Road gets tougher for UW

SEATTLE – Perpetually stuck watching his teams at Washington fall short, the latest setback might be the toughest for coach Tyrone Willingham to digest.

Saturday’s 28-27 loss to No. 18 BYU was as ulcer-inducing as they come for the Huskies, and only continues to add fuel to the raging fan dissent directed at Willingham for his inability to resurrect the downtrodden Washington program.

The controversy from Saturday’s loss was the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Washington quarterback Jake Locker after he scored on a 3-yard run with two seconds left in regulation. Locker flipped the ball over his head into the air and began celebrating with his teammates. The fling drew a flag for excessive celebration.

As it’s written, Locker did violate the rule. But the decision to throw the flag in a moment of jubilation provided a muddled conclusion to an exciting game and brought a storm of criticism from college football pundits. The penalty left Washington’s Ryan Perkins attempting an extra point from 35 yards. Perkins kick was low and blocked by BYU’s Jan Jorgensen, leaving Washington 0-2, and with No. 3 Oklahoma coming to town next Saturday.

Willingham could have fumed and criticized afterward about the call, as some of his coaches and players did coming off the field. The furthest Willingam would go – “it really should be a no call” – kept to his stoic demeanor.

“We had talked to them about coming out and playing like Huskies play,” said Willingham, who drew plenty of ire from fans after a lackluster 44-10 loss to rival Oregon in Washington’s opener. “The kind of fight, the kind of effort, the kind of energy, and I thought very much they did that.”

Effort and fight have rarely been questioned in Willingham’s 38 games as Washington’s coach. He inherited a program among the worst in college football, and brought stability and effort to a tumultuous situation.

Yet stability isn’t satisfactory for fans and boosters when 11-27 is Willingham’s overall record.

Thanks to the stunning conclusion on Saturday, the Huskies are winless and with a difficult road ahead. After hosting the Sooners, Washington still must face road trips to USC, Arizona and California, and host Arizona State, UCLA and Notre Dame. Finding the six wins necessary to become bowl eligible is a difficult hunt.