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My Apologies to Chris Petersen and Washington

When Chris Petersen was coaching at Boise State, he was all the rage and was one of the top names anytime a job opening came up. I have to admit now and it’s kind of embarrassing, that I was not a huge fan.

The reason for my lack of enthusiasm was the history of Boise State and it’s previous coaches.

Chris Petersen did not build the Boise State program. He was just another in a long line of previous coaches that used Boise State coaching job to advance their careers.

Way before my time of following the game, Boise State football coaches Lyle Smith and Tony Knap were hugely successful. Then, Tony Criner came along and coached a few years before heading out

for a more visible program.

In more recent years, Dirk Koetter was hired away from Boise by Arizona State where he failed. Koetter was replaced by Dan Hawkins and he was even more of a sensation than anyone, but he was hired by Colorado where he was a major flop and he didn’t last long.

Petersen was promoted from his Offensive Coordinator job to the next head coach at Boise State in 2006 and he was there until the 2013 season.

His name came up with just about every big job opening. Hey, maybe these guys got tired of playing on blue turf. But, they took other jobs and none of them succeeded.

 

Why would Chris Petersen be any different?

But, apparently, he is.

I’ve always been a fan of the Washington Huskies since the days of legendary Don James.

James won a national championship in 1991 and was gone soon after. Those teams were fun to watch. Jim Lambright followed James and then Rick Neuheisel. They were mildly good with the program, but the following two coaches were disasters.

Steve Sarkisian was recruiting well and had the Huskies heading in the right direction before he was stolen by the USC Trojans.

When Sarkisian left, the Huskies hired Chris Petersen and I was less than excited. But, I was wrong.

He had a sparkling 92-12 during his years at Boise State, but that’s nothing new for the Broncos.

Petersen’s first season at Washington was an unimpressive 8-6 record. That becomes worse when you realize that the Huskies had 3 first round NFL Draft picks.
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Last year, the Huskies finished up with a 7-6 record. But, they had a true freshman starting at Quarterback, Jack Browning. A true freshman started at Left and Right Tackles and at Running Back. They also were missing their play maker, John Ross, at Wide Receiver.

The most encouraging situation during the average 7-6 season, would be the defense. The offense was young and struggling, but the defense was stout. They were the best in the Pac 12 and that may or may not matter because the conference outside of Stanford, and maybe USC, is not known for defense. It’s right up there with the Big 12 with a reputation of wide open offenses and no defense.

 

 

This season, we are seeing a brand new Washington Husky team.

 

They opened the year with 3 easy, big wins over questionable competition. But, then, they had a tough time of it before dispensing of Arizona, 35-28. The team may have been looking ahead to a game against Stanford.

Before the season began, it was supposed to be a battle between the Stanford Cardinal and the Washington Huskies for control of the North division of the Pac 12. But, it was no battle as the Huskies just crushed Stanford, 44-6. The game was not as close as the score indicated. Washington just annihilated the Cardinal on the line of scrimmage and Stanford was beaten down badly.

 

This past weekend, Washington did it again and this time to a once powerful Oregon Duck program. The Huskies left no doubt with a very convincing 70-21 win.

 

The Washington Huskies may not be on the same level as Alabama, or Clemson, or Ohio State, but Petersen is still building a program and is still young at some positions.

After doubting that Chris Petersen, or Washington, could get it done, I now offer an apology for not ranking them higher earlier. Plus, for not believing that Petersen could get it done at Washington.

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. Will Washington become like Petersen’s Boise teams, only bigger, faster and better? This team is very physical and it is very fast and they are fun to watch with speed like John Ross, Chico McClatcher and Myles Gaskin to name a few.

Physical? Azeem Victor, Vita Vea and Elijah Qualls will rattle your teeth and shake you up.

When playoff selection time arrives, there are some good teams currently available, but don’t rule out the Washington Huskies unless they slip up.