Football notebook: turnovers, penalties doom Huskies

Turnovers doom Huskies All season long, the Washington defense had been very effective at limiting teams after the UW’s offense turned the ball over. Entering Friday’s game against UCLA, the Huskies had given up just 10 points off nine turnovers through nine games That all changed Friday night very quickly. After committing zero turnovers in back-to-back wins against California and Colorado, the Huskies fumbled on their opening two possessions Friday night en route to a 41-31 loss in Pasadena, Calif., to UCLA. “Obviously, if you spot a team of that caliber 14 points right off the bat, it makes it hard to battle back,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “[The fumbles] obviously got them some great momentum early in the game and go up 14-0.” The problems started on the UW’s third play, when Keith Price found Austin Seferian-Jenkins on a third down crossing route that would have gone for a first down had Seferian-Jenkins held onto the ball. Instead, he lost control of the ball after getting hit by Jordan Zumwalt, and the Bruins recovered the fumble. UCLA’s Myles Jack scored his first of four touchdowns on the night seven plays later. On the UW’s next drive, it was Bishop Sankey who lost the ball. Sankey picked up 10 yards on his third straight carry of the drive, but fumbled after getting hit by Tahaan Goodman. UCLA freshman Eddie Vanderdoes aught the loose ball in the air, and Brett Hundley threw a touchdown pass to Cassius Marsh six plays later. “I tried to make a guy miss, and I kind of slipped past him, but didn’t really get it high and tight up there,” Sankey said. Two fourth-quarter interceptions brought the UW’s total turnovers to four on the night. The UW did recover two fumbles, but the four turnovers brought the its season turnover margin down to plus-3. Sarkisian said this week he wants his team to finish the season at plus-10 in that category. Penalties kill Huskies — again Stop me if you’ve heard this before: costly penalties that hit early and often cost the UW dearly. This time, the opponent was UCLA, and the flags, they were a-flyin’. Entering the game, the UW was the second-most penalized team in the NCAA, behind only Friday’s opponent. The Huskies were penalized 11 times for 113 yards against the Bruins, with a few of those flags seriously hurting the Huskies. “[The penalties] obviously had an impact on the game, especially a couple of the third down conversions they had on our defense in the first half,” Sarkisian said. “They were a big factor in the game. We have to coach better. That’s not acceptable.” On UCLA’s first offensive drive, UW safety Sean Parker was hit with a pass interference penalty that negated an interception. Then, with UCLA up 20-7 and driving, the Huskies were hit with two 15-yard penalties, a pass interference and a facemask, that kept the Bruins moving downfield on their way to a touchdown. Linebacker Shaq Thompson said he thought the referees were calling the game very tightly. “They weren’t really letting us play football,” Thompson said. “Every play was a flag.” The most costly penalty came when the Huskies were on offense. On a 38-yard touchdown pass from Price to Damore’ea Stringfellow, left guard Dexter Charles was hit with a questionable personal foul penalty that backed the Huskies up to their own 47. They punted on the drive. Stringfellow breaks out Many thought Stringfellow was going to be the natural replacement for the injured Kasen Williams. Stringfellow, who, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, is the biggest option and, in many ways, is a like-for-like fill-in for Williams. But Stringfellow was limited to just one catch over the past two games, and it appeared that Marvin Hall had the inside track on becoming a key piece of the UW offense. However, Friday night, Stringfellow finally made his mark. He caught eight passes for 147 yards and his first career touchdown, a 14-yard slant from Cyler Miles in the fourth quarter. On the touchdown, Stringfellow appeared to have been stopped short of the goal line, but he kept fighting and bulled his way into the end zone. “I think he has a chance to be a star for us,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a big-time weapon, and we see how good he can be in one-on-one settings. We expect him to finish the season really well for us.” In the first half, he had four catches for 87 yards from Price, and would have had more if his 38-yard touchdown reception had not been brought back by a penalty. Then, after Price left with an injury, Stringfellow caught four passes in the second half from Miles for 60 yards. Not bad for a guy who entered the game with three career catches. “I had been getting a lot more reps in practice and coach was getting me involved more in practice,” Stringfellow said. “Coach tells me all the time, ‘Play how you know how to play, and compete,’ and that’s what I’ve been doing.” Miles, who appeared to have a nice rapport with Stringfellow, said he expects the receiver to continue to blossom. “String’s been great in practice,” Miles said. “For him, it was just a matter of getting comfortable and getting reps, and he did an outstanding job tonight.” Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com . Twitter: @drubens12

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