Emotions were high and Husky stadium was electric, but the Washington Huskies (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) weren't able to pull off the upset against the Oregon Ducks (8-1, 6-0) on Saturday night. The 34-17 loss to the Ducks was the final game for the Huskies at Husky Stadium — at least for awhile until the stadium is fully renovated.
While hope for a Husky victory was in the air going into the half with the Huskies only down 17-10, Oregon quickly brought Washington and its largest crowd of the year (69,407) back to earth in the second half.
In their first drive of the second half, the Ducks methodically drove the ball 90 yards on 12 plays in their first drive ending with a Kenjon Barner touchdown run. On their very next drive, the Ducks drove the ball for 70 yards on 6 plays ending with a nine-yard De'Anthony Thomas touchdown run.
While the Washington Huskies were able to somewhat contain the Ducks in the first half, the Oregon rushing attack was unstoppable. LaMichael James finished the game with 156 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries. Barner added 41 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.
Washington's Keith Price faced a constant pass rush from Oregon's defensive line the entire game. Increased pressure from the defense forced Price into two ill-advised passes that led to two interceptions in the first half. Safety Eddie Pleasant intercepted Price on both occasions. The Ducks capitalized on both first half turnovers by scoring touchdowns with the good field position.
At the end of the second quarter, it looked like Price had finally calmed down. He led the Huskies on a 12 play 49 yard drive, completing a touchdown pass to backup tight end Michael Hartvigson. This pass cut the Ducks lead to seven points, with the Huskies down 17-10 going into the half.
The Ducks defense keyed in on running back Chris Polk the entire, successfully holding him to only 80 yards on 22 carries.
Washington has games left against USC, Oregon St. and Washington St. left on their schedule. While Oregon meets Stanford next week for a game that will decide the Pac-12 North Division championship and also have huge BCS implications.