Well it is back to the drawing board during the second bye week of the year before Washington finishes its season against Washington State and California at home. What started in August with so much promise is starting to look more and more like 2008 with two games left.
The coaches goal for the next three weeks at this point is simply survival. They need to rally their team to finish strong with a victory over Washington State and a competitive game with California so they can finish the season on a high note.
The only thing that is going to make this team better going into the future is a better collection of bigger, faster, more dedicated, and stronger athletes. We all knew that going into this season but somehow we expected a litt more. We expected the breaks to go our way and somehow get into a bowl game. Last second losses against Notre Dame, ASU, and UCLA dashed those hopes. So close but yet so far.
Even with a bowl out the window the Huskies can still accomplish some good things in the last two games. RS Frosh RB Chris Polk is sitting at 900 yard with two games left. Picking up over 1000 yards is quite an accomplishment when you consider the quality of his offensive line.
The Apple Cup is always a big game no matter what the teams records are going in. Jake Locker has never won an Apple Cup as a starting QB. The Huskies have lost two in a row to the Coug's. Playing a team like Washington can be a great confidence builder for a team that is on a losing streak.
The key for this team is to circle the wagons, pull together, and finish strong. If they don't there will be more questions going into 2010 than there were going into 2009.
Recruiting News
Washington picked up a commitment from one of the best linebackers on the West coast in MLB Victor Burnett from Culver City, Ca.. Burnett is the 23rd known recruit in the 2010 class.
Around the Pac 10
Stanford 55 USC 21
Toby Gerhart rushed for 178 yards and three TD's to lead Stanford to a crushing victory over the Trojans. Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score for the Cardinal (7-3, 6-2 Pac-10), who followed up their surprising rout of Oregon last week with a strong start and a big finish at the Coliseum. Richard Sherman returned an interception 42 yards for a score with 11:41 to play, part of a 27-point fourth quarter for the Cardinal.
California 24 Arizona 16
Credit the Bears for not folding this season once they fell out of the Rose Bowl race. Give them even more credit for bouncing back from a tough loss to Oregon State. Shane Vereen scored on a 61-yard run immediately after an illegal forward pass knocked Arizona out of position for a potential game-winning field goal, and the Golden Bears went on to a 24-16 victory over the Wildcats
Oregon 44 Arizona State 21
LaMichael James ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns. LeGarrette Blount suited up and was ready to play for the first time since his suspension for punching an opponent was lifted -- but only watched as Oregon had little problem with the Sun Devils. The Sun Devils' run defense, the best in the Pac-10 going into the game, allowed the Ducks to gain 268 yards on the ground. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 10 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
UCLA 43 Washington State 7
Kevin Prince threw for 314 yards and ran for a touchdown as UCLA beat Washington State 43-7 on Saturday in a showdown of the bottom two teams in the Pacific-10. The Bruins even their slate at 5-5 and need to win one of the last two to become bowl eligible.
Pac 10 Power Rankings
1. Oregon...The good news is the Ducks control their Rose Bowl destiny with two games to go. The bad news is the final two games are against Arizona and OSU.
2. Stanford...I knew the Cardinal were pretty good after they took apart the Huskies earlier in the year. The impressive thing is they have kept getting better. Up next are Cal and Notre Dame.
3. Oregon State...The Beavers were very impressive in their trashing of Washington on Saturday. Up next are the Cougars and a possible battle for Pasadena in Autzen?
4. Southern California...Can you actually say Sun Bowl and Trojans in the same sentence? Up next are two more games they can lose against UCLA and Arizona.
5. California...Give credit to the Bears for not folding this season once they fell out of the Rose Bowl race. Give them even more credit for bouncing back from a tough loss to Oregon State.
6. Arizona...The Wildcats had Pasadena in their sights but didn't get it done against Cal. They still get a shot at Oregon and finish with the Sun Devils. UA still has control of their RB destiny if they beat Oregon. I don't think they can beat Oregon.
7. UCLA...The Bruins move to 5-5 as Rick Neuheisel starts talking bowl game. Before he gets too carried away they have to beat ASU next week. Looks like a winnable game for the Bruins.
8. Arizona State...The Brock Osweiler era started against the Ducks who promptly knocked him out of the game. The Devils finish with UCLA and Arizona.
9. Washington...We haven't had the Huskies ranked this low all season but the OSU debacle does that to a team. The Huskies have a week off before finishing with WSU and Cal.
10. Washington State...The season is over in Pullman except for the annual Apple Cup. The Cougs tend to play better than they are in that game while the Huskies do the opposite. Before that happens though the Cougs get the Beavers.
Pac 10 Player of the Week
Toby Gerhart of Stanford tore up USC for 178 yards and three TD's
Husky Player of the Week
Jermaine Kearse pulled down two TD catches in a loss the the Beavers.
Quote of the Week
Steve Sarkisian commenting on the Husky Defensive effort - "I think they kind of wore out. We didn't help them. I think at halftime we had only ran maybe a little over 20 plays. We weren't keeping them off the field. They were in horrible field positions they were put into today with the interception, with the shanked punt, with the big kickoff return. Those are not fun positions to be in when you're starting at your own end of the field on defense.''