UW Football
Huskies' line slows Jackson's action

By Jeannine Befidi
Seattle Times staff reporter

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Washington's Greg Carothers, center, tackles Oregon State's Steven Jackson for a 6-yard loss in the second quarter.
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CORVALLIS, Ore. — Steven Jackson needed only 61 yards last night to become the leading rusher in the nation, based on average yards per game. It seemed like a no-brainer. After all, this was the same Oregon State tailback who hadn't rushed for less than 100 yards a game all season. The same guy whose name has been listed on Heisman watch lists throughout the country.

He made it all look so easy. Until he faced Washington.

Going into last night's game, Jackson was the second-best rusher in the nation — behind Derrick Knight of Boston College — based on actual stats. But on the field, most agree that few running backs come close to his talent.

But an off night and a stifling defensive line can certainly change things. The Huskies found a way to shut Jackson down, limiting him to a season-low 49 yards in the Beavers' 38-17 loss.

"Truthfully, they really got into our offensive line," Jackson said. "Their D-line played really well."

Washington moved defensive tackle Terry Johnson outside to contain the run, while Donny Mateaki became a force inside. Add the aggressive tackling of Greg Carothers, who finished with five tackles, three for a loss, and things broke down fairly quickly for Oregon State.

"We wanted to get a bigger guy on the edge," said Washington coach Keith Gilbertson. "We got Terry on the edge. We were able to get some outside pocket collapse. It worked, and we are excited about it."

Johnson said he was fired up to face Jackson because Jackson refused to shake his hand before the game. As for moving outside, Johnson said he felt comfortable.

"I had a little more space to work out there," he said. "I'm a tackle, but I can play both positions."

The Beavers could not find any effective ways to deal with the Huskies' front seven, so Jackson and the overall offense failed to get much going throughout the night.

"One of the keys going into the game was how we handled their defensive front," said OSU coach Mike Riley. "They were very disruptive."

"In general, we did not handle our one-on-one blocking tonight," Riley said.

"I'm really disappointed that we didn't run the ball better," he added. "They did a good job of basically holding us in check."

Jackson, who now has 926 rushing yards for the season, insists that his performance against the Huskies will not affect his confidence or how he plays in upcoming Pac-10 games.

"It doesn't do anything to my confidence," he said. "I'm too mentally tough for this."

Jeannine Befidi: 206-464-8294 or jbefidi@seattletimes.com

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