SEATTLE – The question sounded strange, but the fact that Washington offensive tackle Khalif Barnes answered without removing the questioner’s sinuses through his chest said something.
Would the team play hard Saturday in the Apple Cup, he was asked.
“I will,” he said. “I know I will.”
He wasn’t smiling as he said it.
Nevertheless, the question had merit. In this season of underachievement, this season that has left the Huskies 5-6, this season in which their last two games have left many wondering whether the team quit, Barnes clearly understood.
He didn’t like it, but he understood.
“There have been a lot of questions about us,” Barnes said. “We haven’t provided answers.”
Following the Huskies’ astonishing 54-7 loss to Cal Saturday, media and Internet message boards have questioned Washington’s effort and the hearts of its players. More than a few have claimed many of the players quit, that many players simply stopped putting forth the effort necessary to be competitive.
The stoppage, so go the beliefs, started on the Golden Bears’ first play from scrimmage, when Aaron Rodgers hit Geoff McArthur with a 79-yard touchdown pass.
“I think it’s fair,” UW head coach Keith Gilbertson said. “We’re doing the same thing. I think some of them should be doing the same thing. I understand where the buck stops, too. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
After the Cal game, Gilbertson wouldn’t answer the question whether the players quit, yet did say that the players have to find it within themselves to turn it around, even though one game remains.
He repeated that Monday, although, for the first time, Gilbertson acknowledged that a devastating number of injuries to frontline players has taken its toll.
“I think the staff coached harder than the effort we saw,” Gilbertson said. “In some areas, we’re just depleted. That’s a fact. In other areas, there have been some guys who have been playing a long time and I don’t think they’re playing as hard and as fast, as aggressive and as reckless as I want them to play.”
So what happens? Does the coaching staff use the carrot or the stick in preparing for Washington State Saturday?
“Probably both,” Gilbertson said.
Cougs’ life good, most of the time: At 9-2 and on top of the Pacific-10 Conference standings at 6-1, you’d think Washington State fans would have little to complain about.
Remember, though, that “fan” is short for “fanatic.”
WSU coach Bill Doba is a strong candidate for the conference’s coach of the year, yet he still hears it from dissatisfied customers.
“I still get hate mail,” he said. “I don’t care if you go undefeated. You didn’t win by enough.”
Then he thought.
“Not hate mail,” he said. “Just suggestions, I guess. But a couple of them get pretty nasty.”
General hospital: Gilbertson said tailback Rich Alexis, who had hoped to be back from a quad tear in time for Apple Cup, probably won’t get his wish.
“He hasn’t made the progress that he wanted to,” Gilbertson said.
Also, tailback Kenny James (thigh), safety Owen Biddle (shoulder) and guard Clay Walker (leg) will take at least today off to heal. Defensive end Brandon Ala (hamstring) probably won’t practice in the next couple of days.
Short bursts: While Cody Pickett topped the 10,000-yard Pac-10 career passing mark, he still needs 237 to reach that plateau on the NCAA career list. The NCAA only started counting bowl games last year. If he does reach that mark, he and receiver Reggie Williams will become the first quarterback-wideout combination ever to reach 10,000 passing and 3,000 receiving yards over the same seasons together. Williams has 3,477 career yards … A loss Saturday would give Washington a 5-7 record, the Huskies’ first losing mark since 1976.
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