Poor Jake Locker.
College football stole his soul Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
Coming off a 44-10 shellacking at the hands of Oregon, no one gave the Washington Huskies a shot to stand toe-to-toe with the electric offense of No. 15 BYU.
It wasn’t the Huskies who stood up to the challenge with the Cougars8212;it was Locker.
It was Locker who withstood a near-blasphemous amount of fellow Huskies dropping like flies.
The word “herculean” conjures synonyms such as hero, strength, courage and, most notably, effort.
In Washington’s loss to the Cougars,a game many deemed a “must win” for head coach Ty Willingham, the Husky quarterback turned in a performance of epic proportions.
But if you look back at heroes, even the mighty have flaws.
Locker’s Achilles’ heel was overthrowing open receivers and, oh yeah, that whole “celebration” thing.
Locker led the Huskies on a spasmodic 76-yard drive after Cougar quarterback Max Hall connected with Dennis Pitta with three minutes and 31 seconds left in regulation. At times, Locker looked lost while rifling zingers downfield.
He underthrew. He overthrew. He threw too hard. He threw too soft.
He had seven incomplete passes on the final drive.
Luckily for Washington, Locker also resembled The Flash every time he busted into the open field. He had 33 of his 68 yards rushing on the final drive.
After evading would-be tackling Cougars like he was an “NCAA Football ’09” character, what followed Locker’s 2-yard touchdown scamper became the talk of the game. Locker dodged two converging Cougars and was in for six to put Washington within one point of BYU with two seconds remaining in the game.
Husky Stadium went ape. Overtime seemed inevitable. Then all hell broke loose.
After Locker dove into the end zone, he hopped up and spun the ball high into the sky and quickly embraced his teammates before he could inhale his next breath.
It took six criminal seconds for the official to throw the yellow flag. That’s six seconds after Locker released the pigskin from his hand.
The “excessive celebrating” call was made and the 35-yard PAT was blocked.
Game over. Sorry Jake, no game-tying heroics. Sorry Ty, looks like you’ll be needing to phone your real estate agent.
How does this excuse for college football and fair play proceed from here?
Just as a recap8212;the kid who played his guts out, was sacked four times and was having clear confidence issues in his throwing ability managed to will his way to six points anyway and was then reduced to sideline tears, knowing the apparent blame would rest upon his Herculean shoulders.
The NCAA is shooting itself in the foot on this one. It is conveying the wrong message to those it is sworn to represent and protect, and it’s diminishing the fun of the game for the fans.
Take nothing away from the BYU victory8212;they were the superior team on the field in Seattle. It’s just that Locker was the superhuman. Defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen dubbed Locker amazing. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall was flabbergasted in regards to Locker.
“(Locker) is a phenomenal player,” Mendenhall said. “So, we used every weapon we thought we had and I think what it showed is, we’re going to have to look a little further if we ever play a young man like that again.”
College football is sending a mixed message to its select group of gridiron warriors. They’re saying it’s OK to enjoy football, play your heart out and celebrate, but you must wait until your NFL payday to exercise any display of emotion.
It was Locker who was flying high. He had six seconds of emblematic euphoria before enduring the crash of a lifetime.
In a world of true criminal showboating, it’s sad when Locker’s Achilles’ heel is a killer cocktail of valor, tenacity and a love for the game of football, shaken with the ability to throw the ball a little too high.