Washington Huskies Football: Eight Games in

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From the opening kickoff, we knew this was going to be a hard year to predict for the Washington Huskies. Coming off a record-breaking season, and not records you want to break, it appeared that the Huskies could only go up.

Heading into the bye week standing with a record of 3-5, this team hasn’t gotten any easier to figure out. While the new found energy and optimism around the program is undeniable, the results show this is very much still a work in progress.

Starting in week one UW came out with a chip on their shoulder determined to prove that his was not last year’s 0-12 squad. A new coaching staff brings eternal optimism especially coming off of a depressingly bad season where the coach appeared to all but give up on his squad.

Fate did not appear to be kind for the Huskies when SEC power LSU came to the shores of Lake Washington to open the season.

Excitement was in the air, and there was a sense of optimism, but still an overwhelming feeling of, “well hopefully we can keep it close” was still dominate for most of the crowd. The Huskies came to play that night however, and although the tempered optimism and hopes of keeping it close were accurate, UW showed signs of improvement and toughness that had been lacking over the past few years.

For the first time in what felt like forever, an opponent left Husky Stadium respecting Washington, feeling like they might have just escaped with a win from a highly underrated team.

After a week of being congratulated on how close they played LSU, which Coach Sarkisian found odd and not something to get used to, it was time for the Huskies to take the field against the Idaho Vandals.

This game set up well for Washington in that they have dominated the Vandals and gave the Huskies an excellent opportunity to end their 15-game losing streak. UW did just that defeating the Vandals 42-23 powered by Jake Lockers 253 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 68 percent completion percentage.

Given confidence by a solid performance against LSU and a win against Idaho the Huskies prepared for the USC Trojans to roll into Husky Stadium. Sitting at No. 3 in the nation and coming off a big win against Ohio State University it appeared that the Trojans should just roll through the Huskies.

However, there were several factors coming into this game that gave fans the idea that it might not be exactly what they were expecting. Out were starting quarterback Matt Barkley and safety Taylor Mays. For a USC team that has suffered inexplicable Pac-10 losses the last few years, it wasn’t out of the realm out possibility that history could repeat itself.

Especially considering the Trojans were facing a coaching staff that would know them as well as any in the country having coached there prior to jumping to Washington. Despite these factors there was still an overwhelming sense of Trojan confidence at Husky Stadium and just hopeful optimism coming from the locals.

On paper it should not have been even close. The game started with USC racing down the field and it appeared it was going to be another one of those long days Washington fans have felt over the last several years. Then something happened and the Trojan offense met a scrappy Washington Red Zone defense and could not put away the Huskies who benefited from turnovers and poor execution on USC’s part.

Playing to a standstill until the final possession Jake Locker led his squad down the field for a game winning field goal that sent Husky Stadium into a frenzy. An excitement that has not witnessed in years that culminated in the crowd spilling onto the field in celebration.

The atmosphere after the game was electric, and there was a feeling that this was the turning point for the program. After all, if UW can hang with the 2007 National Champion LSU and defeat the mighty men from Troy, then why in the world is a bowl game not possible?

The athletic department felt so strongly about it they released t-shirts to commemorate the upset win and released a DVD of the game the following week. Everyone was ready to embrace the return of the Dawgs.

There turned out to be two problems with the pronouncement that Washington was back; they had to go on the road, and Stanford didn’t get the memo that Washington was back. Traveling to the farm the Huskies came in with a lot of optimism and expectations only to find themselves run over by Toby Gerhart and the Stanford Cardinal.

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