College Football: Will the Washington Huskies Duplicate Illinois' Success?

Illinois' 5-1 start gave them a No. 18 ranking in the AP poll. This was Illinois' first ranking in the AP poll since the end of the 2001 season.  However, the ranking would prove to be short-lived after consecutive losses to Iowa and Michigan. A homecoming win over Ball State gave the Illini bowl eligibility and a blowout win at Minnesota all but assured Zook's first bowl appearance as coach of the Illini.

On Nov. 10, the then-unranked Illini defeated No. 1-ranked Ohio State in Columbus, ending the Buckeyes' 28-game home winning streak. The Illini finished the 2007 regular season by defeating Northwestern to finish 9-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big 10.  Because Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the BCS National Championship game, Illinois received a bid to play in the Rose Bowl as the second-ranked team in the Big Ten. The Illini's improvement of seven wins over the 2006 season was the largest such increase of any Division I team.  Washington historically has been much stronger than Illinois on the gridiron despite the fact that the Illini have steady support from a loyal fan base, and a larger local talent base.  Washington has lacked administrative support, and cohesiveness since the national championship year. Thirteen years under Barbara Hedges were a slow death, and it is actually amazing that the machine held together that long.  President Mark Emmert has stated from the beginning that he is pro athletics, and believes that the football team is the front porch of the University. His first steps were to hire Willingham and Turner, whose jobs were to restore respectability and ethical behavior to the athletic department and football program.  Perhaps both were the right guys at the right time, but Turner was fired last Winter, and Willingham barely escaped the same axe. The problem was simple: the team was not winning.

Even though the program was clean, there was a complete disconnect with fans, boosters, alumni, and media. With over $300 million needing to be raised to rebuild the stadium, it became evident that Turner and possibly Willingham were not going to be able to sell it to the state and the public.  I have always felt that Ty was the guy that would stabilize things over 4-5 years, and whoever took over from him would have some good building blocks to take advantage of if it didn't work out. Going into year four, his program is at a crossroad.  So here we are headed into year four wondering if Willingham is going to be able to take it to the next level like Ron Zook did at Illinois last season. I think the pieces are in place to win as many as eight games this season, even though the schedule is less than kind.  Jake Locker has a year under his belt, and that makes a big difference even though his skill players need to step up to the plate immediately. This team is going to be very young in places, but overall the talent has improved at almost every position. It's time to win at Washington, and it is time to produce an Illinois type turnaround at Montlake in 2008.

  Tidbits  It looks like a couple of recruits are missing the start of the bridge program today. RB Demetrius Bronson could be delayed a couple of days and is meeting with coaches to go over whatever requirements he is missing. Bronson is confident that he will be eligible for Fall since he is picking up some credits from a BYU extension course.  QB Dominique Blackman is waiting for results on his ACT. His GPA slid a bit since he took his SAT, which means he has to raise his score a bit to qualify. Blackman reports that he is down to 240 pounds after playing volleyball this past Spring . This means if he makes camp, he should be around 235 by the time the season begins.  Both of these kids were expected to redshirt this season, so if it takes a little extra time I guess it is okay. However, they do fall behind the rest of the class, since the kids in school will be going to informal workouts on Tuesday with the rest of the team until practice begins in August.  One thing to keep in mind is the kids are always positive up to the minute they don't qualify to get in, so keep your fingers crossed on both of these guys.

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