Huskies Give Spartans a Healthy Beating

Finally injury-free, the Washington Huskies dominated Michigan State.

Rashaan Shehee, who sat out Washington’s last three games because of a sprained knee, rushed for 193 yards and the No. 21 Huskies returned two interceptions for touchdowns in beating the No. 25 Spartans, 51-23, in Thursday’s Aloha Bowl.

Shehee scored two touchdowns, including a 33-yard run on his second carry of the game. His 193 yards broke the Aloha Bowl record of 179 by Michigan State’s Blake Ezor in 1989.

“The offensive line takes care of me,” said Shehee, who had 29 carries. “We were playing hard. We were having fun. That’s how you win games.”

The Huskies (8-4) lost their last three Pac-10 games without Shehee, but they dominated Michigan State (7-5).

“We play against some great backs in the Big Ten, but not with quite the athletic ability and speed of Shehee,” Michigan State Coach Nick Saban said.

Washington quarterback Brock Huard, who also was injured this season, completed 18 of 30 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns to Fred Coleman.

Huard said the key was the dominance of the Huskies’ linemen.

“We knew coming in, playing a Big Ten team, the emphasis would be up front,” Huard said. “We came out and established right away that the offensive and defensive lines would be ours today.”

Washington safety Tony Parrish picked off Todd Schultz’s pass and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, and linebacker Lester Towns grabbed another pass by Schultz and went 66 yards for a score.

The Huskies used some trickery for their other touchdown. On fourth and 11 in the third quarter, Mike Reed took the snap on a fake punt and raced 64 yards into the end zone.

Michigan State, blanked 38-0 by Stanford in last year’s Sun Bowl, got its points on touchdown passes of 12 and 28 yards from Schultz to Gari Scott, a 43-yard field goal by Paul Edinger and a 21-yard hookup between Bill Burke and Lavelle Richardson with two seconds left in the game.

“We didn’t play our best football,” Saban said. “I think we made too many mistakes. I don’t really understand why.”

The crowd had barely settled into their seats when the Huskies jumped on the Spartans.

Marc Renaud fumbled on Michigan State’s first offensive play, and two plays later Shehee scored his first touchdown.

Two interceptions by Parrish led to 10 more Washington points and a 31-10 halftime lead.

Parrish’s first interception led to a 41-yard field goal by Nick Lentz. He returned the second 56 yards for a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the half.