Published: Monday, November 16, 2009
Sarkisian insists UW still a ‘good team’
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Associated Press
Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian (right) congratulates Oregon State head coach Mike Riley at the end of Saturday’s game in Corvallis, Ore.
SEATTLE — This was supposed to be the easiest two-week stretch of the season for the University of Washington football team.
The Huskies have a bye this weekend, followed by the Nov. 28 Apple Cup against a comatose Washington State football program. A few weeks ago, this stretch looked like a two-week walk in the park.
But one thing UW has proven of late is that nothing comes easy.
The bye week that began today will be filled with soul-searching, head-scratching and maybe even a little tail-chewing. And after the way the Huskies played in a 48-21 loss to Oregon State on Saturday, they might be the only team that WSU feels confident about playing.
“All three phases, we just didn’t perform to our capability,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Huskies lost a game in which they trailed by at least 20 points for the entire second half. “Fortunately, we’ve got a bye week to try to get that rectified and to finish this season the way that I know we’re capable of (finishing).
“We’ve got to find a way to get back and get right and back to playing the level of football that I know we’re capable of playing.”
The proverbial bar certainly has been lowered in recent weeks. Since earning a No. 23 national ranking in late September, UW (3-7) has lost six of seven games and four in a row. The Huskies’ only win of the past seven weeks came on a fluke play at the end of the Arizona game.
While four of the past six losses have come right down to the wire, the Huskies have steadily regressed in almost every area. Special teams have continued to be an area of concern, while the offense has lacked consistency for most of the season.
And before fans write off Saturday’s loss as a one-week letdown, let it be known that the Huskies actually had their best defensive performance, statistically, since the Sept. 19 upset of USC — and UW still gave up 48 points to Oregon State.
“At times, we were really good,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said after an Oregon State game that saw the Huskies give up less than 400 yards for the first time in seven games.
The bar certainly has come down.
Throughout his post-game press conference, Sarkisian continued to lament about not playing “the football we know we’re capable of playing” and used phrases like: “This isn’t who we are.”
What’s becoming more and more clear is that the team that showed up Saturday is exactly who the Huskies are — that is, overmatched and outmanned. Despite playmakers such as quarterback Jake Locker, running back Chris Polk and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, the Huskies lack enough size on both lines and enough speed on defense to compete with most of the Pac-10.
The past month has seen UW lose to Pac-10 also-rans Arizona Sate and UCLA while getting blown out by both Oregon schools. The Huskies’ 2-5 record in conference games is not so much a matter of bad bounces as it is a true indication of where this program is right now.
And yet Sarkisian continues to preach his “expect to win” mantra. When asked after Saturday’s game whether the program’s turnaround is happening slower than he initially expected, he shook his head.
“I know we are better than the way we played today,” he said. “I know we are a better football team than that because we have shown it before.
“If we had never shown it then, yeah, I would be more concerned. But I have seen what we are capable of and that’s what we have to continue to strive for. And when we play to our capabilities, we are a pretty good team.”
Sarkisian has nearly two weeks to channel that team into the one that got drubbed at Oregon State over the weekend. The Huskies are likely to enter the Apple Cup as favorites for the first time in more than two months.
But after the way things have been going at UW in recent weeks, even a date with the hapless Cougars is no day off.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, the Apple Cup is — once again — more about bragging rights than trying to get to a bowl game. The bowl hopes that hovered over UW for much of this season have officially disappeared, leaving two games worth of manufactured motivation on the schedule.
“It’s huge,” Sarkisian said when asked what the final two games will mean to his program. “We’re a young football team, and we’re a team that will continue to grow in the future.
“These two last ballgames are opportunities for us to continue to grow — not only physically, but mentally.”
The Huskies have a bye this weekend, followed by the Nov. 28 Apple Cup against a comatose Washington State football program. A few weeks ago, this stretch looked like a two-week walk in the park.
But one thing UW has proven of late is that nothing comes easy.
The bye week that began today will be filled with soul-searching, head-scratching and maybe even a little tail-chewing. And after the way the Huskies played in a 48-21 loss to Oregon State on Saturday, they might be the only team that WSU feels confident about playing.
“All three phases, we just didn’t perform to our capability,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Huskies lost a game in which they trailed by at least 20 points for the entire second half. “Fortunately, we’ve got a bye week to try to get that rectified and to finish this season the way that I know we’re capable of (finishing).
“We’ve got to find a way to get back and get right and back to playing the level of football that I know we’re capable of playing.”
The proverbial bar certainly has been lowered in recent weeks. Since earning a No. 23 national ranking in late September, UW (3-7) has lost six of seven games and four in a row. The Huskies’ only win of the past seven weeks came on a fluke play at the end of the Arizona game.
While four of the past six losses have come right down to the wire, the Huskies have steadily regressed in almost every area. Special teams have continued to be an area of concern, while the offense has lacked consistency for most of the season.
And before fans write off Saturday’s loss as a one-week letdown, let it be known that the Huskies actually had their best defensive performance, statistically, since the Sept. 19 upset of USC — and UW still gave up 48 points to Oregon State.
“At times, we were really good,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said after an Oregon State game that saw the Huskies give up less than 400 yards for the first time in seven games.
The bar certainly has come down.
Throughout his post-game press conference, Sarkisian continued to lament about not playing “the football we know we’re capable of playing” and used phrases like: “This isn’t who we are.”
What’s becoming more and more clear is that the team that showed up Saturday is exactly who the Huskies are — that is, overmatched and outmanned. Despite playmakers such as quarterback Jake Locker, running back Chris Polk and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, the Huskies lack enough size on both lines and enough speed on defense to compete with most of the Pac-10.
The past month has seen UW lose to Pac-10 also-rans Arizona Sate and UCLA while getting blown out by both Oregon schools. The Huskies’ 2-5 record in conference games is not so much a matter of bad bounces as it is a true indication of where this program is right now.
And yet Sarkisian continues to preach his “expect to win” mantra. When asked after Saturday’s game whether the program’s turnaround is happening slower than he initially expected, he shook his head.
“I know we are better than the way we played today,” he said. “I know we are a better football team than that because we have shown it before.
“If we had never shown it then, yeah, I would be more concerned. But I have seen what we are capable of and that’s what we have to continue to strive for. And when we play to our capabilities, we are a pretty good team.”
Sarkisian has nearly two weeks to channel that team into the one that got drubbed at Oregon State over the weekend. The Huskies are likely to enter the Apple Cup as favorites for the first time in more than two months.
But after the way things have been going at UW in recent weeks, even a date with the hapless Cougars is no day off.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, the Apple Cup is — once again — more about bragging rights than trying to get to a bowl game. The bowl hopes that hovered over UW for much of this season have officially disappeared, leaving two games worth of manufactured motivation on the schedule.
“It’s huge,” Sarkisian said when asked what the final two games will mean to his program. “We’re a young football team, and we’re a team that will continue to grow in the future.
“These two last ballgames are opportunities for us to continue to grow — not only physically, but mentally.”
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