RECAP: Game Summary - Syracuse at Washington

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Final Score: Washington 41, Syracuse 20

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) – Jake Locker threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns as he guided the Washington Huskies to a 41-20 win over the Syracuse Orange in non-conference action at Husky Stadium.

Locker converted 22-of-33 passing for the Huskies (1-1) as they rebounded from their season-opening loss to BYU last week on the road. Jermaine Kearse reeled in nine passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns, while Chris Polk handled the action on the ground for Washington with his game-high 117 yards on 20 carries, leading to another score as well.

Syracuse (1-1) was paced by quarterback Ryan Nassib who converted 17-of-35 passing for 202 yards and a score and also posted a touchdown on the ground in the road loss.

Nassib began the game’s scoring by capping a six-play, 50-yard drive early in the first quarter with a 28-yard TD run. The Orange extended the lead to 10-0 on a 29-yard field goal by Ross Krautman, but from there Washington scored 27 straight points and pretty much put the game out of reach.

Field goals of 37 and 24 yards by Erik Folk were followed by a five-yard scoring pass from Locker to Kearse to provide the home team with a 13-10 edge at the break.

In the third Locker and Kearse hooked up for touchdown passes of 57 and 28 yards, pushing the advantage to 27-10 for the Huskies.

Early in the fourth frame Krautman broke the Syracuse scoring drought with a 37-yard field goal, but Washington responded quickly thereafter with a 52-yard TD scamper by Polk.

Midway through the final period Nassib managed to connect with Alec Lemon on a 19-yard TD pass, but a mere 30 seconds later Locker and Devin Aguilar matched up for a 14-yard TD pass to put the game out of reach and provide the hometown fans with a 21-point margin of victory.

Washington, which finished the contest 9-of-18 on third down, generated 467 yards of total offense.

Washington Huskies Crush Syracuse Orangemen, 41-20

The Washington Huskies defeated the Syracuse Orangemen 41-20 in Seattle, Washington on Saturday.

Here’s a snapshot look from the Associated Press…

Jermaine Kearse took a short pass 57 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half, one of his career-high three touchdown catches, and Washington raced past Syracuse for a 41-20 victory on Saturday.

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Jake Locker threw for 289 yards and tied his career high with four TD passes, and the Huskies (1-1) showed the expected offensive potency that was missing a week ago in a 23-17 loss at Brigham Young.

Preview: Washington Huskies Take On Syracuse Orange At Husky Stadium

Washington To Honor 1960 And 1961 Rose Bowl Teams

The University of Washington will honor the 1960 and 1961 Husky Rose Bowl teams in a ceremony during today’s game against the Syracuse Orange.

GoHuskies.com has a press release and interview with Husky legend Bob Schloredt.

The 1960 and 1961 Rose Bowl championship teams will be honored as the Husky legends during the Sept. 11 Syracuse game. Perhaps the face of those teams was quarterback/defensive back Bob Schloredt. He epitomized their perseverance, toughness and skill level that helped the Huskies rebound from a 3-7 record in 1958 to consecutive 10-1 campaigns and Rose Bowl wins over highly-favored opponents.

Washington takes the field in their home-opener today at 4 p.m.

Steve Sarkisian 'Still Very Optimistic' Despite UW Loss To BYU

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times writes that University of Wasington head coach Steve Sarkisian is still thinking good thoughts about his football team despite an opening week loss to BYU.

“I still feel very optimistic,” he said. He went on to detail the difficulty of playing at a perennially successful team’s venue and noted the Huskies were still poised to pull it out in the final moments.

“BYU played a perfect ballgame,” he said. “They really didn’t make a mistake.”

Washington Punter Will Mahan Done For Year, To Be Replaced By Kiel Rasp

Earlier we noted that University of Washington punter Will Mahan reportedly tore two knee ligaments.

Mike Baldwin of the Seattle PI confirms that Mahan is done for the season and writes that his replacement will be a fresh face for Huskies fans, junior Kiel Rasp.

Rasp, a local product from Nathan Hale High School, has never played in a game for the Huskies, but Sarkisian was upbeat about his potential.

“He’s got a great leg and he’s been terrific all training camp,” Sarkisian said of Rasp. “The key is just to go in a game and catch the ball on a punt which he hasn’t ever had to do, but sooner or later we all have to go out there and experience it and go do it and he’s given us all of the confidence that he can do that.”

John Berkowitz over at UW Dawg Pound notes that Mahan will be able to redshirt this season and come back next year.

Report: Washington Punter Will Mahan Tore Knee Ligaments

Todd Dybas of the Seattle PI reports on Twitter that University of Wasington punter Will Mahan, who was injured in practice earlier this week, tore multiple knee ligaments and is “done”.

For more on the Huskies, check out SB Nation’s UW Dawg Pound.

Punter Will Mahan, Tailback Johri Fogerson Injured

The injury bug hit UW in practice yesterday, with punter Will Mahan suffering a knee injury and backup tailback Johri Fogerson sitting out with a sore hamstring.

The Seattle Times’ Mason Kelley passes on the practice notes in his story about the UW defense..

Senior punter Will Mahan suffered a left knee sprain during Tuesday’s practice. The injury happened when a teammate rolled into the back of his knee.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why teams should not practice punt protection at full-speed using the starting punter. A scout-team player got to Mahan and took him down on a punt, accidentally injuring him in the process. If the punter is going to get injured, at least have it happen in a game, where the hit will be penalized and it actually matters.

No word yet on how serious Mahan’s injury is, but if he can’t go, walk-on junior Kiel Rasp will take-over against the Orange.

For more on the Huskies, check out SB Nation’s UW Dawg Pound.

NCAA: Washington vs. Syracuse Game Week

After a disappointing loss to BYU, Washington looks to rebound in its home opener against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday at Husky Stadium. Jake Locker looks to get his Heisman hopes back on track against the Orange after a consistent, but not eye-popping, performance against BYU.

Following a promising first half, UW was shut out in the second, allowing Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps to settle in and move the BYU offense. UW had a chance to win the game late, but a fourth-down stop by BYU ended any chance for a comeback.

After struggling on the road again, the Huskies move-on to a very winnable game against Syracuse in the friendly confines of Husky Stadium.

Chris Fetters, of Dawgman.com, passed along an interesting tidbit about the Pac-10 player of the week nominations. Make of it what you will.

The amount of true freshmen was apparent on Saturday. The 2010 recruiting class was loaded for Steve Sarkisian and a record number of them are playing right away. According to Seattle Times reporter Bob Condotta, a school-record 13 freshmen saw action in the opener, with another -- guard Colin Porter -- expected to play against Syracuse.

The first major change for the Huskies will come on special teams. After a series of miscues, Sarkisian will add another return man to the mix on kickoffs. Instead of having a single return man -- Chris Polk -- UW will add a second deep-man in an effort to cut down on miscues in the return game.

Condotta had the report

"We are going with two guys who are going to be back together, so we don't have the opportunities when guys shank kickoffs or mis-kick kickoffs where the one guy back there has to be the one fielding the ball," Sarkisian said. "We'll have two guys back there to hopefully combat that kind of stuff."

Sarkisian said Polk will remain one of the returners, along with a true freshman - either Jesse Callier or possibly Kevin Smith.

In Syracuse, the Huskies will face a program that's improving, but still not on the same level as Washington. In his weekly press conference, Sarkisian laid out what the Huskies expected to see from the Orange on Saturday. Condotta passed along the notes.

Asked about Syracuse, Sarkisian said that "they are an extremely well-coached football team'' and that they are very similar to UW in terms of offensive scheme. "They have a nice mix of two-back and one-back stuff, their play-action is deadly and defensively they are an active, fast-playing football team. They get after the QB. They are immensely improved on both sides of the ball from last year to this year. I was really, really impressed looking at the Akron game.''

UW takes the field against the Orange Saturday at 4 p.m. on FSN.