The Jake Browning era began, bumpily at first, picking up momentum as the game went on, and then ending in the stark disappointment of a 16-13 loss to Boise State.
BOISE, Idaho – For Jake Browning, the mystery ended over a week ago, when Washington coach Chris Petersen informed him he was the Huskies’ starting quarterback.
“It was good, but OK, here comes Boise,’’ Browning said quietly after his collegiate debut, his disappointment with the result overwhelming any satisfaction of a well-fought debut.
“My reaction was, there were three of us, now there’s only one. Here’s a little more, whatever you want to call it, leadership position or whatever. We have a good team of leaders, so I don’t think a lot of that. I felt good, I felt the hard work paid off. I just wish we had gotten out of here with a win.”
Browning by the numbers
150 Passing yards
1 Interception
3 Net rushing yards. He was sacked twice
The starter’s identity remained secret to the outside world until game time. On the piercing blue turf of Albertsons Stadium, the Browning era began, bumpily at first, picking up momentum as the game went on, and then ending in the stark disappointment of a 16-13 loss to Boise State.
It wasn’t the storybook finish that appeared to be in the cards when the Huskies roared back from a 16-0 halftime deficit. That ended when Cameron Van Winkle’s tying 46-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right in the waning seconds.
Though he had a hand in the comeback (with considerable help from a revitalized Huskies defense, and a 76-yard punt return from Dante Pettis), Browning was dwelling on the last possession. Like Petersen a year earlier, Browning arrived at Washington without much experience in defeat.
“Maybe I’ll be encouraged later, but right now it sucks because we lost,’’ Browning said. “There’s no way around that.”
The Huskies had moved themselves deep into Boise State territory — all the way to the 19 — before being pushed back via penalty and a sack to the 37. A screen to Dwayne Washington moved them back to the 29, but Van Winkle couldn’t convert from there to send the game into overtime.
“I personally don’t think I gave him the best chance for a field goal,’’ Browning said. “You can’t have stuff like that on offense at the end of the game. It doesn’t feel good at all.”
But considering he was playing against Rocklin High School at this time last year, Browning was being too rough on himself. Though it was hardly a flawless performance, the 19-year-old looked poised, for the most part, and his considerable skill set was readily apparent.
“It was awesome, tremendous,’’ senior Jaydon Mickens said of Browning’s debut. “For a true freshman to come in this environment and do what he did, lead his team down to the 30-yard line to field-goal range, was amazing. I’m proud of him. He never should hang his head.”
While an inhospitable wind blew in Boise, the Huskies could not quite summon the sort of underdog surge that Petersen made famous during his eight glorious series as Boise State’s head coach. In that role, he toppled many a high-powered program, but in a game billed (a bit hyperbolically) as the biggest in Broncos history, it was the double-digit favorite that prevailed.
Jake Browning by the numbers
150 Passing yards
1 Interception
3 Net rushing yards. He was sacked twice.
But they had to hang on for dear life. Browning was billed as a clone of Petersen’s most successful Boise State quarterback, Kellen Moore, and he may yet be. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 150 yards, with one interception. The Huskies’ game plan was conservative, with no completion over 19 yards, but his talent and competitiveness revealed itself, especially as the game progressed.
Petersen’s decision to go with Browning demonstrates that the coach was not ready to write off this season by letting his most talented quarterback ripen with a redshirt year. That conclusion may have seemed dubious at halftime, with Boise State running rampant on Washington’s defense, and Browning looking very much like a true freshman. But the comeback and near victory over a ranked team provided hope that this might be more than a rebuilding season.
“I saw lot of players with passion and willingness to win and give their all,’’ Mickens said. “That’s something I appreciate as a senior, and as a team.”
Petersen’s postgame message, Mickens said, was “that’s the way you fight your heart out, no matter what the score or circumstance. That’s what we did tonight, even though we didn’t get the win.”
Browning said he didn’t come in with any expectations because “I’ve never played a college game. I came in trying to learn stuff like that.”
What he learned most critically is the need to come out strong.
“When we get momentum behind us, we’re a real good team,’’ he said. “After the first game, I have to start like that. I can’t come out thinking I’m a true freshman or anything. I have to come out, and we have to win.”