Triple Option Attack: 2012 Preseaon Ranking #25 Washington

Music to listen to:  Rooster (live) by Alice in Chains

What, you expected me to go with Kenny G as the music of choice for a U-Dub alum, you gotta be out of your mind.  I could have gone with a lot of guys (kicking myself for not picking Jimi Hendrix)…ah screw it

More music to listen to:  All Along the Watchtower by Hendirx

Much better…now back to business.  The #25 team in my poll is Washington, who are coming off of an average 2011 campaign of 7-6 with an Alamo Bowl loss to Baylor which showed the positive (offense) and negative (defense) all in one contest.  Head coach Steve Sarkisian is entering his fourth season as the Huskies’ head coach and has only been able to amass a record of 19-19 during the tenure, which is below the standards of the program.  There was a time when Washington was the second-best program in the western part of the United States behind USC and an annual top-20 team nationally, occasionally winning Rose Bowls and contending for the national title.

Don’t believe me, the program has won three national titles, seven Rose Bowls, more than 650 games as a program and gave us the likes of Warren Moon, Steve Emtman, Lincoln Kennedy, Mark Brunell and a cast of others.  However, none of those guys have walked through the doors of Husky Stadium since the 1990’s and outside of an outstanding 2001 campaign when the team went 11-1 and was a close loss at Oregon away from claiming another national title, things have been down since the days of legendary head coach Don James.

Where does the team stand in 2012?

What I like:  Quarterback Keith Price has the chance to be not only the top quarterback in the Pac-12 (Matt Barkley of USC plays with more talent and therefore looks better to most observers), but a dark-horse candidate to be Heisman Trophy finalist by the end of the season.  His mobility and ability to create plays outside of the pocket make him a dangerous threat.  Price also has underrated accuracy and doesn’t turn the ball over often with his school-record 33 touchdowns last year in comparison to only 11 interceptions.  Replacing elite running back Chris Polk will be tough but the rest of the offense benefits from having a solid receiving group and returning three starters on the offensive line.

What I don’t like:  When you give up 51 points at Nebraska, 65 points at Stanford, 40 points at USC and a WHOPPING 67 points to Baylor, the defense has to obviously be a concern.  The addition of new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, formerly at Tennessee under the same position, has to be looked at as a positive move in the fact that maybe a new philosophy will bring improvement to a unit that can only go up.

Uniform Rating:  B

I’ve always been a fan of purple and gold, so the combination is a favorite of mine.  My rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t incorporate black into your uniforms unless its an official school color, especially when you have the visually diverse options that Washington has.  The Huskies’ usage of the dark color is disappointing, especially when they’ve gone with all-black with the purple and gold being barely visible.  That knocks the grade down one-half letter.  The helmet has always been a positive for me (I’m a fan of block letters) so that ticks the grade back up one-half letter.

Schedule:

9/1  San Diego State

9/8  at LSU

9/15  Portland State

9/27  Stanford

10/6  at Oregon

10/13  USC

10/20  at Arizona

10/27  Oregon State

11/2  at Cal

11/10  Utah

11/17  at Colorado

11/23  at Washington State

The road contests at LSU and Oregon are obviously going to be difficult, along with hosting USC.  However, the rest of the schedule has the potential to be decent for the Huskies.  The swing game is obviously the home game against Stanford on Sept. 27.  If Washington can find a way to win that contest, there isn’t a reason that an 8-win season pre-bowl game should be hindered.

Former co-ed I would like to attend a box social with:

Hope Solo has been moving up the charts, especially since her appearance on Chelsea Lately last night (its worth the Google search…I’l wait).  However, I’m going with the steady Anna Faris.  Watch The House Bunny and thank me later.  A beautiful woman who is funny.  Who knew those existed?  (Just kidding…not really…ok maybe a little…)

Final thoughts:  The offense will win a few games, the defense may lose more.  I think the Huskies win the games they’re supposed to but lose all of the teams on the schedule better than them, which make s them a slightly above average team in the Pac-12.

Prediction: 8-4 (6-3 Pac-12)