Naturally, the game will be remembered for the celebration call on Jake Locker at the end. (Here's my game story from the Sunday paper.

And it seems to me that Tyrone Willingham is right when he says the official was simply enforcing the rule as written. (See post below.)

The problem wasn't a blown call. The problem is an absurdly written rule. (However, TNT columnist John McGrath disagrees with that somewhat in his Sunday column.)

It strikes me that the NCAA has two legitimate interests when it comes to celebrations. One, when they delay the game. And two, when they taunt or belittle the other team.

Jake Locker did neither of those things.

Had Jake thrown the ball into the stands or punted the ball to midfield, that would have delayed the game and a 5-yard penalty would make sense.

Had Jake spiked the ball at the feet of an opponent, that actually would have been unsportsmanlike conduct and a 15-yard penalty would have been appropriate.

What Jake did was happily heave the ball over his head and celebrate with his teammates. There was nothing wrong with it. To the contrary, it was joyous. It could have been preserved in a Norman Rockwell painting. It was natural. It was human.

There was nothing there to legislate against, and somehow the NCAA had legislated against it.

The rule, as written, is absurd.

I don't blame the guy who made the call. I don't blame Jake. I blame those who wrote the rule.

And the affect is wiping away most of the joy -- even most of the memory -- of the first 59 minutes and 58 seconds of the game, which were pretty interesting in their own right.

A review of some of those highlights.

Player of the game
BYU quarterback Max Hall completed 30 of 41 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw one interception.
“We knew we could move the ball on them,” he said. “I think we figured out things in the second half that were working for us and we focused on that.”

Husky of the game
Sophomore safety Nate Williams had a game-high 13 tackles. He also put the hit on BYU tailback Harvey Unga that forced a touchdown-saving fumble that UW’s Tripper Johnson recovered in the end zone.

New defense, more struggles
Through two games, the Huskies have given up 72 points, 48 first downs and 971 total yards.
New defensive coordinator Ed Donatell used more of a 3-4 defense against BYU after concentrating on 4-3 and 3-3-5 alignments last weekend at Oregon.
“I didn’t see what I wanted to from Week One to Week Two, but there’s such diversity in attacks,” Donatell said. “We played a really good team that hides the ball from you the first week and then we had one that kind of shows it to you and can drop back. … (We switch defenses to increase our players’) success and get them on the field. That’s our whole intent, and really to force teams to prepare for different packages.”

Young runners
True freshman starting tailback Chris Polk went out with a dislocated shoulder after carrying six times for 14 yards.
He was replaced by David Freeman, who made his college debut with six carries for 30 yards, and redshirt freshman Willie Griffin, who carried twice for 14 yards.
Freeman became the ninth true freshman to play for the Huskies this season.
“I wouldn’t say I was really nervous, but excited,” Freeman said. “I knew I was going to play, but with Chris Polk going out, we never want a man to get hurt in any kind of way on our team or on the other team. So when he went out I was kind of disappointed, but I had to step up and play to the best of my abilities because the team needed me.”

Early leaders
Two games into the season, QB Jake Locker has completed 29 of 60 passes (48.3 percent) for 307 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Locker is also the team’s leading rusher with 119 yards. The top-rushing tailback is Chris Polk with 33 yards on 20 carries. D’Andre Goodwin is the leading receiver with 13 catches for 150 yards. Jerome Kearse has the only receiving touchdown, a 48-yarder on Saturday. Jordan Polk is averaging 17 yards on seven kickoff returns. Mason Foster is the leading tackler, with 19.

Injury report
Chris Polk is considered doubtful for the next game against Oklahoma. So is safety Darin Harris, who suffered a concussion. True freshman TE Kavario Middleton of Lakes High went out briefly with a right knee injury, but returned.

Extra points
Mason Foster’s second-quarter interception was the first of his career. … Jared Ballman improved his punting average from 35.6 yards last week to 47.8 this week. … The Huskies were penalized four times for 25 yards. … A large purple “W” was painted on the roof of Husky Stadium’s north deck, and “Go Huskies” on the south deck. …UW captains were Paul Homer, Juan Garcia, Trenton Tuiasosopo and Chris Stevens.

Next
4:45 p.m. Saturday, Oklahoma, Husky Stadium.

Ready for a little good news?

We've gotten a report that tests have come back negative on UW safety Darin Harris of Federal Way, who was injured in the second half and taken from the game by ambulance.

Harris apparently suffered a concussion, but none of the neck or spinal damage that might have been feared as he lay on the field. (Here's the complete story from our Sunday paper.)

“The outlook for Darin Harris is very good,” coach Tyrone Willingham said. “There’s no – that we’re able to tell right now – neck injury. He should be fine from that standpoint. … Even when he was down, they were being very precautionary, and I love the manner in which our medical people work. They do a great job, and they’re on the money. He was moving and saying he wanted to get back out there. We do need to send prayers to him. It was very close, but I think he’ll be all right.”

He is doubtful for next week, but that of course is well down the priority list is so sobering a situation.

Coach Tyrone Willingham said after the game that the officials almost had to make the unsportsmanlike conduct call against Jake Locker. And after reading the rule -- and the official's explanation -- it's hard to argue.

Here's the NCAA rule:

Unsportsmanlike Acts
ARTICLE 1: There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct of any act that interferes with orderly game administration the part of players, substitutes, coaches, authorized attendants of any other persons subject to the rules, before the game, during the game or between periods.
a. Specifically prohibited acts and conduct include.
2. After a score of any other play, the player in possession immediately must return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot.
This prohibits:
a. Kicking, throwing, spinning or carrying (including off of the field) the ball any distance that requires an official to retrieve it.
b. Spiking the ball to the ground. …
c. Throwing the ball high into the air.
d. Any other unsportsmanlike act or actions that delay the game.

And here's the ruling from game referee Larry Farina (obtained from UW athletic communications office):

“After scoring the touchdown, the player threw the ball into the air, and we are required, by rule, to assess a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call.”

I don't have to tell you that there has been a lot of frustration at UW over the past few years, but this might have been as frustrating as they come.

Jake Locker rolled into the end zone for what seemed to be the tying TD with eight second left. The Huskies celebrated -- no taunting, but celebrating -- and were flagged for 15 yards. Faced with a 35-yard PAT to get that needed final point, the Huskies kick was blocked.

As always, I hope you'll hope in with your analysis. I'll be back later with postgame notes and quotes.

3rd,4:17: BYU answers with a pretty methodical 63 yard drive.

3rd, 7:38: Paul Homer 1-yard dive caps half-opening 65-yard drive. Freeman provided a boost, hitting some holes quickly.

3rd quarter: Chris Polk out and true freshman David Freeman making his debut at tailback.

Halftime: We have been informed that true freshman TE Kavario Middleton of Lakes High suffered a right knee injury, and his return is questionable. Middleton made two of the big plays in the first half, throwing a big block on Locker's TD run, and recovering a Locker fumble inside the UW 10, keeping alive the drive that resulted in UW's second score.

2nd, 4:18: Cougars tied it with methodical 71-yard drive. BYU made plenty of mistakes along the way -- mostly drops -- but UW couldn't get them off the field.

2nd, 10:38: Huskies were fortunate early, but they put together a 76-yard touchdown drive for their first lead of the season. The capper was an 52-yard pass from Locker to Lakes freshman Jermaine Kearse.

1st, 3:24: Nice UW scoring drive capped by 14-yard Locker scramble. Lappano was able to spread out the BYU defense and get Goodwin, Polk and Middleton into space. Nice Middleton block on TD.

7:00 of 1st quarter: Huskies defense shifted to a straight 3-4 and forced a three-and-out.

9:30 of first quarter: The Cougars marched 76 yards on their first possession. The score was a 38-yard pass when a Cougar receiver got past the UW defense on a third and 14.

THen, Huskies three and out on their first possession.

Meanwhile, the late arriving crowd has arrived. Pretty full in the upper deck and not bad in the end zones.

12:05 p.m.: BYU won the toss and will receive. (Game is on FSN.)

UW captains are Paul Homer, Juan Garcia, Trenton Tuiasosopo and Chris Stevens.

11:50: Both teams have left the field after completing their pregame warmups.

This is either a late-arriving crowd, or a lot of those 66,000 tickets sold are being eaten.

10 a.m.: It's a cloudy but comfortable morning at Husky Stadium.

The Huskies just walked across the field and into the tunnel to prepare for the game. A game between a couple of youth teams is playing out now.

I noticed only a couple of minor changes to the stadium this season. First -- I guess for all of you who sometimes fly over the stadium -- there is a large purple "W" painted on the roof of the north upper deck.
(I am told that the words "Go Huskies" are painted on the south-side roof, from which the press box hangs.)

Also -- in hope of more major stadium changes ahead -- fans entering from the west are greeted with historic photos of the stadium and of the artist's conception of the proposed improvements that will be pitched to the Legislature.

And finally, the mural on the southeast side of the stadium -- which last season featured coach Tyrone Willingham -- this season features players only.

As for the rest of the day: We'll continue as we did last week. I'll make this one long running blog with updates as appropriate before and during the game -- which I hope makes your own comments/conversation thread easier to follow. Then, once I've been through the postgame interviews, I'll pop in with a new postgame tread of notes and quotes and of course a new comments section for your own postgame analysis.