Washington 35, OSU 34

Postgame Notes

Oregon States Jamil Braithwaite recorded the fifth blocked kick during his career today when he partially blocked UW punter Ryan Flemings second-quarter attempt.

Two Huskies started for the first time in their UW careers today. Redshirt freshman Ken Walker started for Marques Hairston at inside linebacker (Hairston suffered a pinched nerve in his neck this week during practice) and Pat Conniff got his first start at fullback. Todays game marked the first time the Huskies have started a fullback this year.

With his first-quarter touchdown, Husky tight end Chris Juergens has scored three times, placing him into a tie for second on the all-time list for touchdowns by a true freshman. Juergens is tied with Scott Phillips, who had three TDs in 1973, and trails only Paul Skanski, who scored four times in 1979.

Washington tight end Chris Juergens totaled 2 receptions today, giving him a total of 17 on the season and placing him fourth all-time among Husky true freshmen.

Husky true freshman Chris Juergens 13-yd TD reception in the first quarter gave him a total of 250 receiving yards on the year, the fifth-highest all-time total of any Washington true freshman.

Washington flanker Andre DeSaussure today caught 7 passes for 167 yards, both career-highs. That yardage total is the most by a Husky receiver this year, surpassing the previous high of 110 set by tight end Reggie Davis at Arizona State.

Senior Andre DeSaussures 167 receiving yards ranks as the 12th best day in Husky history. Dave Williams set the all-time record with 257 yards vs. UCLA in 1965.

Washington quarterback Brock Huard threw 4 TD passes today to raise his career total to 46. Huard is now tied 18th on the Pac-10s career TD pass list.

Todays game marked the 11th 200-yard passing game in Brock Huards career. He needs one more 200-yard passing game to tie the UW career record of 12 held by Cary Conklin and Sonny Sixkiller.

UW quarterback Brock Huard passed for 260 yards today to raise his career passing total to 4865 yards. Huards older Brother, Damon, owns the UW career passing record with 5692 yards.

Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo rushed for his sixth touchdown this season in todays game. That TD total is the third-highest single-season total of any QB in Husky history. Tuiasosopo ranks only behind Mark Brunell, who rushed for 10 TDs in 1990, and 8 in 1992.

Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopos 41-yard touchdown rush was the longest TD run by a Husky this year. Tuiasosopo broke his own team high of 39 yards set last week in a 21-13 win over California.

OSU receiver Ronnie Tompkins 90-yard fourth-quarter touchdown catch was the third longest in Beaver history, behind only Reggie Bynum, who caught passes of 93 and 92 yards in 1983. The pass touchdown play is the second longest pass play against UW in school history. The only one longer was J.J. Stokes reception from Wayne Cook in 1993 that went 95 yards.

OSU slotback Greg Ainsworths 80-yd TD reception tied the fourth-longest touchdown catch in Beaver history.

Beaver quarterback Jonathan Smith connected with Ronnie Tompkins for a 90-yd touchdown, the second-longest pass reception allowed by the Huskies in their 109-year history, and the longest since UCLAs J.J. Stokes pulled in a 95-yard TD pass in 1993. Greg Ainsworths 80-yd TD reception in the third quarter was the fourth-longest ever allowed by the Huskies.

OSU quarterback Jonathan Smith passed for a total of 469 yards, the most ever by a Husky opponent. The previous mark of 389 was set in 1993 by Californias Pat Barnes in a 31-19 loss to the Huskies.

Husky cornerback Omare Lowe recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter, the third for the Huskies this season.

Oregon State had three receivers with over 100 yards each, the first time it has happened in school history. In fact, no Husky opponent has had two receivers with over 100 yards each in a single game in school history.

The 210 yards (9 catches) receiving by Roddy Thompkins is the most by any Husky opponent in a game in school history.

Postgame Quotes

Washington head coach Jim Lambright

General Remarks: "I told our team that 30 years from now, it will just be a win. The really good thing that happened out there today was that we had enough players that found ways to win. When it came right down to it Nigel Burton knocked the ball down and we won the game. You have to give so much credit to Oregon State but you also congratulate your own team. We came right out with a H reverse and Tuiasosopo's touchdown and Brock throwing for touchdowns and the defense blocking a field goal. Even when we made and made a mistake and were backed up for a long PAT it didn't make any difference because Jarzynka put it through anyway. It was important we come out and start the second half a lot better than we did a week ago and we did that. It was a great effort by Oregon State and they are bringing the program along."

On the Running Game: " One of the commitments this week was to go out and practice more on the running game, which we did, we have to go out and do that much more this coming week. It was a little bit better to begin with, we got more push. We have to come up with more ways to run the ball. We're just trying to keep improving."

On Joe Jarzynka's Fake Field Goal: "It's one of the fun things about having an athlete like that at the kicker position, we're not going to get rushed quit the same next week because if they do we'll take advantage of it."

On OSU's Passing Success: "There game plan was good. They blocked us much better and got rid of the ball real fast. They had time to throw, we couldn't get to the quarterback in time. I'm disappointed that we didn't play better defensively."

On Tim Alexander: "I'm going to be glad when he's gone. He's had such a great career against us. He's such a fantastic running athlete and we've learned the past couple years that he catches the ball well also. He has a way of showing up at the right time and making the plays that you want a big play player to make."

Washington Player Quotes

Nigel Burton, rover

On the 2-point conversion attempt: "Honestly, I can't even really remember the play too well. He did a deep slant, and I chased him across. I just remember him putting his hands up, and I was just doing anything I could - biting, scratching, kicking, clawing, pushing. Once the ball went up in the air, it was just fighting, that's all it was."

Brock Huard

On Oregon State's performance: "Give a lot of credit to those guys. They're not the same Oregon State team we've played in the past. They've gotten a lot better. A couple of years ago, down 28-7, they would have folded, and it would have been 49-7. Those guys never gave up. They deserve to go to a bowl game. They beat Stanford and played USC tough, and they're going to beat some more people this year. I hope that they win two more games and go to a bowl, because they deserve it."

Marques Tuiasosopo

On he and Huard on the field at the same time: "Its just a little shift that we put in there this week just to stir things up a little so its not so vanilla, to get Oregon State thinking about something different."

On a team win: "Theres no doubt about it, everybody contributed to this win; offense defense, special teams. Oregon State made some big plays to get themselves back in the game and going down to the last play we wanted to win the game. It only took one guy to win this game, Nigel (Burton) believed that we were going to win this game and he made the play. It was a great throw by the quarterback and Nigel got his hand in there and knocked it down."

On emotions of last minute: "Theres no control you have over the situation youre just sitting there watching it and its either way. We played hard, just like they did, we thought we deserved to win the game and Im sure they thought they deserved to win the game. They might have thought they were going to win but we knew we had to make one more stop and Nigel made a great play."

On preparing for next week: "Its great that we could get a win against a tough Oregon State team. We got to get back to it this week and work harder than we did last week. We got to figure out whats going on and figure out some solutions and increase our work level. We need to be able to run the ball on offense to even up again and give our passing game a little more of a chance. Tonight just shows that if you dont have a running game then. We need to find a way thats the only way to do it.

Todd Johnson

On second half defense: "It was a little chaotic, at the same time I didnt think that we were going to give up big plays like that. Im disappointed in our defense, everyone. It comes down to gut check, we have to shut them down, three-plays and out with 30 seconds left on the clock so for them to get two big passes like that is unacceptable."

On getting a win: "Its better than Arizona, at least we came out with a win there. Im so happy that Nigel was there, I was the first guy to head butt him there at the end."

Joe Jarzynka

On punt returns: "It doesnt matter where the ball is kicked I should be accountable to make everything inside 40 yards."

On fake FG: "We worked on that in practice. It was just me and Ryan Miletich running a little option to the left side. They didnt take me right away so Ryan didnt have a lane so he pitched it back to me early and I just ran around the corner. I thought I was gone but a guy pushed me out-of-bounds at the last second."

On getting hit waiting for punt: "I had to go sit down for a little while, but I didnt get knocked out or anything like that. It hurt bad, I still cant bite down very well. He said oh shoot I think because he got a penalty."

Oregon State head coach Mike Riley

On the two point attempt: "I dont doubt the play or the decision at the time. I have won and lost in overtime. We decided with about six minutes to go that if we got within one we were going to go for two. If we scored, we would have the momentum and then wed have the play. Its something weve worked on and practiced a lot. We knew exactly what it was going to be. The way the game had gone we knew wed have some shots. I wanted to end the game right there, and I thought we could. The last play was like slow motion to me. I couldnt tell if we scored. "

On Jonathan Smith: "Going into the game, all we knew was that he was going to play. We werent going to substitute just because Terrance got hurt. We did that early and decided to do the same thing after half time. I have learned not to be surprised by Jonathan. He was a walk-on, and from the time he was here last fall, hes always gone into practice and performed. Hes always got the best touch on a deep ball. He came to Oregon State to learn."

On the teams comeback: "We cannot discount what this team did today. We were down 28-7 in Husky Stadium, which is not easy, and stayed together. We came back and had a chance to win at the end. The most important thing is that the team had a chance to step back and think, Wow, we can do this."

Oregon State Player Quotes

Greg Ainsworth, WR

On 80 yard touchdown catch: "On that play they tried to blitz everybody. I came across the middle and I was all by myself. I knew to turn on the speed right away and get to the end zone as fast as possible. We needed that score to get back in the game."

Inoke Breckterfield, DE

General comments: "We did not quit. At halftime we decided that we were not going to quit. The game was not over yet. We were down two touchdowns at the half and we did not quit. The offense played a heck of a game. The defense gave up some big plays, but we had confidence in what we could do as a team. We came out the second half and played our hearts out."

On the offensive/defensive performance: "I take my hat off to Jonathan Smith, he had a great game. Offensively we did what we wanted to do. Defensively in the second half I thought we did really well. I cannot explain how I feel. We have three games left and we have to win two out of three. This game is over now, its bad, but its over, and we have to get ready for California next week. I am proud of this team. We came up to Husky stadium on their homecoming, and it came down to the last play with no time on the clock."

Jonathan Smith, QB

On the decision to go for two: "The coaches came up to me with six minutes left and said that when we score we are going to go for two. We were prepared for that. When you are away in a hostile environment, I think that you go for the win right away."

On the comeback from being down 28-7: "At halftime coach (Mike) Riley made a big point of the fact that the game could go either way. We could put our heads down and get blown out like last year or we could fight back into the game. As a team we kept fighting, and were never out of the game. It looked bad at times, but then we would come back and score quick. It was just awesome."

On the big offensive plays: "The big plays were great for momentum. I think that it was huge, because we have not had many big plays all year. We were having a tough time sustaining drives, but when you make some big plays you get confidence. It was a fabulous game."