SEATTLE (AP) Keith Gilbertson is putting a muzzle on his
barking dogs.
One of the first things the Washington coach planned to address
after last weekend's 46-16 loss at UCLA was his team's behavior in
the closing minutes. Television cameras caught the Huskies
apparently bickering with each other.
``There will not be any more hysterics on our sidelines,''
Gilbertson said. ``That's going to stop.''
Gilbertson and his players, however, disputed the
characterization that the Huskies were angry at each other. They
said it was merely their emotional release after a long,
frustrating afternoon for the Huskies (3-2, 1-1 Pac-10).
``We didn't have any problems among our guys,'' Gilbertson said.
``We just had real upset guys with what was going on. The game had
just flipped on them, and we had been really excited to play that
game.''
Washington built a comfortable 16-7 halftime lead and seemed to
have things in hand. The score could have been more lopsided,
because the Huskies amassed 17 first downs and 271 yards against
the Pac-10's top defense.
``In the first half we weren't able to put them away,''
quarterback Cody Pickett said. ``We had some penalties that hurt
us. We had an early touchdown we gave up. They are a huge momentum
team, and they took it from there.''
They sure did.
Pickett fumbled after a sack in the end zone early in the third
quarter, and the Bruins recovered for a TD. UCLA led 22-16 after
its next possession, then added a field goal and returned an
interception for a TD.
The upshot: Washington was outscored 39-0 in the second half and
the Huskies were barking at each other or venting their
frustrations, if you prefer on the sidelines for anybody to see.
``It wasn't finger pointing,'' defensive tackle Terry Johnson
said. ``It was a situation where you feel helpless. You feel like
your hands are tied. You feel, 'I can watch, but I can't go recover
a fumble.' When you feel helpless, you get frustrated.''
Afterward, receiver Reggie Williams told reporters that he
didn't think much of UCLA's standout cornerback, Matt Ware. Given a
chance to back off a few days later, Williams declined.
``It was the truth,'' Williams said. ``He couldn't guard me.''
Considering the outcome, that kind of swagger seems out of
place. Gilbertson, though, defended Williams by pointing out that
he's only 20 years old and that the same kind of chatter happens in
the NFL.
``He's still a kid and he is going to act like a kid,''
Gilbertson said. ``I think people want guys to be older and more
mature than they are, but in a lot of ways they are still kids.''
As for the infighting and bickering, Gilbertson clearly wasn't
too pleased about it during his weekly news conference. He promised
to ensure going into this week's game against Nevada (3-2) that it
won't resurface.
``It will be addressed,'' he said. ``It will be solved.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)