Huskies' Jake Locker feels the heat from OSU pass rush

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Fans who have been clamoring to see Jake Locker run more this season got their wish Saturday, if not in quite the manner they would have preferred.

Washington's junior quarterback spent most of Saturday afternoon scrambling for his life in the face of a relentless Oregon State pass rush that keyed a 48-21 win for the Beavers.

"They were getting off, they were in our backfield, and they were creating havoc," said UW coach Steve Sarkisian.

Locker was sacked four times, tying a season high, and rarely had time to throw, completing just 14 of 23 passes for 153 yards. He had just 62 yards passing through three quarters before leading two scoring drives in the fourth quarter and finishing with three touchdown passes. He also finished with minus-13 yards rushing with the four sacks accounting for minus-32 yards (he gained 19 yards on two runs).

The pressure was most evident early, however, with Locker sacked three times in the first half.

"Some of that stuff is on me," Locker said. "I need to be able to recognize what they are doing and be able to get the ball out quicker than I was."

Washington's coaches made some moves to try to give Locker more time, inserting Ben Ossai — UW's starter at left tackle most of the season — at guard in place of Nick Wood, who weighs roughly 50 pounds less. Sarkisian said OSU's standout defensive tackle Stephen Paea "was just so powerful inside that we felt like we needed a bigger body to try to handle him."

But UW never really got it settled down until the outcome had long been decided.

"The defense, as a whole, got off and played faster than Washington while applying pressure every play," said OSU defensive end Matt LaGrone. "I think we rattled him [Locker] up just a little but he continued to play a good game."

Locker's day got off to a tough start when he threw an interception on UW's second possession when OSU linebacker Keaton Kristick stepped in front of a pass intended for Jermaine Kearse at the Huskies' 17-yard line.

"We got the look we thought we would get all week and the guy made a good play on the ball," Locker said.

Said Sarkisian: "I don't know if Jake made his best throw, but the guy did make a nice play."

Locker was asked later if the prospect of not going to a bowl game this season might make him more apt to return to Washington next year.

"We've still got two games left in the season," he said. "The season is not over and that's something we will sit down and look at after the season is over."

Rodgers' neighborhood

Brothers James and Jacquizz Rodgers proved as hard to defend as advertised.

James, a junior receiver, had two touchdown catches among five receptions and also returned a kickoff 84 yards to set up another score in the third quarter.

Jacquizz, a sophomore running back who stands just 5 feet 7 but weighs 191 pounds, rushed for 159 yards on just 18 carries, scoring twice.

Sarkisian said it was especially frustrating because the Huskies felt that most of the time they knew where the brothers were, they just couldn't contain them.

"We had a relatively pretty good idea of what they were doing and where they were," he said. "Especially with Jacquizz it was kind of like we would stop him, stop him, stop him, stop him and then bang he would snap off a big one."

That was the case on a 42-yard run in the second quarter that set up a TD that made it 20-0 when Jacquizz Rodgers seemed hemmed in in the backfield by UW linebacker Cort Dennison, only to get away.

"I take full responsibility for some of the tackles I missed," said Dennison, who started in place of injured E.J. Savannah. "You've got to go for his legs."

James Rodgers, meanwhile, simply ran past UW cornerback Desmond Trufant at about midfield on his kickoff return before Trufant caught up to him to make the tackle down the sideline.

"I was waiting for a move and he didn't give me one," Trufant said. "He kept going full speed. That's what got me stuck. But I caught him. But he's real fast."

Jones gets his sack

Fifth-year senior defensive end Darrion Jones got the first sack of his career on OSU's first play of the game, hitting and forcing a fumble by Beavers quarterback Sean Canfield. The Beavers recovered, however, as they did when they fumbled two other times in the first half.

Jones said he was happy to get his first sack, though saying he'd rather have a win.

The play was indicative of increased pressure up front early by the UW defense as coordinator Nick Holt unveiled a few new wrinkles to try to get to Canfield. That included more blitzing than in some games, and a look that had just two down linemen with each of the ends in an up position.

"At times we were really good and did some really good things," Holt said.

But the defense seemed to tire. The UW offense couldn't move the ball and kept giving OSU good field position.

"I think they kind of wore out," Sarkisian said of the defense "We didn't help them. I think at halftime we had only ran maybe a little over 20 plays. We weren't keeping them off the field. They [the UW defense] were in horrible field positions they were put into today with the interception, with the shanked punt, with the big kickoff return. Those are not fun positions to be in when you're starting at your own end of the field on defense."

Notes

• Free safety Jason Wells, bothered by a foot injury that limited him in practice this week, didn't play. Sarkisian said Wells could have gone in an emergency but with UW having a bye it was best to give him the extra time off.

• Kearse had two TD receptions and has four in the past two games. But Kearse didn't take much solace in any of that. "We just started off slow, couldn't find our rhythm," he said. "It just wasn't happening for us. It was definitely our team. We didn't come into the game with the right mindset, and that is what killed us."

• Oregon State H-back Joe Halahuni, an Orting High grad, scored two touchdowns against the team he grew up idolizing.

Some academic issues, however, helped lead him to Oregon State.

"Growing up, I dreamed of playing for the Huskies," said the sophomore. "It didn't turn out that way and I'm glad we got a big win today."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com.