You could hear the sigh of relief all over Puget Sound on Saturday night when Ryan Katz's final pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Washington held on to win the game in overtime after blowing an early 21-0 lead. The win helped the Huskies even their record at 3-3, keeping their bowl hopes alive.
The Huskies showed improvement across the board, a level they must sustain going forward. If Jake and this team can stay healthy, the Huskies are very capable of winning five of the next six games.
Next up are the Arizona Wildcats, who struggled in Pullman and lost their starting QB Nick Foles to a knee injury for a few weeks in the process.
The Cats haven't looked that great over the past three games, pulling out a 10-9 squeaker over Cal, followed by a two-point loss to OSU and a less than inspiring performance against WSU.
The Huskies could use a win during this three game stretch against highly ranked teams that features Arizona, Stanford, and Oregon. Arizona is a very winnable road game and the Huskies are catching the Cats at just the right time.
Game Balls
Jake Locker threw five touchdown passes.
Jermaine Kearse caught four touchdown passes.
Chris Polk continues to pick up tough yards after contact on his way to the century mark each week.
Colin Porter was impressive in his first start as a Husky. He reminds me of Chad Ward.
Ryan Tolar had one of the best games of his Husky career. I haven't seen him play with this much fire since Jake was knocked out of a game against....you guessed it...these same Beavers in Corvallis.
Cort Dennison had one of his best games and helped prevent the two point conversion.
The Husky defense intercepted Ryan Katz three times.
Alameda Ta'amu had one of his best games as a Husky. His speed going sideline to sideline was impressive for a man that size.
Young DE's Talia Chrichton and Haouli Jamora had their best games as Huskies pressuring Ryan Katz all night.
Odds and Ends
Talia Crichton suffered a knee injury against OSU and will have an MRI tomorrow. Cross your fingers for Talia because he was playing the best game of his career before he was hurt and the depth is paper thin behind him.
Arizona opens as a 4.5 point favorite over the Huskies.
DT Stephen Nembot verbaled to WSU this weekend. Great pick up by the Cougs.
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster was fired yesterday. The Gophers made a major investment in their program by building a new stadium. Could this be where Mike Leach ends up?
Oregon is ranked number one in the two major polls with Boise State second but in the only poll that matters is the BCS which has Oklahoma as number one followed by Oregon.
Washington picked up one vote in the AP Poll this week.
Florida dropped out of The Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ poll for the first time under the Urban Meyer era.
Pac Ten Power Ratings
1. Oregon... The Ducks are ranked number one in the country for the very first time. Up Next : UCLA
2. Stanford... The Cardinal is the Pac 10's best bet to pick up another BCS Bowl game invitation if they can win out. Up Next : WSU
3. Arizona...WSU gave the Wildcats a lot of trouble and now they have to face Washington without QB Nick Foles. Up Next: Washington
4. Arizona State...How important was last weeks win over Washington by the Sun Devils? Up Next : @ Cal
5. Washington... Huskies even their record at 3-3 as they continue through the meat of the Pac 10 schedule. Up Next : @ Arizona
6. USC... Most impressive game of the season for the Trojans. Troy has two weeks to prepare for the top rated Oregon Ducks. Alert Chip Kelly that this is the definition of a trap game. Up Next : Bye
7. Oregon State... Tough loss in Seattle for the Beavers who definitely miss James Rodgers. Up Next : Bye
8. California...Most folks were betting on the Bears to beat the Trojans. Not so fast...USC led 42-0 at the half! Up Next : ASU
9. UCLA...The Bruins got the week off to prepare for Oregon. What they really could have used was a couple of years. Up Next : @ Oregon
10. WSU...The Cougars are playing competitive football right now. It won't be long till they eliminate some mistakes and beat somebody in the conference. Up Next : @ Stanford