Quarterback
Jake had a serviceable day but to me he seemed a little off most of the game. The interception to end the game is completely on him. Jake had a few designed running plays but didn't break anything big. You could tell the leg was a little uncomfortable and he didn't have all of his speed. Even without all his speed he was the most mobie QB on the field. Jake had a couple of nice TD throws but he didn't lead his team to enough points in the red zone to win the game.
Grade C plus
Running back
Chris Polk picked up 132 yards on only 15 carries. He had 102 on 7 carries in the first half which makes you wonder why Washington didn't run the ball more. Sark seemed to get pass happy pretty early in this one which we will talk about later. Johri Fogerson saw more action than usual and had four receptions. Getting back to Polk this was a game he should have had 25 or more carries in. If the Washington staff commits to that they end up winning the game.
Grade A minus
Wide Receivers
Jermaine Kearse had the best night of his career with seven catches an two TD's. Devin Aguilar was also his steady self with six receptions. James Johnson had an early drop and wasn't much of a factor but had some nice kickoff returns. D'Andre Goodwin continues to not be factor. Kavario Middleton isn't being used in a way we would really like to see. For some reason the coaches aren't drifting him down the middle.
Grade B Minus
Offensive Line
Another serviceable game from this unit who played well enough to beat UCLA. Ossai and Kelemete did not start the game because they were late for a meeting last week. Ossai actually didn't end up playing much while Kelemete missed a series and played the rest of the way.
B minus
Defensive Line
Cameron Elisara was missed on the inside. Talia Chrichton and Andru Pulu really shouldn't be on the field. Daniel Teo Nesheim was double and triple teamed on the inside and out. Prince and Craft had all day to throw. I counted 12 seconds without pressure on one of Craft's pass plays. The Huskies did a nice job stopping the run but the sacks and pressure weren't there.
Grade F
Linebackers
Butler and Foster had good games but even though EJ Savannah has had a quiet season you do realize that it is a different unit out there when he is missing which doesn't bode well for next season with butler and EJ graduating. Butler knocked Price out of the game with a concussion late in the first half on an unintnetional helmet to helmet blow.
Grad B
Secondary
It wasn't a pretty game for these guys but when QB's are getting over six seconds the throw the ball without feeling pressure your DB's are not going to be able to make up for that. Jason Wells was a little rusty in his return but he had an interception and some thumping tackles. Trufant was picked on most of the night it seemed but he also picked up an interception. Nate Williams was silent again for the most part and i didn't remember seeing Anthony Boyles.
Grade D
Special Teams
Better return game than previous games. A lapse in kick coverage on one kickoff that jumpstarted a UCLA drive. a missed 38 yard FG that could have give Washington the win.
Grade C
Coaching
The first thing Steve Sarkisian needs to do in the off season is give control of playing calling to somebody else because he has looked terrible ever since the Notre Dame game. Clock management? He doesn't seem to have a concept of that. UW was headed for disaster in that area in the last two minutes of the game. Only a Locker interception took that off his hands.
Another big question is why didn't Washington call a timeout so the Austin TD in the third quarter could be reviewed? That was a pretty questionable reception and you have to wonder why the Pac 10 replay officials didn't do it anyway?
Why didn't Washington run the ball more? Your star running back is averaging 8.8 yards per carry and you only give him the ball 15 times? We all could see some adjustments in the second half on UCLA's part but Sark went pass happy early when he should have kept giving it to Polk. A cardinal rule in football is keep running the ball until they can figure out how to stop you. Sark ignored that rule and it was a major contributing factor to this defeat.
Why isn't Jake Locker running the ball more? He wasn't at 100% but when he does runearly it really puts pressure on the defense that opens up more stuff down field. I am a fan of the pro set offense but Sark has failed to really take advantage of what makes Jake special this season.
Play calling in the red zone as usual was questionable. Washington tried on more than one occasion to simply be cute rather than continue powering the ball up the middle which seemed to be a Bruin weakness to take advantage of. UW doesn't seem to have a clue on playing pwer football down close. Once again a potential weapon in Paul Homer is ignored.
On the defensive side of the field you have to wonder why Nick Holt refuses to load up one side of the defense and go after the QB? He did it once last night and it was one the only sack of the game. Nick looks agressive on the sidelines but his defensive play calls are pure Kent Baer. UW needs to take more chances to put an offense on their heals.
Another question is what happened to Darion Jones? Is he injured and I didn't miss it? Crichton and Pulu were seriously overmatched at the ends all night. No way these two should be regulars on the field at this point of their careers.
Youth obviously is a blessing and a problem for this team. 18 of 22 starters were underclassmen yesterday. You can honestly see that the team is making progress compared to the last two seasons but that progress should have included wins over Notre Dame, ASU, and now UCLA. Perhaps youth is a blessing and a problem with this coaching staff too. A steadier hand at the throttles and realistically this team is 6-3 rather than 3-6.
Grade D