Washington Huskies Football and Basketball Links: Chris Petersen’s Program Denigrated as “A Fraud”

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• Dan Wolken of the USA Today doesn’t hold back in his assessment of the Huskies, calling this year’s team “wildly overrated” and “a fraud”:

Aside from that smashing win last September against Stanford that put them on the map nationally, what have they really done other than beat a bunch of mediocre Pac-12 teams? Washington didn’t come particularly close to beating Southern California or Alabama in the playoff last year (the Huskies were quite fortunate they got Colorado rather than the Trojans in the Pac-12 title game), and this season has been a flat-out disappointment. ... Chris Petersen’s 20-4 record the last two years looks flashy, but it’s just empty calories.

While there are many areas of legitimate criticism to which we can subject this year’s football team, it strikes me as more than a bit salacious to use words like “fraud” to describe a program that went toe-to-toe with Alabama in what amounted to a home game for the Crimson Tide. To be sure, Washington’s offense has taken a step back without speed demon John Ross threatening to take the lid off of opposing defenses, and the passing game in particular has not lived up to expectations.

However, that ignores the very legitimate caveat that Washington has lost more than a handful of players to season-ending injuries who were expected (or already had become) meaningful contributors in 2017. That includes players like Chico McClatcher, Trey Adams, Hunter Bryant (there’s hope he might recover by season’s end), David Ajamu and Quinten Pounds — and that’s just on offense.

No team in America is unscathed by injury at this point in the season, of course, and some undoubtedly have it worse than the Huskies. But acting like this year’s diminished offense retroactively makes last year’s accomplishments amount to “empty calories” doesn’t pass the sniff test.

• The full broadcast of Friday’s game against the Stanford Cardinal is on YouTube. (At least, it is for now. Get it while it’s hot!)
• Adam Jude breaks down Washington’s possible bowl game destinations, now that the College Football Playoff is out of the picture.
• In a development that surely put a smile on every face in the Palouse, the Washington State Cougars are ranked one spot ahead of the Huskies in this week’s AP poll.
• The Dawgs are down to No. 4 in Kyle Bonagura’s latest power rankings. Meanwhile, they fell from No. 7 to No. 17 in USA Today’s weekly re-rank of every college football team across America.
• Paul Myerberg calls the entire Pac-12 conference one of Week 11’s losers.
• Noah Dickerson turned in a monster performance last night against Eastern Washington, racking up 28 points and 22 rebounds as the Huskies took down the Eagles, 79-69.
• Jody Wynn’s debut as head coach of the women’s basketball team was a disappointing one, as the Huskies fell to Idaho State by a final score of 79-59.
• BAH GAWD THAT MAN HAD A FAMILY