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Half: Oregon 14, Washington 10, and coming
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What a change.
Jake Locker opened the second quarter with a pair of 16-yard receptions to Kavario Middleton and D'Andre Goodwin to penetrate deep into Oregon territory. He then had Alvin Logan wide open for a potential touchdown pass but Ducks' defender Walter Thurmond made a last-second stretch to knock it down. It was hard to tell who was at fault, Logan for not coming inside more on his route or Locker for throwing it short and too low trajectory.
The Huskies settled for a 35-yard field goal, down 14-3 with 12:15 left.
That score, in the face of a tough defense and an oppressive crowd, seemed to shift the momentum. On Oregon's next possession, Quinton Richardson intercepted a poorly thrown ball by Justin Roper and the Huskies had the ball on their own 40-yard line.
It was almost all Locker after that, with the help of some good O-line blocking. His receivers continued to drop balls. His running backs couldn't break through the line. So he took personally, scrambling for two first downs with elusive gallops of 17 and 11 yards. He final scamper was for seven yards to the 2-yard line.
The 13-play, 60-yard drive - that lasted 7:13 - ended with a one-yard jam by Paul Homer. Locker accounted for 54 of the 60 yards. He rushed for 35 yards and threw for 19 more.
That was all the scoring by halftime. But now my primary criticism of UW Coach Tyrone Willingham comes into play. He has a history not making effective halftime adjustments. His teams has not responded well, either here or at Notre Dame. If he's going to retain his job, he needs to show strong second halves. We'll see how that plays out.
The other question is how well will Locker hold up? He was hit hard. He's tired and he has to be frustrated with all the dropped balls and vague routes by his receivers. Locker accounted for 103 of the Huskies' 134 yards in the first half.
One element in the Huskies' favor is an undisclosed injury to quarterback Justin Roper. The Ducks may be down to their third-string QB in the second half.
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