Were the Washington Huskies Able to Improve After the Bye Week?

Living under a rock, it might be easy to forgive you if you haven't heard about the Washington Huskies this season. Any other year it would be a good thing to get all this media attention, but sadly, and as much as I hate to admit it; we aren't in any other year.

0 and 6 is a hard record to swallow. Pure and simple.

The constant speculation around head coach Tyrone Willingham is doing nothing for this program's self-esteem. It shows on and off the field. Production is poor and recruiting is dismal.

But all is not lost, the 34-13 home loss to Oregon State was one of the most competitive games that the Huskies have played this season; barring perhaps the game against BYU.

Don't get me wrong, there are glaring problems with the program, but this is what I noticed about the game tonight.

Ronnie Fouch is a better passer than Jake Locker

There is no one on this earth who is a bigger fanboy of Jake Locker than myself. I would go so far as say he is better than Tim Tebow, but then, I don't want to invite any more verbal abuse from Florida Bleacher Report fans than I already have in the past. Suffice it to say, I like the kid.

However, Ronnie Fouch throws a much better deep ball than Locker. I don't know if it's his baseball tendencies, but Locker throws too hard trying to get that money pass. On multiple occasions, tonight Fouch floated some beautiful passes.

There were three interceptions thrown, I will grant that, but he threw up 276 passing yards in this game. Both season highs for the Washington Huskies.

Is Washington's offense better with Ronnie Fouch under center? It's hard to say because they are different talents, but the Washington offense rolled up 377 yards of offense and were missing just that final touch that maybe Locker could give. Who knows?

I've said it before, however, I'm not scared to have Fouch in for us at quarterback.

Washington has its first 100-yard rusher in a game

From the most unlikely source as well. For all the pre-season hype of Chris Polk, I would have scoffed at the idea that Terence Dailey would be our first 100-yard rusher.

Much of that has to do, however, with a single 59-yard burst up the middle for a touchdown. It also is a bit disturbing that he is the fifth different running back the Huskies have used this season, but that has more to do with injury than anything else.

I'm inclined to say the Huskies should stick with him and try to develop that go-to back. That being said, David Freeman consistently was able to rush for more yards in each carry. Perhaps a two-back system with the two of them?

Turnovers and mistakes are turning into a major problem

Three interceptions and one fumble, with no turnovers forced on Oregon State. Frustrating to say the least.

On the 1-yard line late in the game, the Huskies were unable after four tries to punch in another TD. That was the most frustrating part of the night.

If I were to hazard a guess, the chaos of the program's future is translating to distraction on the field.

That may not be a viable excuse, but there does seem to be a distraction about the program. Almost all media attention the Huskies get is related to poor performance and the future of Coach Willingham.

The place this is most evident is on the offensive line, which played a big part in the problems listed about. Fouch is stuck with a pocket that literally evaporates if he needs time to let the play develop.

The Oregon State defensive line got behind the line four times to stop the Huskies on the goal line.

Being the amateur I am, I doubt that I could really have any answers beyond having the players do what they already do, put their heads down and work.

The Husky defense played about as well as you could have asked

I'll be honest, I wasn't completely in despair watching the Husky defense this time around. They made some stops here and there and didn't give up any huge pass plays.

They kept Jaquizz Rodgers under 100 yards after he had posted four consecutive 100+ games, with one 168-yard performance against the Trojans of USC.

On a pass percentage basis, Lyle Moevao looks pretty good, and in truth he played well and made throws when he needed to. There were several key pass defense plays, especially one in the end zone broken up by Quinton Richardson on third down from the 6 yard line.

The problem came with the speed of James Rodgers, who was able to bolt past the Husky defense for scores on three occasions. I don't even really blame the Husky defense on it really, the kid was just quick.

Without those three key scores, the game would be very different. But anything goes in football, and Oregon State capitalized on their opportunities.

The score indicates a blowout almost, but it was a much closer game than that. The Huskies made mistakes and Oregon State was able to make the big plays. Sometimes that's just how it goes.

I'm looking forward to seeing if the coaching staff is able to correct the mistakes and build on the positives from the game. The Notre Dame game is going to be another interesting test for the Huskies.

I'll be there next week though, and I'll pass on what I see as always. Until then:

GO DAWGS!!!