SEATTLE – Walking away from Washington’s humiliating loss to Oregon, there was a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. After showing improvement for much of the season, it seemed the Huskies had taken a big step backwards. Besides some strong punting, there wasn’t a single positive to take out of that game.
A week later, the Huskies suffered another one-sided loss, this one to the best team in the country. Yet, despite being mostly run over by USC, there wasn’t exactly the same negative feeling after the game. Maybe it was simply the expectation that nothing could have been done; the Huskies could have played a perfect game and not defeated the Trojans, whereas there was some (possibly) legitimate hope that a great game against Oregon may have resulted in a win.
Or maybe it’s that, unlike against Oregon, Washington did do some good things. Isaiah Stanback made a few mistakes, a couple quite costly, but he was accurate, ran the ball well and got the offense moving. The defense played well against one of the nation’s best running games. Hey, it’s not much, but at 1-6 you’ve got to cling to whatever you can.
Of course, there’s still big concerns. The secondary, or at least the cornerbacks, continue to be a mess. Who knows how banged up the top two running backs are? Neither line has played to its potential. And losing Marlon Wood is a huge blow to an already struggling return game.
But, there is some good news on the horizon. October was expected to be a devastating month for the Huskies, and it has been. But it’s also almost over. In fact, Washington may be able to start salvaging its season earlier than expected. Most looked at November, with home games against Oregon State and Washington State and a game at Arizona, as the place Washington would begin building momentum for next season. But with Arizona State’s collapse, why wait until next month? Why not start with next week’s trip to Tempe?
The Sun Devils are clearly one of the biggest disappointments in the nation, losing its past three games to fall to 3-4, including 1-3 in the Pacific-10. Arizona State has to be reeling after home losses to USC (in which it blew a 21-3 halftime lead) and Oregon and Saturday’s surprising, one-sided loss to Stanford. When a team with high expectations doesn’t fulfill them, you can be sure finger-pointing and poor attitudes begin to crop up.
Add to that quarterback Sam Keller’s status. Keller, who four times this season has passed for at least 347 yards and has 20 touchdowns, is banged up with injuries to his thumb, shoulder and ankle. He tried to go against Stanford but was yanked in the third quarter. Redshirt freshman Rudy Carpenter stepped in and was effective (19-for-25, three touchdowns, 304 yards) but is inexperienced. Keller’s status for Saturday is not known yet. The Sun Devils also have eight interceptions and have allowed 16 sacks in their past three games, and haven’t had a 100-yard rusher since the third week of the season. And the defense has given up 114 points in the past three weeks, including 45 to a Stanford team that came into the game averaging 24.
Even without Keller, there is talent. Derek Hagan is one of the best receivers in the nation, though he’s been held to 10 catches for 122 yards over the past two weeks, good numbers but not what he’s capable of. Rudy Burgess is a talented, versatile threat.
Of course, to take advantage of that, Washington is going to have to find a pass rush so that whoever is at quarterback for ASU can’t just sit back and pick the secondary apart a la Kellen Clemens and Matt Leinart. Some how, some way, Husky cornerbacks are going to have to figure out a way to cover someone. And the offense can’t continue to make mistakes and put the defense in poor positions.
That’s a lot to ask, but with all that is going wrong for Arizona State, there is reason to hope, at least if you’re brave enough. Washington has let down its fans so many times this year, it’s got fans weary of investing too much emotion into the possibility of a win. If you’re a fan, you’re faced with a big test beginning next week. There is clear reason to believe the Huskies could finish the season strong. There’s just as many reasons to believe they won’t win another game. Are you willing to risk heartbreak and believe, or have you been burned too many times to expel any hope? Either way, with the way this season has gone, it would be tough to argue your choice.
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