From the outset, it was upset all the way. The Washington Huskies wanted to knock off the previously unbeaten Oregon St. Beavers and that's exactly what they ended up doing. A 10-point lead at the half evaporated after the third quarter, but the now 4-4 Huskies were able to do enough in the fourth quarter to shock the No. 7 team in the country.
And all UW Dawg Pound could do was continue to yell ‘Upset!' It's all they wanted. All they sensed. Upset. Upset. Upset. And they got it.
UW Dawg Pound had to show love to quarterback Keith Price for having his best game of the season, Sean Parker for playing the best game of his career and Steve Sarkisian for his play-calling on offense. The defense pulled down four interceptions and Desmond Trufant continued his great season as a dominant defensive back.
What it all added up to was an ‘Upset!' and the UW Dawg Pound will take it.
The Oregon St. Beavers saw their undefeated streak come to an end on Saturday night at the hands of the Washington Huskies. Sean Mannion returned from knee surgery and looked good at times, although he was relatively ineffective in the second half before being pulled for Cody Vaz. The defense was unable to come away with a big stop late, and when it was all said and done, OSU lost for the first time in 2012.
Here is what SB Nation's Oregon State blog, Building The Dam, took away from the game. They weren't too pleased with how any of the units performed in Seattle.
But (Washington) did out-play, out-hit, out-tackle, and really out-coach their formerly unbeaten and 7th ranked neighbors. And when you win the turnover battle 4-1, as the Huskies did, you don't need to out-rush or out-pass you opponent to win. And Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian's game plan on both sides of the ball was great.
Be sure to check out the full article from Building The Dam. There's some great insight from what was a tough loss for the Beavers.
Fortunately for Oregon State, the season is still far from over. They still control their own destiny in the Pac-12 North, although they'd likely have to win the remainder of their games, including a Nov. 24 showdown with Oregon.
Next up on the schedule is Arizona State. The Sun Devils lost at home this weekend to UCLA in the closing seconds, which extended their losing skid to two games.
No. 7 Oregon State wants to remain perfect on their year. The only thing standing in their way right now is the Washington Huskies. After being down 10-0 at the half, the Beavers began their comeback in the third by tying the game at ten apiece.
Oregon State finally got on the scoreboard with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Sean Mannion completed a 54-yard pass to Brandin Cooks for the touchdown; kicker Trevor Romaine successfully completed the PAT, putting the Beavers within three points of Washington.
Romaine would factor into the scoring again with a field goal about five minutes later, drawing Oregon State even with Washington at 10 points.
Washington has not scored since a Bishop Sankey one-yard rushing touchdown at 4:09 in the second quarter. Huskies quarterback Keith Price is 13-for-22 for 121 yards and one interception. Sankey leads all rushers with 22 carries for 85 yards. Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens leads the team with two receptions for 42 yards.
Oregon State is preparing to face Washington in Seattle on Saturday. Those preparations did not include painting a Beaver logo on the Space Needle, even if it seemed that way.
Former Washington Huskies tight end Rod Jones believes current tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins will end his career as the best in program history. Jones, who is currently an academic adviser at his alma mater, has told Seferian-Jenkins such, according to Bob Condotta.
Said the current UW tight end to Condotta:
"When I was looking into it, I wanted to definitely be one of those tight ends that at the end of my career, whenever that is, to be up there and be the best there ever was here."
With 37 receptions on the year, Seferian-Jenkins is well on his way. He's 11 catches off a single-season record for UW tight ends, a number held by Jerramy Stevens and his 48 catches in 2000. The sophomore has 78 career catches, 17 behind all-time leader Mark Bruener.
Arguably, Seferian-Jenkins is one of the best in the nation. Statistically, he has the edge, leading all NCAA tight ends in receptions this year.
At 6'6 and 266 pounds, Seferian-Jenkins has people on notice, especially Jones, who, according to Condotta, the current tight end called a "father figure."
After a stunning upset of Stanford on September 27 in their Pac-12 opener, Washington has dropped three straight games, and defense has been the downfall of the Huskies. Since holding Stanford to 13 points, Washington has allowed more than 42 points per game, with their most recent outing being a 52-7 spanking in Arizona.
"It was obviously a disappointing game in a lot of areas," says Huskies defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. But the coach, in his first year at UW, shoulders some of the blame. "I've got to do a better job preparing us. Each one of us -- coaches and players -- need to look in the mirror and make sure we're doing everything we can possibly do during the week and on game day to make sure we have our best chance to win."
The 3-4 Huskies will be tested again this week, as No. 7 Oregon State visits CenturyLink Field. Oregon State is 6-0 and boasts the country's 17th-best scoring defense, allowing just over 16 points per game. The Beavers also own the nation's 14th-best passing offense, notching 310.7 yards per game.
Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian said that he feels QB Keith Price needs to trust him more after the team's 52-17 loss to the Arizona Wildcats this past weekend.
