Huskies revert to last season's form in disappointing performance

CORVALLIS, Ore. — It felt like 2008 again.

Are you sure Tyrone Willingham wasn't on the sidelines for this shocking shellacking? Or in the stands at Reser Stadium? Or, heck, just watching the game at home on television?

The aura of that old, woe-and-12, give-'em-a-loss-before-kickoff Washington football team resurfaced Saturday. You could smell its nasty stench. The result was pee-YEW disgusting: Oregon State 48, Washington 21.

It wasn't even as close as the score, either.

"That's not who we are," coach Steve Sarkisian insisted afterward. "We've got to find a way to get back to who we are in all phases of the game."

Throughout this gut-wrenching season of reform, the Huskies have been a different team. They've played hard consistently. They've provided exciting games and wild finishes, enough drama to win multiple Emmys.

But for all their progress, the Huskies have a 3-7 record and are currently on a four-game losing streak. Worse, they just played an inexcusably poor game at a time when such performances should be out of their system.

For all they've done right in returning to competitiveness, this humiliation means they must be tagged with the R-word.

Regression.

Progressive season. Regressive effort. The Huskies officially fell out of bowl contention in stupefying fashion.

They should be beyond this kind of showing. Last season, the Huskies lost nine of their 12 games by at least 20 points. Last season, they made solid teams look like juggernauts. This season, they've played with energy and intensity and purpose. This season, they've lost three games at the end and can make a strong case that they should have a 6-4 record, 5-5 at least.

The Huskies didn't get it done, however, and the epitaph on this season will reflect how many opportunities they've fumbled away. Then there's what happened Saturday. How could Washington look so comatose this late in the season? How could this team perform so badly knowing that there was a mathematical chance, if nothing else, of becoming bowl eligible?

The game was lost early. Quarterback Jake Locker threw an interception on the second drive to set up Oregon State's first touchdown. On the next possession, after three ill-fated plays, the Huskies were forced to punt, and Will Mahan shanked it. The mistake resulted in a field goal, which meant the Huskies spotted the Beavers 10 first-quarter points.

It only got worse. The game devolved into a mismatch. Oregon State was too physical, too fast and too solid. Meanwhile, the Huskies made mistake after mistake. The offensive line failed to protect Locker, who failed to adjust and get the ball out quicker. The defense was often in the right position, but the players failed to make tackles or deflect passes.

And that's why the Ghost of Embarrassments Past appeared.

"I have to look at everything we're doing, because the last thing I want is for this to ever happen again," Sarkisian said. "The opponent didn't even really have to play, and they were going to beat us today. We just kind of handed it to them."

The Huskies had an opening to get back into the game late in the second quarter. They'd just scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 20-7, and on the Beavers' ensuing drive, the Huskies forced them into a third-and-10. Sarkisian thought to himself that if his team could get a stop, the Huskies had a couple of timeouts and a real chance to cut the deficit to 20-10 or 20-14 by halftime.

Instead, Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield hit receiver Aaron Nichols for a 19-yard play, and the Beavers scored another touchdown a few plays later. On that third down, safety Nate Fellner was in position to defend the pass, but he couldn't.

"We've got to win our one-on-one battles," defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. "We're there. The quarterback throws it up. Nate Fellner, make the play. Get the ball out."

That's tough love, but Fellner is a true freshman. The Huskies are playing too many freshmen, and that's part of rebuilding. The program won't truly be right until there's enough talent to redshirt those players.

But even with their inexperience, the Huskies are better than what they showed Saturday. They regressed. Now, with the possibility of a bowl game gone, they must find themselves again and close the season properly. If they don't, a bad finish will ruin much of their progress.

"We've got to find a way to get back and get right," Sarkisian said.

Putting 2008-like efforts back in the casket would be a nice start.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com, Twitter: @Jerry_Brewer