Washington falls to USC at home
Kaelyn Sayles
Another tough game. Another tough loss.
Saturday, 66,202 came to CenturyLink Field in Seattle to watch the Washington Huskies host the No. 11 USC Trojans.
It was the largest Husky crowd in all six games ever at CenturyLink.
It was also a disappointing 24-14 loss for Washington, their first home loss of the season.
"Frustrating loss to say the least," Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We took the field and we didn't respond good in the first half of the game. When you've got good teams and you go in the locker room (down), it's hard and it makes it hard to win."
At halftime, Washington trailed USC 24-7. Although they came out into the second half with a more urgent mindset, it wasn't enough to come back for the win.
Sarkisian said he was proud of the team in the second half and how they responded, battled and competed.
Coaches and players agree, though, that their intensity in the second half is how they should've started the game.
"We just need to come out and have that same intensity that we had in the second half," wide receiver Cody Bruns said. "That's the mindset that we have to play with game-in and game-out."
Safety Justin Glenn agreed.
Glenn added that they need to get momentum early and ride it through the game.
It's not hard to guess what one of the focuses will be in the next week of practice.
"We just need to find a way to start our engine and play at a high level at the opening kickoff of the ball game and do it with a real sense of urgency and want-to, because when we do that, we're pretty good," Sarkisian said.
Although there were a few moments offensively where the Huskies shone, once again it was the defense that made a statement.
Sarkisian said he thought they did a nice job of minimizing the passing game. He specifically pointed out cornerback Desmond Trufant's coverage of wide receiver Marqise Lee.
Lee, who has caught at least eight passes in the last nine games, was held to two receptions by the Washington defense.
Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox has continued to be happy with Trufant's competitiveness and his inability to get phased by much.
"I wouldn't trade him for anybody out there," Wilcox said.
Trufant came into Saturday's game knowing he was going to need to cover Lee, and he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
"I knew it was going to be a big challenge, but I was up for it," Trufant said.
According to Glenn, the defense as a whole was feeling confident with their ability to stop USC.
And they should have.
The defense was able to hold Lee and wide receiver Robert Woods to a combined seven catches. That's the first time the duo failed to reach double-digits in combined catches. On top of that, both hybrid safety Travis Feeney and defensive end Josh Shirley had turns sacking quarterback Matt Barkley. And not to leave out cornerback Marcus Peters's interception.
"We just kept getting stops and saying, 'you know, let's just get the offense the ball back and see what they can do with it,' and that's all we can do," Glenn said.
It's not the first time this season that the offense has leaned on the defense to make plays.
The Washington offense was held to just one touchdown in the first quarter and one in the third.
USC set the edge well on Washington's perimeter runs, Sarkisian said. So, tailback Bishop Sankey, who had rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games previously, was held to 54 yards.
Then, there's the quarterback.
As usual, Sarkisian had Keith Price's back.
"I thought he fought his tail off. We knew coming in that this was a good defensive front," Sarkisian said. "We got to continue to try to get better around him so he doesn't try too hard to feel like he has to make a play and ultimately leading to some turnovers."
And also as usual, Keith Price was hard on himself, taking the blame for the loss.
"It's a grind for me," Price said. "I'm not having the season that I expected, and it's just unfortunate when I worked so hard. I worked harder than I did last season, and it's just not flowing for me.
That's the most frustrating part, and tonight there were plays when I just tried to do too much and it cost my team, and it cost my team a loss."
After a few fumbles, two interceptions and being sacked five times, it's hard to see the good.
But there was some good.
Price threw 20-28, 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 34 yards. Granted, he actually rushed for 58 yards, but had a loss of 24. He hit Seferian-Jenkins and wide receivers DiAndre Campbell and Kasen Williams with long passes that helped put Washington on the board.
After the game, Price was obviously frustrated with his performance. He wouldn't blame his offensive line. He wouldn't blame anyone, really. Only himself.
No one else on his team or the coaching staff seemed to be blaming him, though.
Rather, they're looking forward, thinking of this as a halftime.
"We left a lot out there," Trufant said.
Trufant believes they just have to finish strong.
Glenn agreed.
"Honestly I feel like our record could be better, it should be, but where we're at right now, we can still get a lot of things accomplished this year and I think guys know that, and we just have to get everybody on the same page and finish out this second half," Glenn said. "We're coming out 3-3, which we'd like it to be better, but it is what it is, so we can only go forward from here."
This post was edited on 10/13 11:09 PM by ksayles
Kaelyn Sayles
Another tough game. Another tough loss.
Saturday, 66,202 came to CenturyLink Field in Seattle to watch the Washington Huskies host the No. 11 USC Trojans.
It was the largest Husky crowd in all six games ever at CenturyLink.
It was also a disappointing 24-14 loss for Washington, their first home loss of the season.
"Frustrating loss to say the least," Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We took the field and we didn't respond good in the first half of the game. When you've got good teams and you go in the locker room (down), it's hard and it makes it hard to win."
At halftime, Washington trailed USC 24-7. Although they came out into the second half with a more urgent mindset, it wasn't enough to come back for the win.
Sarkisian said he was proud of the team in the second half and how they responded, battled and competed.
Coaches and players agree, though, that their intensity in the second half is how they should've started the game.
"We just need to come out and have that same intensity that we had in the second half," wide receiver Cody Bruns said. "That's the mindset that we have to play with game-in and game-out."
Safety Justin Glenn agreed.
Glenn added that they need to get momentum early and ride it through the game.
It's not hard to guess what one of the focuses will be in the next week of practice.
"We just need to find a way to start our engine and play at a high level at the opening kickoff of the ball game and do it with a real sense of urgency and want-to, because when we do that, we're pretty good," Sarkisian said.
Although there were a few moments offensively where the Huskies shone, once again it was the defense that made a statement.
Sarkisian said he thought they did a nice job of minimizing the passing game. He specifically pointed out cornerback Desmond Trufant's coverage of wide receiver Marqise Lee.
Lee, who has caught at least eight passes in the last nine games, was held to two receptions by the Washington defense.
Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox has continued to be happy with Trufant's competitiveness and his inability to get phased by much.
"I wouldn't trade him for anybody out there," Wilcox said.
Trufant came into Saturday's game knowing he was going to need to cover Lee, and he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
"I knew it was going to be a big challenge, but I was up for it," Trufant said.
According to Glenn, the defense as a whole was feeling confident with their ability to stop USC.
And they should have.
The defense was able to hold Lee and wide receiver Robert Woods to a combined seven catches. That's the first time the duo failed to reach double-digits in combined catches. On top of that, both hybrid safety Travis Feeney and defensive end Josh Shirley had turns sacking quarterback Matt Barkley. And not to leave out cornerback Marcus Peters's interception.
"We just kept getting stops and saying, 'you know, let's just get the offense the ball back and see what they can do with it,' and that's all we can do," Glenn said.
It's not the first time this season that the offense has leaned on the defense to make plays.
The Washington offense was held to just one touchdown in the first quarter and one in the third.
USC set the edge well on Washington's perimeter runs, Sarkisian said. So, tailback Bishop Sankey, who had rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games previously, was held to 54 yards.
Then, there's the quarterback.
As usual, Sarkisian had Keith Price's back.
"I thought he fought his tail off. We knew coming in that this was a good defensive front," Sarkisian said. "We got to continue to try to get better around him so he doesn't try too hard to feel like he has to make a play and ultimately leading to some turnovers."
And also as usual, Keith Price was hard on himself, taking the blame for the loss.
"It's a grind for me," Price said. "I'm not having the season that I expected, and it's just unfortunate when I worked so hard. I worked harder than I did last season, and it's just not flowing for me.
That's the most frustrating part, and tonight there were plays when I just tried to do too much and it cost my team, and it cost my team a loss."
After a few fumbles, two interceptions and being sacked five times, it's hard to see the good.
But there was some good.
Price threw 20-28, 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 34 yards. Granted, he actually rushed for 58 yards, but had a loss of 24. He hit Seferian-Jenkins and wide receivers DiAndre Campbell and Kasen Williams with long passes that helped put Washington on the board.
After the game, Price was obviously frustrated with his performance. He wouldn't blame his offensive line. He wouldn't blame anyone, really. Only himself.
No one else on his team or the coaching staff seemed to be blaming him, though.
Rather, they're looking forward, thinking of this as a halftime.
"We left a lot out there," Trufant said.
Trufant believes they just have to finish strong.
Glenn agreed.
"Honestly I feel like our record could be better, it should be, but where we're at right now, we can still get a lot of things accomplished this year and I think guys know that, and we just have to get everybody on the same page and finish out this second half," Glenn said. "We're coming out 3-3, which we'd like it to be better, but it is what it is, so we can only go forward from here."
This post was edited on 10/13 11:09 PM by ksayles
