We all hoped and prayed that the Oregon nightmare would end last night and once again it didn't happen.
One small piece of solace we all can share is that it wasn't a blow out, we were in the game most of the night, and honestly there simply aren't more than a handful of teams out there that can beat the Ducks this year.
Call out to all the great people we watched the game with at the Westin Villa's Sports Bar in Maui. The Huskies out numbered the Duck fans which made things pretty tolerable. The Duck fans that were there were all nice and pretty fun to watch the game with too!
Lots of Boise State folks in the audience...they were all cheering on the Dawgs!
Quarterback - Three years from now when we try to remember our best Keith Price moment this won't be one of them. He didn't react well to the constant pressure and blitzing...but in his defense who does? He was sacked six times on the evening and hurried the rest which is a direct reflection on an offensive line which was completely over-matched. The two interceptions which powered Oregon in the first half were all on Price who was doing his best Jake Locker imitation by throwing off his back foot which allowed the ball to sail on him. He blamed the mistakes on bad reads...I blame it on pressure, lack of experience, and not getting his feet set. How about that Nick Montana...pretty nice toss for a guy coming in cold off the bench...I would have left him in the game. - Grade C
Running Back - Chris Polk had 24 carries for 80 yards which is about half the production UW needed from him to win the game. He was hit early and hard because his offensive line was incapable of sustaining blocks. He led the team with 6 receptions which is another indication of just how good this kid is. - Grade B Plus
Receivers - The worst performance of the season from these guys. I counted at least four drops including one by a wide open Kevin Smith in the end zone which could have turned around the game. This group didn't do Keith Price any favors with the way they were running their routes. ASJ just disappeared from this game. The Oregon secondary owned these guys the entire evening. - Grade D
Offensive Line - Terrible performance by this unit. The obvious guy that sticks out like a sore thumb is Koehler who was responsible for sack after sack. He is definitely the new Cody Habben. That being said the entire group stunk it up. I guess the only explanation is that we have a bunch of true second year players who still need to mature to be able to take on an elite squad like Oregon. - Grade F
Defensive Line - The Huskies didn't get a sack or get much pressure off the edge. Ta'amu had one tackle for the evening. Not a terrible performance by these guys but they are still not performing as well as we thought they would at the onset of the season. - Grade C
Linebackers - Too many missed tackles by the young guys who are still improving. Cort Dennison was his usual stud like self. He led the team with 10 tackles...this defense will really miss Cort next season. Overall this group did a pretty good job against a great opponent - Grade B Plus
Secondary - This was one of the better games of the year by this group. With the exception of the back breaking Paulson reception these guys did a pretty nice job. Looks like Will Shamburger has taken over the free safety position. Grade B
Special Teams - De Anthony Thomas seems to break a big one every game and he continued that habit against Washington. Coverage wasn't bad when you consider how much faster Oregon is as a team. The return game was a serious disappointment. It is much better to start drives at the forty than the 25. - Grade B Minus
Coaching - Hats off to Coach Holt who put together a plan that was good enough to win the game. His defense continues to improve every week. They weren't perfect but they held the Ducks under 40 points and 400 yards which should have been enough for the win.
Sark didn't have an answer for the Oregon blitz and that was where the game was lost. Like he said after the game it really wasn't a scheme thing...they just got beat up front and he never saw it coming.
Give Chip Kelly and his staff a lot of credit in this one they out coached Sark and that doesn't happen every day.
Grade C Plus