The Huskies had a disappointing game on Saturday, and the bad news continued on Monday as Husky Coach Steve Sarkisian announced Jake would not play vs. #1 Oregon because of a broken rib.
Stanford beat Washington convincingly, 41-0, after the Huskies couldn’t get on track in any facet of the game. And, as the Huskies moved on and hoped to focus on the upcoming big game with the top ranked Ducks, they were dealt another challenge: the injury of their senior quarterback.
As Jake was deemed healthy to play in the Stanford game, Coach Sarkisian admitted on Monday that he wasn’t at full strength vs. the Cardinal, and that the injury got worse during the game.
“It went from a cartilage injury to a hairline fracture to now a crack in the rib,” Sarkisian said. “This has escalated into an injury more than just pain, so we are dealing with it as such…..He took a couple good shots that kind of escalated this thing to a whole ‘nother level for us. It’s unfortunate. I know Jake wants to be out there in the worst way but this is the right thing to do.”
After consecutive losses to 2 of the top 3 teams in the Pac-1o, the Huskies are hoping they can salvage their season and win 3 of the next 4 to get to .500 and bowl eligibility. That task is daunting with a visit to Eugene looming, especially with a redshirt freshman Keith Price’s first start at quarterback, but Jake and the team has confidence in Price’s abilities.
“He’s a really talented football player: Jake said. “He’s got a really good feel for the game of football. That’s natural, something you can’t really teach. And he plays with a confidence in himself, and that’s something I think you saw early in the season when he came in the game against USC in a tight situation and threw a touchdown on his first play from scrimmage. So I think there’s a confidence and a natural ability that he has that’s pretty special.”
Jake’s status for the rest of the season is to be determined, based on how his ribs heal over the next week and a half. The Huskies have a bye week after the Oregon game, followed by a nationally televised Thursday night game at home vs. UCLA, a game that was planned for that exposure/date and time in part because of it being Jake’s last home game.
The game at Oregon will be Saturday at 12:30 on ABC.
