University of Washington
Oregon St
Huskies Fall to Oregon State, 49-24
November 10, 2001 | Football
Nov 10, 2001
By LANDON HALL
AP Sports Writer
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Jonathan Smith passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Steven Jackson ran for three scores as Oregon State pounded No. 8 Washington 49-24 Saturday, ending a 13-game losing streak to the Huskies.
Ken Simonton added three touchdowns - two rushing and the first receiving score of his career - as the Beavers (4-5, 3-4 Pac-10) stayed in the hunt for a third straight bowl appearance by beating Washington for the first time since 1985.
It also was Oregon State's first victory at home over the Huskies since 1974, and the Beavers' biggest margin in the series since a 40-14 in 1951.
Oregon's victory over UCLA left Washington (7-2, 5-2) with no chance to win the Pac-10 title, and likely out of contention for BCS game.
Washington's Cody Pickett had a miserable day, completing just 13 of 32 passes for 160 yards under heavy pressure. The Huskies' ground game didn't help him much, producing just 88 yards.
Washington's first two touchdown drives started at the Oregon State 31 and 23. The Huskies trailed 35-10 at halftime and managed just 6 yards in the third quarter.
Smith had more to do with the Beavers' success than Washington's poor execution, however. The senior had struggled badly this season, ranking seventh in the conference in passing and throwing eight interceptions to go with his eight touchdowns.
But the 5-foot-11 former walk-on always seems to save his best performances for the Huskies. In 1998, he came off the bench and threw for a school-record 469 yards in a 35-34 loss in Seattle.
On Saturday, Smith's passes were sharp, and he showed some surprising mobility to buy time. He was 18-of-28 and didn't throw an interception. In four games against Washington, he has thrown for 1,339 yards and nine touchdowns.
On the second play of the game, Smith found 5-8 freshman Cole Clasen wide open over the middle for a 47-yard gain. The Beavers would have had a third-and-9 from the Washington 24, but the Huskies' Jamaun Willis hit Smith late, giving Oregon State a first down at the 12.
Three plays later, Simonton went around the right end and tiptoed inside the goal marker for a 3-yard touchdown.
Simonton finished with 107 yards, 2 yards shy of passing Marcus Allen for second on the Pac-10 career list.
Washington got within 14-10 on a 7-yard run by Pickett, but the Huskies couldn't pull off a sixth comeback victory this season.
The Beavers drove 80 yards, with the key play coming on a 26-yard screen pass from Smith to Clasen. On the next play, Simonton scored from 8 yards out.
Pickett had several passes batted away by Oregon State's secondary, and one nearly was intercepted with open field ahead. Then the sophomore finally made a crucial mistake.
On second-and-10 from the Beavers 14, Pickett floated a pass to the right, and Dennis Weathersby intercepted it and ran 73 yards up the sideline before Pickett pushed him out of bounds. Jackson scored on a 1-yard run to make it 28-10.
Penalties force the Huskies to punt, and Smith had completions of 21 and 24 yards to set up Jackson's second touchdown, a 2-yarder, to put it away at 35-10 with 3:05 left in the first half.
Oregon State's dominance was utterly unexpected, considering how much weaker the Beavers were compared with last year's 11-1 team. Its only loss was to the Huskies in Seattle, 33-30.
