No. 14 Washington stages second-half comeback in 34-10 football win
Seattle, Wash.----- Linebacker Luke La Herran pointed to the opening drive of the second half as the key to the September 7 football game against #14 University of Washington. With a 10-0 lead, San Jose State University was primed to pull off the day
| Spartan Ezekiel Staples, right, jumps into the arms of teammate Oscar Rigg after scoring against Washington Saturday. (AP Photo/John Froschauer) |
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"We came out at halftime expecting to win. The outcome may have been different if we made them go three-and-out in their first drive. That would have been a big momentum turner," said La Herran in a postgame interview.
Instead of forcing the Huskies into a quick punting situation, Washington (1-1) went on its most sustained possession of the game, a 15-play, 80-yard drive ending with a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cody Pickett to wide receiver Wilbur Hooks. Washington’s first score of the game occurred as Pickett eluded a blitzing La Herran and found Hooks in the right front corner of the end zone.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Washington had scored on its next three second-half possessions. The Huskies then put the game out of reach when defensive tackle Terry Johnson intercepted Marcus Arroyo’s pass in the Spartans’ end zone for the game’s final touchdown in a 34-10 victory over San Jose State (1-1) in a non-conference contest.
HILL COMMENTS
"In the second-half, the screws came off the top. I attribute that to our young team and our inexperience," said San Jose State coach Fitz Hill.
"Our defense played very hard. They were running to the ball. I’m proud of them. And, I’m proud of our whole football team," added the Spartan coach whose defense generated three more takeaways on a pair of first-half fumble recoveries and a Gerald Jones fourth-quarter pass interception to prevent a Washington touchdown. "The second half was more of a recruiting deficit than a player deficit."
DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY IN THE FIRST HALF
Coming off a strong opening-game performance in the 33-14 win over Arkansas State, the Spartan defense forced Washington to punt three times and came up with fumble recoveries by Melvin Cook and Brian Foreman – each time deep in Spartan territory in the first half.
Cook’s fumble recovery was the start of San Jose State’s best offensive possession of the game – a 15-play, 85-yard drive culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by walk-on freshman fullback Ezekiel Staples. The big play in the drive was a 35-yard pass from Scott Rislov to tight end Courtney Anderson that put the ball on the 2-yard line.
Though San Jose State held a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Spartans missed out on adding to their lead in the opening 15 minutes. Drives stalled on Washington’s side of the field. Nick Gilliam, who was 2-for-2 in the season opener, missed on field goal tries of 39 and 37 yards, respectively. The 39-yard attempt started with a less-than-perfect center-to-holder snap and exchange followed by Gilliam hesitating through his kick.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
"There’s no excuse, I had the chance and still should have made it," said Gilliam about the first of his two misses. "The second was just a little wide left."
"In the ‘red zone,’ we have to get points. We blew opportunities for 14 points. We can drive the ball. That’s never been a problem, but we’re not cashing in," added Hill.
RISLOV AND ARROYO BOTH SEE ACTION
The Spartan coach took out Rislov and replaced him with senior Marcus Arroyo late in the second quarter. Arroyo directed San Jose State on a 7-play, 44-yard drive that culminated with Gilliam connecting on a 44-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage.
"Number one, I wanted Marcus to play," Hill said. "I said last week that I wanted Scott to play and I felt like it was a chance to put him in (against Arkansas State). With the experience Marcus has, he has played in big games before. I think Scott can play, too, but his inexperience was showing a bit. So, I just wanted to go with the more experienced guy."
TURNAROUND SECOND HALF
The experience of the third quarter was one San Jose State wants to forget soon. Washington received a big break on Pickett’s touchdown pass when the Spartans were penalized on the following kickoff for roughing the passer. The 15-yard penalty led to a short kickoff that pinned San Jose State to its own 7-yard line. Though the Spartans moved the ball out of danger, they put themselves in trouble when an Arroyo pass went through the hands of wide receiver Tuati Wooden and was intercepted by Washington’s Evan Benjamin. Five plays later, Pickett, who passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns, connected with Reggie Williams for the first of two second-half touchdown pass plays to give the Huskies their first lead of the game at 14-10.
Williams and Pickett connected on the longest pass play in Washington history, an 89-yard touchdown with 14:45 left in the game to increase the Spartans’ deficit to 24-10. Williams found a seam in the middle of the San Jose State pass defense at the Husky 20, raced to the sideline and turned up field outdistancing three possible Spartan tacklers the last 40 yards.
"I talked to the offense and said if we go out there and make every play, then we have to go down the field and put it in the end zone. We’ve got to be better down there, make better decisions and take care of the football," said Washington coach Rick Neuheisel about his halftime speech to the Huskies who now have won 15 consecutive home games.
"I asked Coach Neuheisel if we can continue to be on his schedule because that is the level I want to play. That’s why I came to San Jose State and I expect my football program to strive to be a top-25 team. This (Washington) was a top=14 team and I think we’re on track to take this program to where I want. I have great admiration and respect for Coach Neuheisel and his football team," Hill said.