Washington proved to the entire country they deserved to play in a bowl game. The Huskies took advantage of a rare re-match against Nebraska, controlling the football with a dominant defense and power run game to win 19-7 in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego Thursday night.
In September, Nebraska embarrassed Washington scoring 56 points and rushing for 385 yards at Husky Stadium. This time around the Huskies defense, led by Senior linebacker Mason Foster who had 12 tackles and two sacks, stuffed the Cornhuskers rushing attack and never let them get into a offensive tempo. Junior tailback Chris Polk ran for 177 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies.
Washington’s defense responded with a physical presence at the line of scrimmage while forcing freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez out of the game late in the third quarter. It was Martinez who ran wild against a much different looking Huskies front line in September.
Locker got what he wanted when he passed on the NFL for a final season in purple and gold, a chance to play in a bowl game. His numbers were not quarterback sexy, but effective as he controlled the ball picking up key first downs with his feet.
Locker ran for 83 yards and a touchdown while completing only five passes, just one better then his four completions in the earlier match-up. One key difference, he did not turn the ball over. Locker caught a pass before he even had a completion.
In the second quarter, he took a helmet to helmet hit while scrambling. It would not keep him out of his last collegiate game. Locker did not complete his first completion until the third quarter. His 25-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
“This is why (Locker) came back,” Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He has a good heart and is a humble young man.”
The victory was Locker’s first bowl game and the Huskies first bowl game since 2002. Since then, the Huskies have gone through three head coaches and endured a 12 lose season just two years ago. By winning, the Huskies accomplished two goals, claimed revenge from a poor early season performance against an elite team and completed a dramatic turn-around finishing with 7 wins, which brings the program back to a competitive level.
Locker, the standout recruit from Ferndale, finished his career at Washington with 7,639 total yards and 53 total touchdowns. With Heisman Trophy runner-up QB Andrew Luck from Stanford deciding to stay in school another year, Locker is projected to be the second quarterback taken in the NFL draft, according to ESPN. It will be interesting to follow his career on whatever team drafts him and see if he can develop into a starting quarterback.
*Additional information obtained from AP. Quote from ESPN post game interview.
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