It’s a Dog-Dazed Afternoon

“Three hundred yards,” Washington safety Greg Carothers said. “You’d like to think that wouldn’t happen.”

It happened.

A Washington defense that hadn’t given up a rushing touchdown all season gave up four to DeShaun Foster at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, along with a stunning 301 yards, the most in UCLA history.

Foster ran through the Washington defense. He ran past the Washington defense.

And when there was nothing else to do, he ran over the Washington defense.

Safety Wondame Davis was one of the last players with a chance to stop Foster on one of his touchdown runs.

Foster bulldozed him on the way to the end zone.

“He’s a lot bigger than other backs, and he stays on his feet,” Davis said. “We didn’t do a good job of wrapping him up.

“A big back like that, you’ve got to get lower. I didn’t hit him well enough the first time. You’ve got to get low or he runs through it.”

Trying to tackle Foster is no easy task.

Cornerback Omare Lowe resorted to taking an angle on him and grabbing his jersey to try to sling him out of bounds in the third quarter.

He forced Foster out at the one-yard line after a 64-yard run.

Two plays later, Foster scored anyway.

The respect was not grudging in the hallway outside the Washington locker room after Foster became the first UCLA player to run for more than 300 yards.

He finished with 301 in 31 carries--the final 92 on a fourth-quarter touchdown run.

“He’s the best I’ve seen since I’ve been playing,” Carothers said.

Larry Tripplett, the Huskies’ standout defensive tackle, didn’t withhold praise either.

“He’s a good tailback, man,” Tripplett said. “Probably one of the best backs in the country. You hit him, and somehow he stays on his feet.”

And if you make a mistake, Tripplett said, Foster makes you pay.

“He’s got such great vision that if you blow an assignment, he’ll exploit it,” Tripplett said.

“When we’re not in our gaps and make a mistake, he goes right to where we made the mistake.

“I’m not taking anything away from their offensive line, but he’s got great vision.”

Nor did Tripplett bristle at Foster still being in the game with four minutes left of a victory that was all but assured.

Not with Heisman talk being bandied around.

“I mean, he’s trying to get in his plays and showcase his talent,” Tripplett said. “A blown assignment by our defense and he’s off.”

And once he’s off, the problem is stopping him.

“He’s squirmy. Slippery,” linebacker Zach Tuiasosopo said. “He runs very hard. Pretty much all you can do as a team is wrap him up, hold on and wait for help.”

The Huskies talked about how to tackle Foster before the game. They talked about his propensity to fumble, and even on his record day, he fumbled twice, losing one.

“We just didn’t tackle well,” said Tim Hundley, Washington’s defensive coordinator.

“He’s the kind of guy you need to tackle waist-high. It’s very difficult to get him by the upper body because he’s so strong. He’s a powerful runner, and also a guy who can slide.

“He does a nice job. He’s special.”

The Huskies already knew that. The last player to score a rushing touchdown against them in a regular-season game?

Foster, who had two against Washington last season. (Purdue’s Sedrick Brown had one in last season’s Rose Bowl.)

The Huskies have seen him for the last time, anyway.

“Me and him, we’ve been battling for four years,” said Washington running back Willie Hurst, who ran for 20 yards Saturday. “My hat’s off to him. He won by a landslide.”