Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
John Timu, John Ross, Bishop Sankey, Justin Wilcox and special teams get praised, we like the team triumphing over adversity, and the way they played in the second half, but WTF, protect the players.
Player of the Game: John Timu. He's been consistently good all year, but this was his best performance. He was everywhere for the defense from the initial series, notching a ton of tackles to go with a sack and a pick. Seems like we should be writing about how Timu went out on top, but no, he's got another year of eligibility, for which we should all be thankful.
Play of the Game: Either one of Bishop Sankey's touchdown runs. Both were fantastic displays of the lateral quickness Sankey possesses, and his ability to see things as they're unfolding in front of him. Making Kyle Van Noy look silly is no small feat: he's one of the best linebackers in America.
Goat of the Game: Johnny Nansen. The Huskies play their best special team game in years after he leaves. Kickoffs were well covered, and the return game was a credible threat. Coincidence? It sure doesn't seem like it.
Stat of the Game: The Huskies were outgained by 154 yards, tied the turnover battle, and still scored nearly twice the points BYU did. Special teams, man. Suffice to say that we here at UW Dawg Pound are not lamenting the loss oh Johnny Nansen.
Who Stepped Up: John Ross. In finally taking a kickoff to the house, he changed the entire complexion of the game. Not only did he give the Huskies a nice lead, but he also caused them to have to change the way they dealt with kickoffs. They tried to kick away from him, did it poorly, and Jesse Callier was able to set the Huskies up for another score.
The Game Tipped When: Justin Wilcox made whatever adjustments he did at halftime, and the Dawg D shut out the Cougars in the second half.
It Was Over When: True to what they've done all season, the Huskies came out in the third quarter with their hair on fire, and capped yet another third quarter opening drive with an Austin Seferian-Jenkins TD.
Surprise of the Game: How much the Huskies looked like they had not been through any sort of adversity over the four weeks leading up to this game. If you didn't know, you'd never be able to guess that they were playing under a new head coach (who was performing in that capacity for the first time in his career).
WTF Moment of the Game: On Keith Price's interception, he was clearly a victim of roughing the passer. Not only would the Huskies have retained possession, but they'd have done so with a fresh set of downs. We complain about the Pac-12 officials being too flag happy, but in cases of player safety as this was, it would have been nice to have a west coast crew out there as I have no doubt that they would have thrown a flag there (it would have been on Dexter Charles for illegal hands to the face, but still).
Source:
http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2013/12/30/5256032/husky-game-awards-fight-hunger-bowl-vs-byu