UW Football
Notebook: UW QB quandry may be starting up again

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES Washington quarterback Casey Paus is leveled by a hit from blitzing San Jose State safety Eric Wilson for a 7-yard loss. Paus came in to help rally the Huskies in the second half.

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The Washington quarterback job may be up for grabs again after yesterday's 21-6 win over San Jose State.

Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell started the game but left late in the second quarter after aggravating a groin injury that apparently flared up during practice last week.

Casey Paus, who started the first three games of the season before being replaced by Bonnell, came on to lead the Huskies to two touchdowns in the second half as UW pulled away for its first win of the season.

Washington coach Keith Gilbertson said that he didn't know who will start next week against Oregon State, and needed to evaluate Bonnell's injury before deciding.

Gilbertson said Paus "played well, ran the club well," though neither quarterback did much through the air. The Huskies passed for just 75 yards. Paus finished 5 of 9 for 55 yards. Bonnell, who ran for UW's first touchdown, was 2 of 7 for 75 yards, with two interceptions.

Paus was unhappy when he was benched two weeks ago, but yesterday wouldn't discuss whether he should be the starter now. "I'm just going to keep playing like I've been playing and stay positive," he said.

Bonnell thinks his groin injury will heal in time to practice this week. Practice time is especially critical for Bonnell, who has less experience running the offense as Paus.

"I'll be out there every day doing my all, and then it's up to them (coaches) to see who is going to give us the most productive day next Saturday," Bonnell said.

Center Brad Vanneman, who is a close friend of Paus, said it doesn't matter who the starter is.
 
"They each have very distinct strengths," Vanneman said. "Casey is the master of this offense. He knows everything inside and out. Carl still does not have Casey's level of experience with the offense, but he makes plays with his feet. So they both can help us."

Bonnell said he injured his groin during practice last week, and it worsened as the game went along. He was pulled after throwing his second of two interceptions in the second quarter.

"I could have continued, but it got to the point where as an offense, we weren't getting any production," Bonnell said. "I'm fine. I understand the game of football and I understand what they were thinking. I know I'm going to get back out there."

Gilby defends punt

Gilbertson defended his call to punt the ball on fourth-and-five at the San Jose State 46-yard-line with 16 seconds left. The move, which came with UW leading 7-3, was met with loud boos.

"Obviously that is not going to be a popular decision, but I really don't care," he said.

Gilbertson said he was worried about giving San Jose the ball at midfield and letting them try a deep pass into the end zone. San Jose State had thrown the deep pass well the previous week in beating Rice 70-63.

"With the way San Jose State can throw the ball I was not going to give them any chance at the end of the half," he said. "I just wanted to get out of there with the score as it was. I thought it was the prudent thing to do."

Officials have impact

San Jose killed some scoring opportunities with mixed assignments and critical penalties, but the Spartans also didn't get much help from the referees.

Two apparent fumbles — on the second play from scrimmage and in the third quarter — were overruled by officials, who said the players were down.

"I'm not commenting on officiating," San Jose coach Fitz Hill said. "That's not my job. I can tell you that since I've been at San Jose, a lot of calls go against us. Coach Burns (defensive coordinator Keith Burns) can't believe it. It has been amazing."

Burns later added, "When you're young and trying to learn, you need to get one of those plays."

Notes

• Kenny James' career-high 189 yards were the most rushing for UW since Marques Tuiasosopo had 207 against Stanford in 1999. James was typically humble, but Paus said James "was hitting those holes the best I've ever seen him do it."

• After two punts blocked last week at Stanford, the Huskies unveiled a new punt formation featuring a spread line and extra blockers near the punter. Gilbertson said the impetus for the change wasn't just the blocked kicks, but injuries on special teams, notably Derrick Johnson, who had been the team's best outside cover man.

• Charles Frederick, slowed by a hamstring injury, sat out the first half and played sparingly in the second. Gilbertson said he should be recovered by Saturday.

• Chris Singleton played tailback for the first time since 2002.

• Washington's 99-yard drive in the third quarter was only the second time since 1987 that the Huskies have driven that far for a touchdown. The other time came against Stanford in 1999.

• The Huskies held San Jose State to 22 passing yards, but that's far from a school record. Washington has twice held teams to zero passing yards, most recently against Oregon State in 1991. UW has held opponents under 10 yards passing 11 times.

• Attendance was announced at 65,816, although it's unlikely there were more than 50,000.

• One of the recruits at the game was Johnny DuRocher, the former Oregon quarterback and Bethel High School graduate who is considering transferring to Washington.

Seattle Times staff reporter Bob Sherwin contributed to this notebook.

Still streaking
Texas' streak of consecutive games without being shut out ended yesterday at 281, leaving Washington now second among all Division I-A schools.
School	Streak
Nevada	285*
Washington	270
Michigan	254
Washington State	232
Oregon	224
Florida State	203
Florida	197
Colorado	189
Texas Christian	146
Note: Nevada was NCAA Division I-AA before 1992. * Does not include last night's late game