SEATTLE – As much as they’d love it to happen, the Washington football team knows Isaiah Stanback will not miraculously arrive at Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium today prepared to lead it against No. 11 California.
That’s the reality of the situation facing the Huskies, and they say they are prepared to deal with it and move on.
“You’d like Isaiah to be playing, but this is a football team,” senior linebacker Tahj Bomar said. “A team isn’t defined by one guy, so we’ve got to have guys step up and fill the role for whoever gets injured.”
Washington begins Game One of the post-Stanback era today against a Cal team that has won its past six games and is making a run at the Pacific-10 Conference title and a Bowl Championship Series berth. And although there would be easier games to break in new quarterback Carl Bonnell, there’s not much the Huskies can do about the circumstances.
“I’m pretty sure Cal isn’t going to be feeling sorry for us,” senior guard Stanley Daniels said. “They’ve got a lot to play for just like we do. We’d love Isaiah to be here, but he’s not. It doesn’t mean our season’s over with. We still have our goals.”
Tops on the Huskies’ goal list is reaching a bowl game. Washington needs two wins to become bowl-eligible. Six wins doesn’t ensure a bowl game, but without six, there’s no chance.
And with the parity in the Pac-10 this season, two more wins could be good enough for sixth place in the league. It seems likely that with some of the positive publicity Washington has gained this season – with many nationally media outlets making note of Tyrone Willingham’s effort to turn around the Huskies – that might be enough to get Washington into a bowl game.
“We still feel good about our chances,” senior linebacker Scott White said. “We’re still in a good position to do what we have to do. It’s a little harder without Isaiah, but we’re not going to make excuses. This isn’t a one-man team. Everyone else has to step their game up now and be ready to make plays.”
Stepping up has been the key phrase for Washington this week. Bonnell must step up to lead the offense. The offensive line must step up and protect Bonnell. The running game must step up to take pressure off Bonnell. The defense must step up against one of the nation’s top offensive teams.
And the seniors must step up to show the younger players just what stepping up means.
“Losing Isaiah is a real big loss, he’s a big part of the team,” senior safety C.J. Wallace said. “At this point, this is the time we have to step up more than we’ve ever stepped up before. … We don’t have a choice right now.”
“Isaiah’s situation is unfortunate, but somebody has to pick up the torch and keep carrying it,” cornerback Roy Lewis added.
The Huskies have five games remaining this season, including home games against winless Stanford and struggling Arizona State. Washington also plays at Oregon and the season-ending Apple Cup in Pullman. For a veteran group of players who have been through one of the worst two-year stretches in the football program’s history, there is still hope that they will leave a positive legacy. They say even without their leader, they can still make their mark.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Bomar said. “Everybody is going to have to step up. … We have to approach things the same way as if Isaiah was in there.”
“It’s easy to say the season is over,” receiver Cody Ellis said. “‘They lost Isaiah, they lost to an average Oregon State team.’ It’s easy to say (the season is over). … I know who we have on our team and what we’re capable of. We’ll be fine.”
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