Toto, we’re not in Boise anymore.
There’s a good chance Washington coach Chris Petersen said something along those lines during his first season.
At Boise State, he had many chances to leave for greener pastures. That’s what happens when you have seven seasons of 10-plus wins, two BCS bowl victories and two undefeated seasons.
After the 2013 season, Petersen finally left — for the Pac-12 and the Huskies.
He inherited a team with as talented of a defense as any in the Pac-12 — four players were picked in the NFL’s first two rounds after the season.
During the 2014 season, it didn’t matter much. Washington defeated only one team that made a bowl game (Illinois), barely beat an FCS team (a seven-point win over Vernon Adams-led Eastern Washington) and went 0-5 against ranked teams
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“I remember when I first came here and took the job I was under no illusions,” Petersen said. “My opening statement, I think, was probably something to the effect that my football life got significantly tougher.”
And it’s not going to get any easier this season.
The Huskies lost the aforementioned four players and quarterback Cyler Miles unexpectedly, leaving UW likely with a freshman under center.
“Every week you’ve got to play your best,” Petersen said. “It’s really hard to get momentum going because it’s just such a tough, hard game every week. So it just makes you just really get back to your process and focus on this one game at a time. It’s corny coaching talk, but that’s what it is.”
The head honcho
Petersen is in his second year with the Huskies after eight seasons as Boise State’s coach.
It’s in the past
2014 record: 8-6 (4-5 Pac-12)
Bowl game: Lost to Oklahoma State in the Cactus Bowl
Who’s gone: LB Shaq Thompson (Panthers), CB Marcus Peters (Chiefs) and DL Danny Shelton (Browns) were all first-round picks. LB Hau’oli Kikaha (Saints) was a second-rounder.
Player you know
Budda Baker, S
Baker stepped in as a freshman and contributed right away in 2014. He’s the top returning tackler (80, 2 for losses), and also contributed one sack, one interception, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Expect those numbers to jump quite a bit.
Player(s) you should know
Jake Browning, QB
The highly-touted freshman from Granite Bay, California — he’s a four-star according to Scout.com — is battling with junior and Jeff Lindquist and redshirt freshman K.J. Carta-Samuels.
As a high school senior, Browning set a national record with 91 — yes, 91 — touchdowns to go with 5,790 yards. That coming one season after he had 5,737 yards and 75 touchdowns.
Also, as a sophomore, he tallied 5,248 yards and 63 touchdowns.
Those are some numbers that would make Mike Leach proud.
Big Number
14 Seasons since Washington last won more than nine games in a season. In 2000, when Rick Neuheisel was roaming the sidelines, the Huskies went 11-1 and won the Rose Bowl.
Watch this game
At Boise State, Sept. 4, 7:15 p.m. on ESPN
Does this need any explanation?
It’s Petersen’s homecoming, closing out a series scheduled when Petersen was still with the Broncos. Lucky for us, he had no intention of backing out.
“I thought that would be kind of ridiculous and selfish,” Petersen said. “So, you know, it’s awkward for me, I get that. But am I going to change this for everybody because it’s awkward for me? That’s not my style.”
Keeping it 100
A Washington fact to commemorate the history of the Pac-12, which turns 100 in December:
Gil Dobie was the coach at Washington for nine years, his last coming in the inaugural season of the then-Pacific Coast Conference.
How good were the Dobie-led teams?
In nine years, he never lost a game, going 58-0-3 overall. In that first league season in 1916, the Huskies won the conference by going 6-0-1 and outscoring foes 189-16
Pac-12 Pundit Predictions
Record prediction: 3-9
Bold prediction: Washington loses seven straight games to open Pac-12 play.
Not-so-bold prediction: The Huskies close the season on a two-game winning streak, beating Oregon State and Washington State.
Q&A
A question and answer from a player or coach from each team:
What kind of reception do you think you’ll receive when you go back to Boise?
Peterson: “I don’t know. I think it’s so irrelevant. I really do. It’s so totally irrelevant in this whole thing. It’s about the players. It’s about the game.
“The Boise fans are Boise fans. They’re all about the Broncos. It doesn’t really matter about me.
“My concern is I have 1,000 concerns that are much more, maybe 2,000 that are much more of how it’s going to go for me over there in terms of that stuff.
“Our guys have to be ready to play good football. That’s what I’m concerned about.”
