Willingham points to poor execution in Apple Cup loss

Two days later, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham hadn't backed down from his stance that the Apple Cup was there to be had if his players had only been able to take it.

Willingham received heat on talk radio and message boards for his postgame comments appearing to shift the blame of the key play of Saturday's 16-13 double-overtime loss to Washington State — a 48-yard pass reception by WSU's Jared Karstetter in the final minute — to his players.

Monday, at his weekly news conference, he was even more adamant that the play should have been made, saying he and his coaches had gone over the situation with his players before the final drive began.

"You just remind them of the situation — what you have to do and what you need to do," he said. "And obviously we lacked in that area of executing and they made a play that I felt like should have been an easy interception for us and really shouldn't have even been a threat."

Karstetter got behind cornerback Quinton Richardson and safety Tripper Johnson on the play, which set up a tying field goal. WSU then won in the second overtime.

Asked his emotions after the game, Willingham again referred to that play.

"All of my emotions were spent on that long pass play," he said. "That was the one that all of the sudden you see everything almost drop right out of your control at that point. But you still had the ability to win the game at that point, still needed to make a couple of plays to win the ballgame, and didn't."

Willingham was asked why — if he feels the players were in the correct defense and had been taught properly — the performance on the field doesn't follow suit.

He compared it to a parent telling a child not to steal but the child still gets in trouble.

"It's not the message," he said. "It's about them at that particular moment and them having their own desire. The message doesn't change. The message is still right. The message to do things in a two-minute drill or any other situation, yeah, the message is correct."

Willingham, in fact, spent much of the 11-minute news conference on the defense. He also said that while he could second-guess his choice to punt before that final series began, "it may still have been the right decision to do that."

He reiterated that the program is better off now than it was in 2004.

"Only time tells that," he said. "That's the only thing you measure by is time and hopefully there are some things in place that, in time, will show themselves better than written."

He then corrected a reporter for saying that he had made comparisons to 2004 after each of the last two games — he said he was only relaying what players had told him when he said after the Arizona State game that the seniors in 2004 had quit. When it was asked why he would make comparisons to 2004 now, Willingham said, "Is that not a fact?" When the questioner said yes, Willingham quickly interrupted and said "OK. Thank you. That's all."

Pinkel out of picture

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, considered a possible candidate for the UW coaching job, agreed to a new contract with the Tigers.

Pinkel was an assistant at UW from 1979 to 1990 under Don James. Pinkel left UW to become head coach at Toledo, taking over at Missouri in 2001.

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel said he offered congratulations on Sunday while telling Pinkel, "You've made a whole bunch of MU people happy."

"I know it wasn't an easy decision for him because of the Don James connection and the Washington connection," Daniel said. "I'm excited for him to stay here, because I know the program's going to be in great hands the rest of his career."

Notes

• Sources indicated that UW athletic director Scott Woodward is out of town, apparently continuing his search of a new coach.

• Willingham said that kicker Ryan Perkins, who missed two late field goals, "will struggle because he is an intense competitor who wants to win and be successful."

• Willingham said the only significant injury was a high ankle sprain to Mesphin Forrester on the same leg as his earlier knee injury. "But we think he will be all right by the time we get to California," he said.

• Willingham said guard Jordan White-Frisbee, who had to be helped off the field by teammates, was struggling with chronic foot pain.

"He has really been a warrior, someone who has stepped up every week and kept himself in the lineup and probably there are some other guys who have had what he has had and wouldn't have played the last seven weeks."

• Fox Sports Net reported that the game had the highest rating for a televised game this season for UW and WSU, earning an 11.5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.