Huskies half good, half bad

NORMAN, Okla. — In the flatlands of this Southwest town, the Washington Huskies still managed to find something steep — their learning curve.

They've talked long and hard about finishing, about playing four quarters, about making the critical moments go their way — the things that have so often escaped them the last few years.

Yet with a chance to get the kind of program-turning win they are so yearning for, they showed those lessons have yet to completely soak in.

"We can't have lulls in our games where we come out on fire and then kind of fizzle and then kind of turn it on again," said UW linebacker Scott White of Oklahoma's 37-20 win over the Huskies at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. "We've just got to learn how to play four quarters of consistent football."

The Huskies showed they could play two Saturday, holding the No. 15-ranked Sooners to a 13-13 standstill at halftime and making everyone wonder if this would be the turning point for Tyrone Willingham at UW.

But Oklahoma scored the first two times it had the ball in the third quarter to retake control, and the Huskies never recovered.

A few UW players said they came out flat in the second half, though Willingham disputed that.

"I think our guys were focused and knew what we had to do," Willingham said. "But we didn't play the same."

And given one last golden opportunity to make it a game, the Huskies gave it away — another bad trait they have yet to extinguish.

Down 23-13 with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter, White recovered a Chris Stevens-forced fumble by Oklahoma quarterback Paul Thompson at the OU 4-yard line.

But on the first play, UW quarterback Isaiah Stanback fumbled and the Sooners' Demar Pleasant recovered.

"If you cash that in, it's a totally different ball game," Willingham said.

Instead, it turned into more of the same as Oklahoma drove 92 yards for a touchdown that essentially put the game away.

"They did what a good football team does," Willingham said. "They got the mistake and took the ball down the field."

Willingham, though, thought his players also proved they could be a good football team.

"I think they showed themselves against a top 10 team today," he said. "Obviously we are upset and disappointed that we didn't win. But there are some really bright spots about our play."

Indeed, the Huskies outrushed the team that has made rushing the ball famous in its house.

Kenny James took a simple running play up the middle 54 yards for a touchdown on UW's first offensive play of the game, and the Huskies finished with 204 as a team. Oklahoma had 184 — 165 from Heisman Trophy candidate Adrian Peterson.

"For the most part, we held him [Peterson] in check," said White, who led UW with 12 tackles and also picked off a pass. "We wanted to make them beat us with the pass."

Unfortunately for UW, Oklahoma was able to do that as QB Paul Thompson, in only his fifth career start, completed 21 of 33 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, again exposing flaws in Washington's secondary. His second TD, a 35-yarder to Malcom Kelly, put Oklahoma ahead for good at 20-13 early in the third quarter.

"We had a couple of breakdowns," said UW cornerback Dashon Goldson, who was beaten on the 35-yarder to Kelly. "We've just got to come out here and rely on our technique and play the defense that is called. We had a couple of mistakes and guys not focusing really on what they have to do, and we gave up big plays and that's something we can't do."

Stanback's critical third-quarter fumble, meanwhile, was indicative of a day that wasn't his best. A week after rushing for 102 yards against San Jose State, he had just 18 on 12 carries. And when he tried to throw, he often was off-target, hitting just 9 of 22 for 139 yards.

"I'm sure it was a mission for them not to let me get rushing yards," Stanback said. "The times I could have capitalized, I didn't make the right decision."

But Willingham said he has faith that Stanback and the Huskies will bounce back, and will prove that Saturday's first half meant just as much as the second half.

"He told us 'you guys are so close to being considered one of the elite teams in the country and playing at that level,' " said UW guard Stanley Daniels. "We're getting closer and closer every week. As soon as we start having more faith in ourselves and believing what we are being coached to do, we are going to be a very, very good team."

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