Huskies Escape at Berkeley : Pacific 10: Washington beats California, 24-17, to stay unbeaten, but loses aura of invincibility.

BERKELEY —  To understand how close Washington came to losing its No. 3 ranking, its undefeated status, its near-automatic invitation to the Rose Bowl and its chance at a national championship, you needed only to watch Husky quarterback Billy Joe Hobert in the waning moments of Saturday’s game against No. 7 California.

His heart pounding, his knees wiggling, Hobert stood on the sidelines of Memorial Stadium, double zeroes shining on the scoreboard clock atop the 24-17 score, and watched as Cal quarterback Mike Pawlawski released a desperation pass that could have ruined Washington’s dream season. In the time it took for a football to travel 23 yards, Hobert would know whether the Huskies’ quest for perfection remained alive.

Hurrying toward the Washington end zone was wide receiver Brian Treggs--with Husky cornerback Walter Bailey right behind. Treggs turned, set himself, jumped . . . and then watched as the pass sailed over his outstretched hands.

Washington won, but not in the grand tradition of earlier Husky wipeouts. Instead, the Huskies (6-0) celebrated a near-miss rather than a sure victory. When they hurried onto the field to congratulate Bailey, Pawlawski’s pass still bouncing on the artificial turf, the Huskies appeared more relieved than happy.

“When the ball hit the ground,” said Hobert, who completed only 15 of 34 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception, “I was jumping. No, actually, I dropped down to my knees.”

Hobert can be excused for his memory lapse. He was hounded most of the day by a hard-hitting defense that cared not one bit about the Huskies’ national reputation. At one point, the Bears (5-1) sent him to the sidelines with a pinched nerve. He returned, but with a greater respect for Cal.

When the game was finished, Hobert searched out the fiery Pawlawski, who takes defeats personally. Hobert shook his hand and said, “You made it too damn close for me.”

Pawlawski smiled. He knew.

So did a Memorial Stadium audience of 74,500. As the Bears retreated to their locker room, the crowd stood and applauded as if Cal had won, not lost. Pawlawski appreciated the gesture, but. . . .

“The loss crushed us,” he said.

It was the game that would create a new order in the Pacific 10 Conference standings, or re-establish Washington’s dominance. In a way, it did a little of both.

The Huskies crept away with a victory, but they didn’t look good doing it. Washington scored more points, had more first downs (21-15), more rushing yards (252-114) and more total yards (441-329), but it also led in errors. And costly ones at that.

A quick review:

First quarter--A Hobert stumble and tumble on the Huskies’ first pass attempt, followed by a fumble.

Second quarter--Two more fumbles, a botched series of plays after having the ball first and goal at the Cal three-yard line (Washington had to settle for a field goal) and an interception on a first-and-15 situation at the Cal 16.

Third quarter--A 30-yard punt return negated by a blocking penalty, a 39-yard pass completion negated by a holding penalty, a missed 34-yard field goal and a miscalled defensive adjustment that resulted in a 68-yard Cal touchdown run.

Fourth quarter--A fumble, a 13-yard touchdown run negated by yet another holding penalty, a missed 42-yard field goal and an offsides penalty that, combined with an offsetting Cal penalty, allowed the Bears that final shot at the end zone with no time remaining.

The Huskies, who fumbled four times in all and were penalized eight times for 71 yards, said they felt fortunate to head home with an unblemished record. Of course, the same thing doesn’t hold true for Washington pride, which took a bit of a beating.

“Thank goodness for the defense,” Hobert said. “Offensively, I think we stunk it up.”

Hobert wasn’t through. Commenting on his own performance, he said, “I’m not impressed with myself.”

As for the score, Hobert was even more emphatic in his disgust.

“It should have been better than 24,” he said. “That’s pathetic for the University of Washington.”

Cal deserves some credit for the narrow Husky margin of victory, mostly because it did whatever was needed in the early going.

Rather than get buried by the usual Washington offensive machine, which entered the game averaging 500 yards and 47 points, Cal took the initiative and led, 7-0, with 2:30 remaining in the first period. A 59-yard pass from Pawlawski to Sean Dawkins, who later had to leave the game because of a bruised thigh, accounted for the first score.

It was only the second time this season that the Huskies had trailed an opponent.

Washington made the score 7-7 on a Hobert-to-Mario Bailey scoring pass on the next possession and moved ahead, 10-7, when Travis Hanson kicked a 23-yard field goal with 10:07 left in the second quarter.

Cal responded with 50-yard field goal by Doug Brien. Washington running back Jay Barry, who finished with 154 yards in 19 carries, gave the Huskies a 17-10 lead at halftime with a nine-yard scoring run.

“After Jay’s touchdown, I thought, ‘This thing is over,’ ” Washington Coach Don James said.

The third quarter was a wash until Cal tailback Lindsey Chapman burst through the middle of the Washington defense, not stopping until he dived into the Husky end zone. The 68-yard run was made possible by another Washington goof--”A missed alignment on our part,” defensive tackle Steve Emtman said. “A stupid mistake on our part.”-- and made the score 17-17.

It didn’t stay that way. Cal kicked off and one play later, Washington tailback Beno Bryant broke free for a 65-yard scoring run.

Bryant finished with 104 yards in only 12 carries. Actually, he was lucky to be playing at all. A virus rendered him nearly useless in practice, and Saturday, as the Huskies prepared to leave the locker room for the pregame warmups, James noticed a slight problem.

“(Bryant) was bleeding out of his nose,” James said.

There were other difficulties as the day wore on. For starters, Hobert struggled. Then came the fumbles. Then the penalties. Then the knack of giving up the big play to pesky Cal. Before Washington knew it, the game had come down to a single desperation pass.

“It really shouldn’t have come down to the last play,” Emtman said.

But it did. And for the first time since--what?--1959, when the Bears went to the Rose Bowl, a Washington-Cal game had this sort of meaning.

“A few breaks here and there and it might have been a different story,” said Cal Coach Bruce Snyder. “But that’s life.”