Here are a few other quotes from players and coaches after the Hawaii game:

UW QUARTERBACK JAKE LOCKER

OVERALL THOUGHTS ON GAME: We just weren't able to pull the game out. It was a tough game. It wasn't really that last play that it came down to. We didn't score in the second half. Our defense gave us the opportunity to win the game, and we didn't take advantage of it.

HOW DID HAWAII LIMIT THE RUN IN THE SECOND HALF?: They boxed up a little bit more to stop our run and for the most part they were pretty efficiencent of doing that.

THOUGHTS ON CRITICISM OF WILLINGHAM?: We're all behind coach. We all like what he's done here. We have a lot of respect for him. There's not a game that we went out when we didn't play for each other and play for him and play for the coaches. We're a team, and so everytime we step on that field we're playing for everybody as part of the team. Obviously we're out there playing for him, and we support him.

UW CORNERBACK ROY LEWIS:

WHAT CHANGED IN THE GAME: I think we did a good job mixing up coverages and disguising things (early). We came out at halftime and made some more adjustments. The whole thing was just trying to keep Brennan confused about what defense and what coverages we were in. That worked for the majority of the game, but when it came down to it, they just made some key plays.

HOW WOULD HAWAII DO IN PAC-10? Probably last. To really be honest. They're a good team for the conference that they are in, but the Pac-10, I think there are just too many heavy hitters. Once teams get their number and have the right plays called, that system, like all systems, can be broken. You can find glitches in the system. They run their system very well, don't get me wrong, but there are some glitches that can be put out there.

HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT TO HAVE IT END THIS WAY? It's very frustrating. I'm at a loss for words. I just believe so much in this team, and I think so many people believe in this team, but it's not going to happened until everyone just decides that, hey, we've had enough and it's time to go out there and play like we know how to play. Hopefully us seniors fought hard and set the tone for these young guys. It's heading in the right direction, but in order for this program to rise to the top like I know we can, these guys just have to come in and work hard, and they'll reap the rewards next season, I guarantee it. I love this team to death, and this team is going to be a great team in years to come.

THOUGHTS ON THE CRITICISM THAT TYRONE WILLINGHAM IS RECEIVING:
I think Willingham just came in and turned this program around a complete 180. If you knew realized where this program was when he took it over, even the mindset of the players. So it goes far beyond the winning records and the actual results of the game. Just remember this. Coaches can't play the game, players have to play the game. This year was a bust. We had some opportunities to really compete on a higher level and show what we can do. Next year has to be the year, it just has to. There's nowhere else to go.

UW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TIM LAPPANO:

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I thought we were going to win the game. We had the two-point play ready to go. I think he was going to go for two. He asked me if I had a two-point play. I still don't know really what happened. I thought he had a chance to catch it, and next thing I know they're yelling and I see the ball going the other way. I thought Jake made two really nice throws in the two-minute drive. He hit the tight end against a two-safety look down the middle and then threw a fade on the left side there, and I though he might score on that.

ON THE OFFICIALS: You knew that was coming, we all knew that was coming here. Everybody knew that was coming. But we didn't make enough plays. We had opportunities a couple of times on third down to make a couple of plays and didn't make plays. We can't do that. They fought all the way to the end.

ON JAKE LOCKER: He did a lot of good things. We've still got to get him a lot more accurate. They pressured a little bit more in the second half and disrupted us a little bit in the passing game and they got a lot of heat on him. Overall, he was a second-team All-American, the freshman of the year and all of that, but we've got some work to do with his release and with his accuracy still.

WHAT DOES LOCKER NEED TO DO TO NEXT YEAR?: The first thing I want to do is get him more accurate, then we'll worry about all of that stuff. I want to get his accuracy better this winter. Get his release up, get the ball up higher. Those are the things we've got to get done first, but yeah, we'll look at some things like that. ... He's not far away. He's made some good deep throws this year and he's made some good intermediate throws, and he's missed some. He missed the one down here for a touchdown. He'll make that nine times out of ten next year. We'll get him on line.

ON WHERE THE PROGRAM STANDS RIGHT NOW: I think we've made some improvement. We've recruited a lot of good football players. We're at 18th in the country now, and we've got three or four more known guys that we know are going to commit to us.
I think we've made a lot of progress. This program's a lot better now that it was when we got here. It is. I know there aren't enough wins yet, but I think we've done some pretty good things.
I think that's half the problem with Washington. If you look at the turnover, there is no continuity and consistency.
If we had inherited a program that had a lot of draft picksâ€"how guys have we had drafted the last three years? If we had players getting drafted and all that kind of stuff, then you've got to say 'Wait a minute now,' but I think we are really close to doing some great things. I think the recruiting thing shows that. We played a good football team in here. Some people thought we were going to get blown out of there, and we played out tails off for the most part.
Who blew us out this year? Nobody quit. We never quit. They played hard in every game, we just didn't make plays that we need to make to win some of these types of games, and it happened again tonight. I know you guys are saying, 'Well you've said that for 11, 12, 13 weeks now,' but we'll turn the corner. We will.