By JOHN SLEEPER
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Washington coach Rick Neuheisel says it’s hardly time to panic.
While many are looking at the Huskies’ 23-16 loss to Oregon, their position (at the bottom) in the Pacific-10 Conference and their spotty offensive performance to date, Neuheisel says the problems are fixable.
“There is a sense after every defeat that everything is bad,” Neuheisel said. “There is a sense to sometimes overreact. I don’t want to overreact to a loss at a place where (Oregon has) won 18 in a row.”
Neuheisel compared his 3-1 team with last year’s squad that started the season 0-2. He said the Huskies have not achieved the sense of urgency that last season’s team did at 0-2.
Certainly, similarities are evident. The running game hasn’t been as projected; quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, a 58-percent thrower last year, is completing less than half his passes and has seven interceptions; and the inexperienced receiving corps relies too much on tight end Jerramy Stevens for production.
Neuheisel said he’s racking his brain to get the offense to be more efficient. He said it’s likely he’ll streamline his four-tailback rotation to just two, in Paul Arnold and Rich Alexis.
“I want to have the sense that everyone is fired up to finish up the rest of the season and it starts this weekend with Oregon State,” Neuheisel said. “We are going to play our best game of the year and see if we can get back on track and win this one. If we win this week, we are 4-1 and feeling good again.”
The Beavers are 4-0 and a legitimate Rose Bowl contender, yet are 10-point underdogs against Washington. Someone asked Erickson if a mythical Northwest title is important.
“They told me that was settled last weekend,” Erickson said, tongue in cheek. “That was always Washington and Oregon. We were never good enough to be considered in that.”
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