couldn't the Huskies beat the Bruins? As the game started, it would seem that my thinking was dead on. By the beginning of the second quarter, the UW was up on UCLA 10-0 and it looked like the fortunes of the program might take an unexpected swing in the upward direction. The Huskies looked anything but intimidated against UCLA. Isaiah Stanback looked poised and confident passing the ball, and Washington even threw in some designed running plays for him. The improvement didn't end there; the defense actually came to play too. There was great pass coverage as Dashon Goldon and the linebacking crew made some spectacular plays on Drew Olson passes, two of which led to interceptions. And perhaps the most welcomed sight of the evening was the play of the UW front four as they put pressure on the quarterback for the first time this year against a team not named Idaho. In the second half, the running game even picked up. Sparked by a 49-yard run by Louis Rankin, the runningback committee of Rankin and Kenny James was getting it done. Everything was working properly for the Huskies. Up until the fourth quarter, the Dawgs were the better team. They just needed to close the deal. After James was stopped short of a touchdown, a sneak by Stanback on the next play put the Huskies 17-7 going into the fourth quarter. It was sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat time, hoping that they could hold on. But just as it had happened against Air Force, the Huskies couldn't end the game. UCLA scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Washington couldn't respond the rest of the half. Then, with 1:08 remaining, Maurice Drew -- the terror from last year's game that they held to only 33 yards this time around -- scored a one-yard touchdown to put the Bruins up 21-17. The Huskies came close to winning their first Pac-10 game in two years and ending the streak of four straight losses by beating UCLA, but coming close isn't what matters. Winning is and the UW couldn't get it done. Just as USC had proved against Arizona State, the Bruins showed Washington, as they kneeled on the last play, that all good teams win the close ones. Once again, the Huskies were close. Once again, they fell short of proving to be the team they say they are. So close.

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