Huskies second-half fades becoming too common
SEATTLE (AP) - All the talk sounded promising from Tyrone Willingham and his Washington players.
Finish games. Be strong in the second half. No more lulls or lapses letting winnable games slip away in the final two quarters.
Sounded great, right?
Then the Huskies went out and got outscored 30-0 in the second half of their season-opening 44-10 thrashing by Oregon, only continuing a trend of second-half failures that have dotted Willingham's tenure at Washington.
Granted, it is just one game into the 2008 season. But seeing a 14-10 halftime deficit rapidly morph into a 34-point rout only adds to a series of struggles after halftime that Washington has faced, all the way back to Willingham's first game in 2005 when Air Forced rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a 20-17 win.
"We've talked about: One, we as coaches making sure we put them in the right place. Two, making sure we have the physical conditioning and stamina to get it done and three, making sure our young men have the internal confidence so they can finish the ball games," Willingham said. "You try to work at all of those to make sure you have it pinpointed, targeted and everybody can execute in those three areas."
Obviously, some area is lacking. In Willingham's 37 games at Washington, the Huskies have won just once when trailing at halftime. That came in 2006 when Washington rallied from a 16-7 halftime deficit to beat UCLA 29-19. Only twice has Washington pulled away from a halftime tie for victories, and in Willingham's other eight victories, the Huskies have held at least a touchdown lead at halftime.
What bothers Washington fans to no end is the list of close games at halftime that followed a similar path as last Saturday in Eugene and became convincing wins for opponents.
"It's mental toughness. We've got to be finishers. We've worked on this all the time," offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. "We've got to be tough and we've got to be able to fight through those lulls in the third quarter. ... We've got to get over that. We've got to be able to start fast and we've got to be able to start fast and end fast."
Seven times last season Washington saw potential wins slip away after playing well in the first half. The Huskies led Ohio State, Arizona State and Hawaii at halftime, then were outscored a combined 75-10 in the second half of those losses.
They were tied with UCLA at halftime and lost; led Arizona after three quarters then were outscored 22-6 in the fourth quarter to lose; and were tied at 31 with Oregon entering the fourth before falling 55-34.
Oh, and there was the 35-28 fourth-quarter lead Washington held in the Apple Cup, only to see Washington State's Brandon Gibson slip away for a pair of late touchdowns and a 42-35 Cougars' win.
But 2007 wasn't an isolated season of woe for Willingham's teams. The Huskies were tied or led at halftime four times in 2006 and lost all four, including a humbling 20-3 loss to Stanford that snapped the Cardinal's 11-game losing streak at the time.
Linebacker Donald Butler, for one, believes the problems of recent seasons are different from the issues that surfaced against Oregon. Solving them before Saturday's home opener against No. 15 BYU is crucial - the Cougars have led at halftime in 26 of their last 27 games and are 23-4 during that stretch.
"There is a difference from this year. Trust me, there is a difference," Butler said emphatically. "This is a different team this year. That's the bottom line."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-09-03-08 1907EDT
Finish games. Be strong in the second half. No more lulls or lapses letting winnable games slip away in the final two quarters.
Sounded great, right?
Then the Huskies went out and got outscored 30-0 in the second half of their season-opening 44-10 thrashing by Oregon, only continuing a trend of second-half failures that have dotted Willingham's tenure at Washington.
Granted, it is just one game into the 2008 season. But seeing a 14-10 halftime deficit rapidly morph into a 34-point rout only adds to a series of struggles after halftime that Washington has faced, all the way back to Willingham's first game in 2005 when Air Forced rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a 20-17 win.
"We've talked about: One, we as coaches making sure we put them in the right place. Two, making sure we have the physical conditioning and stamina to get it done and three, making sure our young men have the internal confidence so they can finish the ball games," Willingham said. "You try to work at all of those to make sure you have it pinpointed, targeted and everybody can execute in those three areas."
Obviously, some area is lacking. In Willingham's 37 games at Washington, the Huskies have won just once when trailing at halftime. That came in 2006 when Washington rallied from a 16-7 halftime deficit to beat UCLA 29-19. Only twice has Washington pulled away from a halftime tie for victories, and in Willingham's other eight victories, the Huskies have held at least a touchdown lead at halftime.
What bothers Washington fans to no end is the list of close games at halftime that followed a similar path as last Saturday in Eugene and became convincing wins for opponents.
"It's mental toughness. We've got to be finishers. We've worked on this all the time," offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. "We've got to be tough and we've got to be able to fight through those lulls in the third quarter. ... We've got to get over that. We've got to be able to start fast and we've got to be able to start fast and end fast."
Seven times last season Washington saw potential wins slip away after playing well in the first half. The Huskies led Ohio State, Arizona State and Hawaii at halftime, then were outscored a combined 75-10 in the second half of those losses.
They were tied with UCLA at halftime and lost; led Arizona after three quarters then were outscored 22-6 in the fourth quarter to lose; and were tied at 31 with Oregon entering the fourth before falling 55-34.
Oh, and there was the 35-28 fourth-quarter lead Washington held in the Apple Cup, only to see Washington State's Brandon Gibson slip away for a pair of late touchdowns and a 42-35 Cougars' win.
But 2007 wasn't an isolated season of woe for Willingham's teams. The Huskies were tied or led at halftime four times in 2006 and lost all four, including a humbling 20-3 loss to Stanford that snapped the Cardinal's 11-game losing streak at the time.
Linebacker Donald Butler, for one, believes the problems of recent seasons are different from the issues that surfaced against Oregon. Solving them before Saturday's home opener against No. 15 BYU is crucial - the Cougars have led at halftime in 26 of their last 27 games and are 23-4 during that stretch.
"There is a difference from this year. Trust me, there is a difference," Butler said emphatically. "This is a different team this year. That's the bottom line."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-09-03-08 1907EDT