SEATTLE — Weather permitting, the University of Washington football team will be at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday.
The California Golden Bears have every intention of being there as well.
It’s which UW team, and which Cal team, that shows up Saturday that is still to be determined.
Two of the most unpredictable teams in one of the country’s most unpredictable conferences will square off this weekend with their seasons on the line.
“Every week, especially in this league, this year, you’re going to have to show up because you don’t know who you’re going to get on the other side,” UW quarterback Jake Locker said.
It’s especially true for this game.
Cal (5-6 overall, 3-5 in the Pacific-10 Conference) has beaten four opponents by 20 points or more. The Bears also have been outscored by at least 20 points on four other occasions. They won their first two games by 94 total points, then gave up 52 points to Nevada. They barely beat lowly Washington State three weeks ago, almost upset top-ranked Oregon the following week, then got blown out by Stanford on Saturday.
“It’s difficult, obviously,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “But this conference is so competitive that you can have an up-and-down season. You have to bring you’re A-game each and every week if you want to be successful.”
If unpredictability loves company, then the Bears will find a bosom buddy in Saturday’s opponent. The Huskies have looked good (in a one-sided win over Syracuse and upsets of ranked USC and Oregon State), bad (in blowout losses to Arizona and Stanford) and ugly (in a home loss to Arizona State) this season. More than once, all three adjectives fit the Huskies in a single game.
“It seems like we either come to play, or we just come with a sense that we can just play with (the opponent) for a little while,” wide receiver Devin Aguilar said. “It’s just knowing that need to go and finish the whole game. That’s the problem.”
A strong performance in the first half of the Oregon game earlier this month, followed by last Thursday’s win over UCLA, have the Huskies looking a little more stable heading into the final two games.
“As a coach, you want to see your team get better, and not have the roller-coaster effect,” said UW coach Steve Sarkisian, whose team has yet to win back-to-back games this season. “You want to see them kind of on that steady increase or incline of play, and I think we’ve shown that (in recent weeks).
“We’ve had some dips, but hopefully these final two big ballgames, we can continue to get better and better. Because if we do that, we give ourselves a great chance to succeed and win ballgames.”
UW’s hopes for stability might actually stem from the three consecutive blowout losses to ranked teams. Despite getting hammered by Arizona, Stanford and Oregon, the Huskies found reason for optimism and now believe they’re better for it.
“There were points in those games when we were competing with those teams at some point or another,” linebacker Cort Dennison said. “When you’re playing against those top-10 teams, and you see how much success they’re having, it gives you hope. I think it was a good, competitive stretch for us. That was probably the toughest part of our season because all those teams are such good teams. It gets you working, it gets you striving.
“… I think that was definitely a tough part of our schedule, but I think it was good for our team.”
Cal’s schedule hasn’t had quite the murderer’s row, but the Bears have yet to find much consistency nonetheless. The longest streaks — both winning and losing — have been two games.
So which Cal team will show up Saturday?
“They’re definitely going to have a lot of motivation,” UW’s Aguilar said. “They have to win to get in a bowl game, the (42-10) loss (to UW) last year. Also, it’s their last (game) in the stadium.
“So they’re going to come out with a lot of energy. We basically have to stay focused on not worry about last year.”
The bigger question, for the Huskies, is which UW team will show up Saturday.
“We always expect our good team to show up, but sometimes things don’t go your way,” Dennison said. “Now, it’s a do-or-die attitude that we have. We realize that we have to win these last two games. We really have to bring in. Because if we don’t, we’re not going to be in a bowl game.”
Notes
Defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu sat out Tuesday’s practice because of a flare-up in his sore right ankle. Coach Nick Holt said there could be some gout involved in the injury but added that the Huskies expect to have him back as soon as today. Chris Robinson worked with the No. 1 defense in Ta’amu’s place Tuesday. … The weather kept a few members of the UW coaching staff from going home after Monday’s workday. Head coach Steve Sarkisian was among about a half-dozen coaches who slept at the office Monday night. “You know us coaches, we’re a dedicated bunch,” said safeties coach Jeff Mills, who lives near Duvall but got five hours of sleep on the floor of his office Monday night. The snow didn’t scare off all the UW coaches. Linebackers coach Mike Cox took the back roads from Montlake to his Edmonds house and was home in just over an hour. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt also slept in his own bed. “I don’t live in the big, nice suburbs,” he said, “so I was OK.” Assistant Torrey Myers had it the worst. He left his car on I-5 after two hours stuck in traffic and returned to work late Monday night.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
