Fourth quarter meltdown dooms Huskies once again

Old habits die hard, apparently.

That's the lesson that Washington (4-9, 2-7 Pac-10) has been learning all season, and there has been no better example than Saturday's loss to Hawaii (12-0, 8-0 WAC).

Despite scoring the game's first 21 points, the Huskies fell victim to the same inconsistencies that have plagued them all year, falling 35-28 in front of 49,666 at Aloha Stadium.

This particular loss is made perhaps more disappointing by how promising it began.

Jake Locker scored on an 8-yard run on the UW's first possession, then Luke Kravitz punched it in from one yard out on Washington's next drive [HTML_REMOVED] which was set up by the first of three first-half fumbles by the Warriors [HTML_REMOVED] to give the Dawgs a 14-0 lead before anyone could blink.

The Huskies kept coming, too. Kravitz scored on a two-yard run just three minutes later, giving the Dawgs a 21-0 lead and leaving most of the sold-out Aloha Stadium crowd in a state of shock.

That shock would wear off, however. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan got things going, completing all 16 of his second-quarter passes and leading touchdown drives of 83, 75 and 80 yards to pull within 21-28 at the half.

Brennan certainly lived up to Heisman expectations, as he finished 42-for-50 through the air for 442 yards and five touchdowns.

The offensive success that the Huskies had in the first 15 minutes was nowhere to be found the rest of the game. Louis Rankin finished with 145 yards on 21 carries, but had just 43 yards rushing in the second half.

Locker finished 9-17 passing for 142 yards, and had 15 carries for 76 yards. He needed 90 to become the first QB in Pac-10 history to rush for 1,000 yards.

After Paul Homer's one-yard TD run midway through the second quarter, Washington would not find the scoreboard again.

Unfortunately for UW, Hawaii would. Brennan hit Jason Rivers on a 40-yard bomb with 8:01 remaining in the game, tying the score at 28-28.

On the ensuing possession, the Huskies appeared to catch a break. Facing a 3rd-and-15 from the Hawaii 46-yard line, Locker rolled to his left and found Quintin Daniels for what would have been a critical first down.

But it was ruled that Locker had crossed the line of scrimmage, and the play resulted in a five-yard penalty and a loss of down [HTML_REMOVED] the final in a series of controversial calls that all seemed to go Hawaii's way.

Brennan and company went right back to work. The Warriors went 76 yards in eight plays, taking a 35-28 lead on a five-yard touchdown catch by Ryan Grice-Mullen with 44 seconds to play.

Quietly though, The Huskies didn't go away quietly. Locker connected with Michael Gottlieb for a 25-yard completion to near midfield, then found Marcel Reece down the sidelines on the next play to give the UW a first down at the Warrior four-yard line with 20 seconds to play.

Two plays later, Washington appeared to have scored a touchdown [HTML_REMOVED] but Locker's pass bounced off Reece's chest and was intercepted by Ryan Mouton, icing the biggest victory in Hawaii history.

With the win, the Warriors are headed to the Sugar Bowl where they will face Georgia

[Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]