It’s a biological mystery, but somehow the Dawgs of Seattle have shrunk into little puppies, with ears slumped and tails hidden between their legs.
Two streaks ended Saturday at Husky Stadium when California mauled Washington, 34-27. With the win, the Golden Bears (4-2 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10 Conference) snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Huskies, dating back to 1976, and ended UW’s 17-game home winning streak.
“I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that we could lose to Cal while I was at the UW,” Washington guard Elliott Zajac told The Seattle Times.
Washington (3-2, 0-1), which has been under scrutiny for its lack of running effort, netted just 42 rush yards against Cal. Starting tailback Rich Alexis was benched after a second quarter fumble.
“We’re going to have to really do some soul-searching about what we are doing here and how we are doing it,” UW head coach Rick Neuheisel said after the game. “We have to get back to being a fundamentally sound football team that can do things that represent a good football team. I don’t know why we struggle so.”
Washington’s Cody Pickett set a school record with 35 completions, but Cal’s Kyle Boller stole the spotlight. Despite attempting just 24 passes, Boller was named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week for his five-touchdown, 266-yard performance.
“I can honestly say that was the best football game I’ve ever played, in high school, college or anything,” said Boller, who had no interceptions Saturday.

Cougars are ‘for real’
While Cal was making history in Seattle, Washington State and USC had an exciting finish on the other side of the state in Pullman.
Thanks to a missed extra point by USC kicker Ryan Killeen, the No. 12 Cougars (5-1, 2-0) were able to tie the game and force an overtime with 1:50 left on a wobbly 35-yard field goal by Drew Dunning.
In the extra session, Dunning again out-dueled Killeen as the Cougar booted another 35-yarder to seal the 30-27 victory.
Washington State tallied 516 total yards against USC’s top-rated defense.
“I didn’t think there was any way we were going to get 500 yards of offense on this team,” said Washington State head coach Mike Price, who won his first game against USC in Pullman. “If we can beat this team, we’re for real.”

Beaver bouncers
Quick, jump while you still can — if you haven’t done so already.
Two weeks ago, Oregon State was 4-0, and had what seemed to be one of the conference’s best quarterbacks, a blistering defense and a ton of national attention.
But after the Beavers lost their second straight game Saturday to open conference play, everyone is jumping off the bandwagon.
“We just weren’t consistent today,” Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson said after a 43-35 loss to UCLA. “We were fighting our way back every time we got the ball. There is not a lot to be happy about today.”

Going deep
Six Pac-10 quarterbacks are ranked in the nation’s top 25 in passing efficiency. And guess who’s at the top of those the list?
Gesser? Pickett? Paus?
Nope, nope, nope. Arizona State’s Andrew Walter — a sophomore — is second in the country in pass efficiency at 169.5.
Oregon’s Jason Fife is second in the conference and seventh in the nation with a 154.6 quarterback rating. Kyle Matter of Stanford is 11th in the nation, followed by Washington State’s Jason Gesser (No. 19), Pickett (No. 22) and Cory Paus of UCLA (No. 25).