Quarterback
Jake looked a little rusty out there and his offensive line didn't give him enough time to strike deep. The coaching staff only ran him once in the second half as Washington concentrated on giving the ball to Polk and Callier. Jake was off target and even though he said he was fine you could tell his rib was hurting a bit. So was Jake close to 100%, no way, but he should be in better shape when the Huskies travel to Cal on the 27th.
Grade - C Plus
Running Backs
Polk and Callier were magnificent and could have had even more yards if key plays hadn't been called back by penalties on the offensive line. These two guys have evolved into an elite tandem and expect their play to be the key to potential victories in the last two games of the season. If these guys had a little more blocking in obvious running situations this offense could really do some damage. Grade - A
Receivers
This group is still dropping to many balls and not breaking many tackles for extra yards after the catch. Jake wasn't really on target but these guys need to do better over the last two games. The offensive line could really help these guys out by giving the QB more time to throw and the receivers more time to get down field. The Huskies weren't able to get anything off long against the Bruins. Grade - C Plus
Offensive Line
Lets start with the good stuff. The Huskies won the game and had two running backs go over 100 yards rushing the ball. The bad is too many drive killing penalties, not enough time for Jake to go deep, and the lack of push on critical third down plays that also killed drives. Colin Porter got some serious time tonight in relief of Greg Christine and the line seemed to work better with him in it. Cody Habben could have ended up being the goat in this game. His penalties were big drive stoppers. I will say in his defense that one of the holding calls was pretty questionable. Grade - C
Defensive Line
Washington plugged the middle all night and only gave up one play. Once they settled down after the first quarter they dominated UCLA the rest of the evening. I thought Ta'amu had another strong game. Jamora is going to develop into quite a player before he is through. Tokolahi is continuing to show improvement which is great to see. Grade - A
Linebackers
I thought this group played exceptionally well. Mason Foster is just a beast out there. Foster has 128 tackles on the season with two games left. Cort Dennison always gives you 110% and his pick was one of the turning points of this game. I wish Vic Aiyewa had an extra year. He looks better every week.
"I think Mason embodies all of the things that we want in all of our guys," coach Steve Sarkisian said. "If you watch him play, never once does he look at the scoreboard. It doesn't matter what the score is. It doesn't matter what color uniform the other team's wearing. It doesn't matter what uniform we're wearing. He just plays the next down."
Grade - A
Secondary
This was by far the best game this unit has played as a group since the end of last season. Nate Williams was just hammering people and one of his hits knocked UCLA QB Richard Brehaut out of the game. Quinton Richardson gets the game ball for his best game as a Husky. His interception return for a touchdown sealed the victory. Trufant looked great tonight and almost picked one off. Nate Fellner was also solid an all over the field. UCLA is terrible but this was a confidence builder for a group of players that could really use it! Grade - A
Special Teams
Erik Folk was 1-3 in FG attempts. Tough to explain why Sark decided to try a 58 yarder at the end of the half because it is obviously out of his range.
The regulars returned to the coverage units and this probably was Washington's best game when it comes to covering kicks. Kiel Rasp had another great night punting the ball. Cody Bruns was Washington's designated fair catcher. We really could use Aguilar or better yet Callier back there returning punts. Grade - B
Coaching
I thought Sark called a pretty good game when you consider that Locker was probably playing at about 65% efficiency. Sark said after the game that it was a pretty close call to let him play. Washington came out passing but went more and more with their running backs as the game progressed. You are probably going to win a lot of games when you rush for 253 yards and not so many when you pass for 68. So the Huskies could use a healthier Locker when they face Cal on the 27th.
Nick Holt gets a game ball for making the adjustments necessary to shut down UCLA the entire night after its first quarter TD drive. That drive was actually pretty scary because the Husky defense was getting blocked down the field and it looked like it was going to be a long night. Not sure but the three interceptions may be the most for the Huskies in a single game since the new coaching staff arrived on the scene.
This was a game that could have gone either way in the fourth quarter. Washington was dominating play but they weren't putting points on the scoreboard. You could sense that the first team to make a critical mistake was going to lose this ballgame. UCLA made it when Quinton Richardson intercepted the ball and returned it for a touchdown. Hats off to the defense tonight. They took advantage of what was out there and won the game.
This was a game Washington had to win and they did. Wiping the taste of losing away is always a good thing. Grade - A