Defense carries the load for UW

Danny Shelton got the situation he had envisioned all offseason.

The Washington defensive tackle jogged onto the field with the Huskies leading Hawaii by one late in the fourth quarter on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

Ranked No. 25 and favored by 17 points against the Rainbow Warriors, the Huskies were a couple of busted plays away from a devastating loss to a team coming off a 1-11 season.

Instead, Shelton and the UW defense came up big one final time, forcing a punt with less than three minutes remaining.

After 97 plays, Washington’s defense left the field, never to return, as the offense ran out the clock to preserve a 17-16 win.

"We’ve been talking about it throughout camp (and the) offseason," said Shelton, who flirted with entering the NFL Draft before returning for his senior season. "We want to be that strong tower for our team, come out with energy and keep us in the game."

The defense did more than just keep UW in the game — it won it.

After giving up 10 points on Hawaii’s first two drives, UW held UH to two field goals over the final 48 minutes.

Shelton, listed at 6-foot-2, 339 pounds, capped a monster 12-tackle, two-sack performance with a key first-down stop on an Ikaika Woolsey run.

It forced UH into a second-and-long situation and resulted in a punt two plays later. When asked about Washington’s final defensive stand, Shelton couldn’t even remember the play.

"Honestly, I’m a little exhausted (and) kind of cramping right now," Shelton said. "These guys came out ready to play and that’s all I remember."

UW’s defense was on the field for 97 plays — 16 more than Oregon ran against the Huskies last season.

Washington was outplayed by the Rainbow Warriors and were dominated in nearly every category except the scoreboard.

UH had more total yards and more rushing yards, while UW completed less than 40 percent of its passes.

The Huskies punted the ball eight times in the second half and went three-and-out on five drives.

"I think it’s going to be a big wake-up call," first-year UW coach Chris Petersen said.

Petersen, lured to Washington from Boise State in the offseason after Steve Sarkisian left for USC, has a lot of work to get done if the Huskies want to contend in the Pac-12.

Quarterback Jeff Lindquist started 7-for-10 before completing three of his last 16 throws.

Sophomore Cyler Miles, who played in eight games as a freshman, was suspended for the season opener after an off-the-field incident in February.

Petersen said he never considered inserting backup Troy Williams and was non-committal on naming a starter for next week.

"We’re going to do this the right way," Petersen said. "We’re going to look at this with a fine-toothed comb and figure out what the best is."

Until then, the defense will have to carry the load.

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