The sleeping giant that is the University of Washington’s football team may have just awoken this weekend. The Huskies were a national power throughout the last century, winning 15 Pac-10 titles, seven Rose Bowls, and two national championships (1960, 1991). But recently the Huskies had fallen on hard times. After going 11-1 in 2001 under now-UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, the Huskies had their last winning season back in 2002. For the last seven years, the Huskies have been irrelevant on the national stage, and last year became only the second team in Pac-10 history to go winless for the entire season (the 0-12 campaign cost former head coach Tyrone Willingham his job.)
But on Saturday, the Huskies forced their way back onto the college football landscape by beating third-ranked USC, 16-13, in Seattle in a game that, quite frankly, was not all that exciting. Washington kicker Erik Folk hit a 22-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the game to give Washington the victory. Washington quarterback Jake Locker (pictured above near tears while some dude looks ready to plant a big wet kiss on his cheek) drove the Huskies 63 yards in 10 plays to set up the final score.
Truth be known, USC would have plenty of excuses for losing this game if the Huskies had not gone winless the season before. They were coming off a big road win against Ohio State, and a letdown would be almost unavoidable. They were playing on the road for the second consecutive week and were traveling near 1,000 miles for the contest. New Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC last season, so he had an idea what to expect from the Trojans. Plus, USC was starting their second-string quarterback in Aaron Corp because starter Matt Barkley had been injured in last week’s game against the Buckeyes. On the surface, it was a perfect storm for the Huskies, and an upset should have been foreseeable. But we are still stunned whenever USC, the best and most talent-laden program in the country, loses to anyone — let alone a team that didn’t win a game last season.
“Our kids played very hard. I don’t know if we played very good, but we played hard,” Sarkisian said after the game. “It’s unbelievable. It’s what we were hoping for. We’re trying hard.”
Water Cooler Cheat Sheet
We here were stunned by the Trojans’ loss to Washington, but you don’t have to sound like you were as well.
“I have to say I completely saw this coming. Road game? Back-up quarterback? Coming off an emotional game against Ohio State? Plus, USC always finds a way to lose to an inferior Pac-10 foe. I wasn’t surprised.”
Saying this would make you a liar, but it would also make you look like a college football savant. Over the past several seasons, USC has been the hands-down best team in the Pac-10. But losses to Stanford in 2006, UCLA in 2007 and Oregon State in 2008 have kept the Trojans from playing for the national championship. This year, it’s gonna be Washington that keeps the Trojans out of the national title hunt.
September 24, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Steve Sarkisian: the protagonist in the latest remake of “A Star is Born.”
http://dubsism.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/steve-sarkisian-%e2%80%93-a-star-is-born/
October 5, 2009 at 3:46 pm
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October 19, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] on that. Southern Cal has only one loss, but the computer rankings really looked down on the Trojans loss to Washington. So that leaves Cincinnati. A team from the Big East that started the season unranked and is [...]