Huskies use defense to win Apple Cup
Key defensive stands at the right time help Washington
Seattle Times staff reporter
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In an old rivalry played in a new venue, the Washington Huskies rediscovered their midseason form.
A winning mix of dynamic offense, a big special teams play and some timely defense — yes, defense — allowed the Huskies to take home the Apple Cup for a third consecutive year with a 38-21 victory over Washington State.
The game — the 104th between the two in-state rivals — was played in front of 64,559 at CenturyLink Field, having been moved there to allow for a three-week head start on the renovation of Husky Stadium.
UW jumped out to a 14-0 first-half lead. More impressively, through, after the Cougars tied it late in the second quarter, the Huskies scored less than two minutes later to take the lead for good.
The game was still in doubt early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 31-21, WSU had the ball at its own 47, hoping to again make it a game. On second down, the Cougars called a gadget play, quarterback Marshall Lobbestael handing off to running back Carl Winston, who lateraled back to Lobbestael. UW wasn't fooled, however, and no one was open. Lobbestael let it fly anyway, throwing it deep to Marquess Wilson. Desmond Trufant leapt high and tipped the pass right to teammate Sean Parker, who caught it and returned it to the 31 with 10:18 left.
The play was typical of an inspired effort by the oft-maligned UW defense, which held the Cougars to 382 yards.
Washington then easily drove the length of the field, scoring on a 1-yard run by Chris Polk to take a 38-21 lead and put the game away with 5:23 to play.
UW snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 7-5 overall, and finish Pac-12 play at 5-4. The Huskies will now wait to see who they will play in a bowl game next month, the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29 emerging as a strong possibility with the combination of UW's triumph and Stanford's victory over Notre Dame.
WSU finishes 4-8, its best record in the four-year tenure of Paul Wulff. Wulff, though, fell to 9-40 as WSU's head coach amid much speculation that he might not be back for a fifth season.
The Huskies led 21-14 at the end of another typically Apple Cup rollercoaster first half.
Washington dominated the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead, scoring on a blocked punt by Thomas Tutogi that Jesse Callier caught on the fly and ran into the end zone for a touchdown, and on a 16-yard pass from Keith Price to Kasen Williams.
The blocked punt was the first for a touchdown for UW since the 2006 Apple Cup. Chris Stevens' block and recovery in that game proved huge in an eventual 35-32 UW victory.
The Huskies drove to the WSU 18 early in the second quarter, looking for a score that might have begun to put the Cougars away. But just like last year, when the Huskies led early 14-0, UW let the Cougs back in.
Erik Folk, who missed a critical kick last week at Oregon State, was wide from 37 yards.
The Cougars responded with their best drive of the game, a 12-play, 80-yard march that ended with a 16-yard pass from Lobbestael to Jared Karstetter to make it 14-7. The score came a play after an apparent Lobbestael run for a touchdown was nullified due to a holding penalty.
Washington then went three-and-out, undone by a holding penalty, and the Cougars again drove easily down the field, a 66-yard, eight-play drive in 3:39 concluding in a 16-yard pass from Lobbestael to Marquess Wilson with 2:05 left.
A short kickoff, however, gave UW the ball at its own 39 and just enough time to be aggressive about moving down the field. After UW got a first down at the 39, Price threw to Williams in the flat. Williams, who won the state 4A high jump title last spring at six feet, 10 inches, then put that skill to great use, leaping over WSU cornerback Nolan Washington to get to the 21-yard line.
On the next play, Price rolled out and spotted Williams in between two defenders in the end zone. Williams caught the perfectly threaded pass for a 21-yard score to make it 21-14 UW at the half.
UW had 231 yards in the first half to WSU's 219.
The Huskies again threatened to blow the game open when they scored on a 22-yard pass from Price to Polk, who broke open down the sideline on a wheel route out of the backfield. The touchdown came with 5:56 to play in the third quarter and was the 29th touchdown pass this season for Price to break UW's school record, previously held by Cody Pickett (2002).
But once again, the Cougars struck quickly to continue the drama. Wilson took a short pass and ran 38 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-21 with 4:31 to play in the third.
At the beginning of UW's next series, Price called time out and pulled himself off the field as trainers apparently examined his thumb.
UW went three-and-out on the series with Nick Montana at quarterback, and when WSU got the ball back with 2:52 to play, it again had a chance to tie the game.
But for the third time in the half, the Huskies got a stop when WSU was down just a possession, forcing a three-and-out.
Price then returned and led a short drive that ended in a 46-yard field goal by Folk with 13:16 to play to put UW ahead 31-21.
After each team then punted, WSU had one last chance to make it a game. But Trufant's tip and Parker's catch sent the game Washington's way once and for al
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