SEATTLE — Even during a midseason swoon that saw the University of Washington football team lose six of seven games and bring back memories of the Huskies’ recent past, Scott Woodward never wavered.
The school’s athletic director knew that he had made the right hire in Steve Sarkisian, and the full portfolio that was the 2009 season only made Woodward’s enthusiasm swell.
“Obviously, (Sarkisian) met and exceeded expectations,” Woodward said Saturday night after Sarkisian and the Huskies beat 19th-ranked Cal 42-10 to cap off a 5-7 season after the Huskies went 0-12 under head coach Tyrone Willingham a year earlier.
“I’m very excited with what he did. The most important thing he did was to change the attitude of this team. There’s nothing more rewarding and great for me than to see these kids smile and have fun.”
Two days after the Huskies matched their highest win total since 2003, and pushed into the shadows the five years in between, the UW football program is brimming with heightened expectations.
Late Saturday night, after UW’s second blowout win in as many games, Sarkisian talked about what the Cal victory meant for the program.
“The challenge was to hopefully send a message about where this program is headed,” he said. “And I think we did that.”
The Sarkisian era got off to an impressive start when the Huskies hung with nationally ranked LSU in the opener, then beat Idaho and No. 3 USC in back-to-back weeks. But after the upset of USC on Sept. 19, the UW football program fell back on hard times. Six of the next seven games resulted in losses, including four in a row leading up to the Nov. 28 Apple Cup against Washington State.
But back-to-back wins over WSU and Cal, by a combined score of 72-10, have infused some enthusiasm back into the UW program.
“In our first meeting a year ago, to this coming Monday, just thinking back on that time and where these kids were and where we are now,” Sarkisian said Saturday night, “is really something special as a first-year coach.”
The excitement could weigh on whether junior quarterback Jake Locker decides to declare himself eligible for the April NFL draft. Sarkisian said he plans to begin discussing the possibilities with Locker as soon as today. Both say Locker is not leaning one way or the other, as the star quarterback had been focused on the season.
Should Locker return, he will rejoin an offense that could have all of its main weapons back.
Running back Chris Polk, who became the first UW freshman to rush for more than 1,000 yards, still has three years of eligibility. Sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Kearse scored six touchdowns in the final four games of the 2009 season. He is one of the Huskies’ seven top receivers this season, all of whom are eligible to return.
The only offensive starters who exhausted their eligibility on Saturday were offensive lineman Ben Ossai, who lost his job as starting left tackle, and fullback Paul Homer, a part-time starter.
Defensively, four of the 11 starters from Saturday’s game were seniors. Defensive end Darrion Jones and safety Jason Wells were part-time starters whose positions were manned by freshmen for a good part of the season. That leaves sack leader Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, a defensive end, and linebacker Donald Butler, UW’s leading tackler, as the biggest losses on that side of the ball.
“The expectations will be high,” said defensive coordinator Nick Holt, whose team allowed two-game totals of 459 yards and 10 points to WSU and Cal. “That’s who we are as a football team. We have to replace Daniel and Donald Butler. And we will. We’ll find guys.
“The expectation level is going to be high. Kids will go into the spring saying: ‘Look at what we can do.’”
The back-to-back wins have optimism brewing again at UW. Even before the Cal win, Sarkisian was so fired up that he said: “We need to keep playing. I want to play 16 games. I don’t care. Let’s keep playing.”
The Huskies’ next game won’t come for nine more months. And after the way they handled Cal on Saturday, there aren’t many people at UW who can stand the wait.
“It’s always great to finish a season with a win,” Woodward said. “It leaves a good taste in your mouth. It’s great for recruiting, and it’s great for the team and the program in the offseason. They have something to build on.”
And it has been a long time since the UW football program could say that.
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