Locker Era Starts Big as UW Crushes Orange

After a slow start and a quick 3-0 Syracuse lead, you had to wonder what all the fuss was about in regards to phenom QB Jake Locker. But after a scoreless first quarter, Locker got rolling in the 2nd by using his feet as much as his arm, sparking the Huskies to a lead they would never relinquish as UW ran away from Syracuse, 42-12.

Locker was off his game early, starting only 1-for-4 for seven yards, before settling into a nice rhythm to finish the game at 14-for-19 with 143 yards through the air. Locker would hit on 13 of his final 15 passing attempts as his confidence seemed to grow with every tick of the clock.

The most impressive aspect of Locker's game was his ability to run the ball and make something out of nothing. Sean McDonough was doing the play-by-play on ESPN and mentioned that UW coaches had watched some film on Pat White and West Virginia this offseason, trying to add in some extra wrinkles to the offense to get the most out of Locker's athleticism. No doubt that film work showed tonight. There were some of those read-option plays, but Locker's ability really showed when he would tuck it and run on plays where there didn't seem to be anything there. His 25-yard second quarter run when it was still a tight game seemed to lift the entire football team, and really, UW didn't look back from that point on. Locker finished with 83 yards on nine carries, while sitting out the entire fourth quarter. It's easy to envision him going over 100 yards if he would have played another couple of series tonight, as Syracuse just had no answer for Locker.

Some other things to take from this game:

• Louis Rankin (pictured) had a big game and clearly helped Locker settle down early by running hard at the 'Cuse defense. Rankin would finish with 147 yards and three scores and his 47-yard TD run early in the 3rd quarter put UW up 21-6 as they cruised from that point. But it was Rankin's 61 first-half yards and tough presence early in the game that took heat off Locker's slow start.
• UW controlled the line of scrimmage on offense, racking up an impressive 303 rushing yards, and 445 yards of total offense. The Huskies really ground out the long drives, with three scoring possessions of 80 yards, and two more of 70 yards.
• The UW defense was in Andrew Robinson's face all night long. Robinson put up some respectable numbers passing in his first-ever start, going 20-for-32 for 200 yards and a TD, but he was on the run for much of the night. The Husky pass rush was ferocious, sacking Robinson seven times. The worst thing for Robinson was that he had absolutely no help at all from his running backs. Starting RB Curtis Brinkley could only muster eight yards on seven carries. Syracuse only had eight total rushing yards on a night that they were whipped by the UW defensive line. They were completely one-dimensional, and it's hard to generate much offense out of a young QB if he doesn't have any help from the running game. Syracuse could have used a back like Louis Rankin on a night like this!

Now let's not bet the mortgage on Jake Locker's enshrinement to the NCAA Hall of Fame just yet. Keep in mind that Syracuse was picked to be a last-place team in the Big East, and there is a reason for that. Talent wise they did not look to be on the same level as UW, and their team speed on defense was definitely lacking. And, there wasn't any tape out there of Locker, so, the Syracuse defensive coaches really didn't have much to go on for this game. Now the secret is out there for public consumption, and opposing coaches have game film to break down and try to figure out how to stop this young player on the rise.

However, you just can't deny that the Locker era is off to a great beginning. It's hard to imagine a debut for a young QB going much better than this.