BYU football: Locker’s looking for a little redemption in rematch

PROVO — In some ways, The Penalty still haunts Jake Locker.

Two years ago, the Washington quarterback broke a couple of tackles and stumbled into the end zone for a touchdown against BYU with two seconds remaining, capping a 17-play drive and cutting the Huskies' deficit to 28-27.

What happened immediately following that TD was replayed countless times on national television and hotly debated for days around the country. After scoring, Locker flipped the ball high into the air, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebration.

Washington needed only an extra point to force overtime. But the 15-yard penalty forced a 35-yard PAT attempt, which was blocked by BYU's Jan Jorgensen.

With that defeat, the Huskies dropped to 0-2. Locker broke the thumb on his right hand in the fourth game and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Washington went on to go 0-12 in 2008, resulting in the end of the coach Tyrone Willingham era.

"It was a tough loss for us," Locker recalled this week when asked about his memories of that BYU contest. "It was a game that, in my opinion, if it had gone differently, it might have given us a different outcome that year. Obviously, I remember the way we lost. It sticks with you for a while."

Locker gets a rematch against BYU on Saturday (5 p.m., CBS-C), when the Huskies visit LaVell Edwards Stadium.

For Locker, a senior who's a Heisman Trophy candidate and the projected No. 1 pick in next April's NFL draft, lessons have been learned.

"I'll take the ball to the referee, this Saturday, for sure," Locker said with laugh.

What happened on Sept. 6, 2008, is still fresh in his mind.

"I felt bad because I put our team in a situation that was more difficult than it should have been," he said. "Looking back on it, I told (his teammates) I was sorry that we were put in that situation and lost the game because of it.

"But I'm not sorry for what I did. I was having fun. I wasn't trying to embarrass BYU at that point. I scored a touchdown that could have tied the game. That's pretty exciting. I celebrated with my teammates. I felt bad for putting our team in a bad situation. But I didn't feel bad for what I had done."

On the BYU side, coach Bronco Mendenhall remembers only two plays from that game — Locker throwing the ball in the air, and the blocked kick.

For the Cougars, there were lessons learned as well.