UW Huskies Lose 44-30 At Home To UCLA

Don’t look now, but it’s been a while since the Washington Huskies won a football game in Seattle.

Yes, the last time the Husky Stadium faithful had reason to leave the building in cheers was September 20th, when University of Washington steamrolled Georgia State 45-14. Since then it’s been three losses in as many tries at home, with Saturday’s 44-30 loss to UCLA the latest.

Granted, the schedule UW’s been playing lately has pitted them against an onslaught of powerful teams, with only a slight reprise in last week’s game in Colorado. The Bruins are just the latest ranked team to beat the Huskies. UW has struggled against strong teams while collecting wins against weaker competition. Which, yeah, no surprises there.

So what did this talented opponent do to shut UW down? Brett Hundley was terrific, going 29 for 36 for 302 yards with two touchdown passes. That makes him the all-time leader for touchdowns by a UCLA quarterback. It was also his fourth game this season with over 300 yards. He’s good, and he had a good game. It happens.

Paul Perkins and Myles Jack had big running games for UCLA, helping Hundley out by completing what is really one of the most thorough and devastating offenses in the nation. With UCLA firing on all cylinders, the Huskies tried to at least match them with a nice offensive output of their own. Clearly, it wasn’t enough.

Cyler Miles didn’t exactly pull his weight, going 14 for 25 for 155 yards. He was picked off once and sacked three times. With his receivers often blocked, Miles put his legs to work, rushing for 62 yards on 17 attempts.

Hau’oli Kikaha, who leads the nation with 16.5 sacks, was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. That, coupled with the dismissal of Marcus Peters earlier in the week, left the defense vulnerable and unable to stop the UCLA attack. With the pass rush depleted, the Huskies were unable to stop the 18th-ranked Bruins from rolling to a two-touchdown victory.

Next up is a road game against the Arizona Wildcats, who are – you guessed it! – a ranked team. Eventually the Huskies are going to have to beat one of these top squads, right? Right??