Just three weeks ago, the Huskies were 4-0, moving up in the Associated Press rankings from 18th to 15th after compiling seemingly impressive wins against then-No. 11 Michigan State and thumping Stanford in their Pac-12 opener.
New coach Kalen DeBoer and Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr., Washington’s junior quarterback, were heralded for resurrecting a tradition-rich program that had fallen off.
At long last, good times had returned to Montlake after two forgettable years of mediocrity.
On Saturday, Penix practically pleaded to the Huskies (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) to reverse the troubling trend that’s led to two straight losses and threatens to ruin what had been a promising season.
“We just can’t beat ourselves,” Penix said after a 45-38 loss at Arizona State on Saturday. “Don’t get me wrong, we played a good team, but we’ve got to do a lot better executing and just controlling what we can control.
“We’ve got to put our head down and we’ve got to do better executing the small things and not beating ourselves and putting ourselves in bad situations.”
And this from DeBoer: “I love the fight in our guys. There’s no questioning that. They keep believing, but at some point we’ve got to find ways to win and not just ride out throughout the fourth quarter and hope that it happens.”
Find ways to win?
That task has been increasingly challenging in recent weeks due to a slew of injuries particularly on the defensive side and more acutely in the secondary, which is forcing DeBoer to rely on untested youngsters.
Alex Cook and Kamren Fabiculanan started at safety, but they rotated frequently with junior Asa Turner, redshirt freshman Makell Esteen, freshman Tristan Dunn and walk-on Sean Toomey-Stout.
Making matters worse for UW’s young secondary is a suddenly dormant pass rush that’s registered one sack in the past two games.
“From the D-line perspective, we’ve got to get a better rush,” senior edge rusher Jeremiah Martin said. “I feel like, just get a better rush up front and it will help out the back guys a lot more. So, I feel like it’s on the defensive front right now, trying to get a pass rush. Playing UCLA and this team, they’re chipping us and trying to take us out of the game as edges. We’ve got to work off of things like that and just keep pushing.”
Keep in mind, the Huskies entered Saturday’s game with 16 sacks, including eight against Stanford during a 40-22 win three weeks ago.
Without consistent pressure on the pocket from the front four, Washington’s secondary was susceptible against Arizona State backup quarterback Trenton Bourguet, who replaced injured starter Emory Jones in the second quarter and finished with 182 yards on 15-of-21 passing, three touchdowns and one interception.
Bourguet was at his best on third down while completing 7 of 8 passes for 102 yards for ASU, which converted 9 of 13 third-down attempts.
Meanwhile, the Huskies were 7 of 14 on third-down conversions and 2 of 5 on fourth-down conversions.
SCARY MOMENT
On the final drive, Penix took a big hit from two defenders in which he was hit in the throat by ASU defensive lineman BJ Green, who was penalized for targeting.
Penix remained on the field for several minutes grasping for air and being attended to by several UW trainers.
“It was just shocking,” Penix said. “It was scary, but I’m good. I didn’t know (I would be able to get back on the field) when it first happened. But I was able to catch my breath and stuff. And it stopped hurting as much. And then I was like, ‘I was getting back out there no matter what.’
“I knew (if) I could play, I was gonna play and that’s what I did. I never quit on my team. And, I know if I could play, I’ll never back down from that. No matter what the situation is, even if it’s not the best situation, I want to be a part of something great. So, you know, I definitely wanted to get back on the field as soon as I was able to realize I was good.”
Penix missed one play and returned to drive the Huskies to the ASU 31 before their comeback attempt fell short on an incomplete Hail Mary as time expired.
“I didn’t think that he was going to be coming back in,” DeBoer said. “He was hurting pretty good. There came a point where he kind of got his wind back and he really quickly turned the corner and all of a sudden I went from, ‘OK, he’s got a chance to maybe get back out there.’ It says a lot about him. He’s been a fighter his entire life and I am super proud of him.”
TUMBLING OUT OF TOP 25
Not surprisingly, the Huskies fell out of the AP top 25 when the rankings were released Sunday morning.
USC (6-0, 4-0) fell one spot to seventh while UCLA (6-0, 3-0) climbed seven spots to No. 11 and Oregon (5-1, 3-0) remained at No. 12.
Meanwhile, Utah (4-2, 2-1) dropped to 20th after losing to the Bruins on Saturday.
Washington State (4-2, 1-2) is the only other Pac-12 team that received AP votes.