Monday, October 18, 2010

There Is No Joy in Huskyville As Washington's Hopes for a Great Season Take a Nosedive to Nowhere

Sometimes what you don't know won't hurt you. Just ask the
Arizona State Sun Devils.

They came from the Southwest over the weekend to face the
Washington Huskies after losing three straight to Wisconsin
by a point, to Oregon by 11, and then to Oregon State by 3.

They must have figured the Huskies would be sky high after
traveling to Los Angeles the week before and upsetting
18th-ranked Southern Cal on a last-second field goal,
32-31. It was truly an upper for Washington's program, and
evened the Huskies record at 2-2.

Now imagine the Sun Devils suddenly finding themselves up
21-7 at the half, and they are moving the ball down the
field with little opposition. In the 2nd half it was
evident that the Huskies could not win the game if their
scholarships depended on the outcome. Arizona State would
go on to win, 24-14.

Washington does not have a great defense, a good defense or
even an adequate defense, so giving up 24 points to a team
this season is no real surprise. In their first 4 games the
Huskies gave up an average of 32.5 points per game.

What was a surprise was the lack of offense. Even giving up
24 points would not have caused the Huskies to lose the
game. They averaged almost 28 points a game (27.75) in
compiling a 2-2 mark. Exactly what was the problem?

And what was Jake Locker doing taking oxygen on the
sideline? This is a big, healthy, fast kid normally. The
lethargy of the Husky players was evident. Turns out that
half of the team apparently had the flu or flu symptoms
during the week - a fact that was a closely guarded secret
leading up to the game.

The press, the general public and the Arizona State Sun
Devils were clueless about the Huskies condition. It all
became apparent in their game performance.

Should Jake Locker, who was ill (puking on the sideline
during the game) have been playing? Apparently the Husky
back-up, Keith Price, was even sicker, or was he? Husky
mistakes and lapses during the game? We don't even want to
go there.

The pre-season hopes of winning more games than they lose
this year, and getting to a bowl game - any bowl game - are
pretty much over. At the rate that the Washington State Cougars are improving and the Huskies can't seem to get out
of neutral, even the season's final game is not a gimme.

Between now and Washington State, the Washington Huskies
are looking at facing Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford,
Oregon, UCLA and California, and they could lose every one
of those games, giving them a 2-9 record when they travel
to Pullman to tackle the Cougars.

Man, this season is turning into a bummer right before our
eyes. No amount of prayer and throwing ourselves on the
ground in sackcloth and ashes is going to change the
situation that lies ahead.

A whole bunch of players in Huskyville had better decide to
not only get better but play better, or they may hear some
laughing when they get off the bus at the end of the season
in Pullman.

In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, a youngster
trapped with his family in the Depression-Era Oklahoma Dust
Bowl, asks his parent, "When does a boy become a man?" The
parent replies, "When he has to."

Translation: Forget all the crap about inexperience,
rebuilding, and one excuse after another - grow up, make
the stop, make the block, catch the ball and win. Someone's
going to win the game, make up your mind that it is going
to be you.


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