SEATTLE— Jake Locker and the Washington Huskies had their way with the Idaho Vandals’ defense today, as the Huskies scored touchdowns on all three of their first-half possessions en route to a 42-23 victory in Husky Stadium.
Junior quarterback Nate Enderle effectively led Idaho’s offensive attack, throwing for 279 yards on 22-of-33 passing. But the Vandals (1-1, 1-0 WAC) racked up seven penalties for 63 yards in the first quarter alone, including three consecutive flags that killed the opening drive. Once the Vandals reached the red zone, the offense sputtered — three first-half drives inside the 20 resulted only in three Trey Farquhar field goals.
“We had opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize on them,” Enderle said. “If those drives had been touchdowns, we’d have been tied going into halftime (instead of being down by 12). That’s a huge swing. We shot ourselves in the foot.”
Coach Robb Akey was frustrated at the flag-filled first quarter, and was quick to lay the blame squarely at the feet of his squad.
“I’ve never seen so many holding penalties called in one game. It’s not that they were called, it’s the fact that we did it and I’m not happy about it,” Akey said.
The Huskies (1-1), who had lost 15 consecutive games dating back to November 2007, took full advantage of Idaho’s missteps to break the nation’s longest futility streak. On their first three possessions, they scored touchdowns, and out of nine total drives, six ended in the end zone. Locker threw for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17-25 passing, and ran in for a touchdown of his own. Chris Polk rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown, including several huge third-down conversions.
Overall, Washington converted 11 of its 14 third downs and, just to rub it in, a key fourth-down conversion which resulted in the Huskies’ third first-half score. The Vandals managed just 4 of 12 on third-down plays.
“When we give up those kinds of third-down conversions, we lose the game,” Akey said. “Every third down is an opportunity to take their offense off the field and get something going. We didn’t make those plays and the Huskies did.”
As the game’s second half began with the Vandals trailing 21-9, the Huskies’ Curtis Shaw fumbled the kickoff return and Idaho linebacker Korey Toomer grabbed what seemed like a game-changing turnover. The Vandals were suddenly deep in Husky territory and on the verge of bringing the game within a score. But on the drive’s third play, Enderle was picked off by Husky linebacker Mason Foster, and four plays later, Washington had its fourth touchdown.
“I just didn’t see (Foster),” Enderle admitted. “He dropped right in and grabbed the ball. That’s all I can say.”
Max Komar led the Vandals’ receiving corps with 5 catches for 111 yards, and made several big kickoff return plays. He said the offense was able to effectively exploit weaknesses in the Huskies’ secondary, but the inability to finish drives was “a killer.”
“We saw on the film that (Washington) had a really good front seven but a vulnerable secondary, and that’s where we wanted to push,” Komar said.
The Enderle interception may have been the nail in the coffin for Idaho’s comeback hopes, and Komar said the offense has to take the blame.
“We came out excited, the kickoff return team got us a turnover and that’s something you have to take advantage of. You have to be able to score in that situation. We didn’t,” Komar said. “I saw a lot of people with their heads down after that play.”
Backup quarterback Brian Reader came out for the Vandals’ final series, and led an efficient, 92-yard touchdown drive in the game’s waning minutes that saw running back De’Maundray Woolridge punch in from 6 yards out. Reader performed solidly, throwing 4-of-7 for 70 yards. Akey said he was just getting Reader some game time, not auditioning for a potential starting quarterback change.
“We were 26 points down, I just wanted to see what Brian can do because he has to be ready for whatever the need may be. I saw some good things,” Akey said.
Woolridge led the Vandals’ rushing attack and scored both touchdowns. Here, though, “led” is relative — he managed just 41 yards on 7 carries. A frustrated Woolridge said he wasn’t happy with anything but a W.
“I may have put some points on the board, but overall that doesn’t satisfy me at all,” Woolridge said.
The Vandals return to Moscow for their home opener on Sept. 19, when they’ll take on the San Diego State Aztecs in the newly-remodeled Kibbie Dome at 2 p.m.
Tags: Akey's Army, Brian Reader, College football, Idaho Vandals, Jake Locker, Max Komar, Nate Enderle, Robb Akey, WAC, Washington Huskies, Western Athletic Conference
WAC Hoops Power Rankings: Dec. 1, 2009
1 DecAs hoops season heats up, we’ll take this opportunity to begin our weekly Power Rankings of the Western Athletic Conference’s men’s basketball teams. These are, of course, our subjective opinion, so please feel free to agree or disagree at your leisure.
1. Idaho, 4-1 — The Vandals are off to their best start in more than 20 years. There’s more depth than on any other bench in the WAC and newcomers like Steffan Johnson, Luiz Toledo and Jeff Ledbetter have contributed lights-out shooting. Led by Mac Hopson, Idaho has one of the nation’s most efficient offenses, and the defense isn’t far behind. But the season’s toughest tests lie ahead, with a brutal three-game stretch — Big West champ Northridge, #25 Portland and red-hot Washington State. The next week may be the Vandals’ crucible.
2. Nevada, 2-3 — There’s still a lot of questions about the Pack’s depth, but nobody can challenge the talent found in the star pairing of Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson. After taking defending national champion North Carolina right to the wall, Nevada showed it can compete score-for-score with the best teams in America. What remains to be seen, however, is how well Babbitt and Johnson will hold up down the stretch with virtually no bench support. Right now, the Pack can’t afford an off night from either of them.
3. Utah State, 3-2 — For a “rebuilding year” without inside-outside-do-everything superstud Gary Wilkinson, Stew Morrill’s Aggies are starting off reasonably well. Both losses came in close games on the road against quality opponents, and Nate Bendall is growing into the big shoes Wilkinson left. It’s not clear, though, that the Aggies have the firepower to be the unstoppable juggernaut they were last season. Two big home tests against BYU and Saint Mary’s await, and wins there might answer that question in the affirmative.
4. San Jose State, 2-3 — This may be too high, but I like the spunk the Spartans are showing early. They beat previously-undefeated Pacific, hung with Pac-10 favorite Washington and, last night, very nearly upended WCC powerhouse Saint Mary’s. These are long-awaited promising signs for a long-suffering San Jose State team. The question has long been whether coach George Nessman can put together the talented pieces he has on his roster, and this might be the year he finally pulls it off.
5. Louisiana Tech, 5-1 — The win number is gaudy, but as Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal pointed out, those five wins came against teams with a combined six victories of their own. Now, you can only win the games you play, so it’s a little unfair to dock them too much, but racking up big victory margins over terrible opponents doesn’t really tell us that much about how well the Bulldogs will do against a WAC schedule that’s practically bursting with depth and firepower.
6. Boise State, 4-2 — OK, so there’s not many quality wins here either, and Anthony “Guarantee” Thomas seems to be regressing, but Ike Okoye is growing into a certifiable stud in the paint and the Broncos do have some talented newcomers making contributions. A 26-point thrashing at the hands of a very mediocre Wyoming squad, however, says Boise State has a long way to go before it can think about contending for a spot in the conference’s top tier.
7. New Mexico State, 2-3 — Until the Aggies show some semblance of defense, this might be as high as they go. Getting back Troy Gillenwater and Wendell McKines after next week will be huge, but the fact is right now, Marvin Menzies’ crew is giving up 85 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot 46 percent. When you win your gimme game against a D-II school by only 10 points, there’s something very wrong. This evening’s game against UTEP could get ugly.
8. Fresno State, 2-3 — A pair of weak wins to open the season has been followed by three straight weak losses, as the Bulldogs fell to Division I newcomer Seattle and perennial WCC mid-packer Santa Clara. Fresno State’s put together a solid defensive package, but despite their obvious talent on the floor, they’re still the WAC’s lowest-scoring and most inefficient team. There’s a lot of youth so it might take a few games to come together as a team — but that seems to be the excuse for Fresno State every year, doesn’t it?
9. Hawaii, 2-3 — The WAC’s basket case program can’t catch a break, as Dwain Williams, a transfer from Providence and a key piece of Bob Nash’s plan to rebuild the Rainbow Warriors (and save his job), was suspended for two games and is reported to be quite unhappy in Honolulu. They’re producing the second-worst shooting percentage and worst shooting defense in the conference. Unless things turn around quickly, it’s shaping up to be another very long season in paradise.
Tags: Anthony Thomas, Armon Johnson, Boise State Broncos, BYU Cougars, Cal State-Northridge Matadors, college basketball, Dwain Williams, Fresno State Bulldogs, Gary Wilkinson, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Idaho Vandals, Ike Okoye, Jeff Ledbetter, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Luiz Toledo, Luke Babbitt, Mac Hopson, mid-major, Nate Bendall, Nevada Wolf Pack, New Mexico State Aggies, North Carolina Tar Heels, Pacific Tigers, Portland Pilots, Saint Mary's Gaels, San Jose State Spartans, Santa Clara Broncos, Seattle RedHawks, Steffan Johnson, Troy Gillenwater, Utah State Aggies, WAC, Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, Wendell McKines, Western Athletic Conference, Wyoming Cowboys