Huskies look forward to rivalries to help save face in losing season

Mathematically doomed to their first losing record in 27 seasons and officially out of bowl consideration, the Washington Huskies say they still have goals for their final four games.

“We’ve still got some big games coming up, some significant rivalry games, some things to get excited about,” coach Keith Gilbertson said Saturday after the Huskies’ football record fell to 1-6 with a 38-0 loss at the University of Southern California.

One of those rivalries comes this weekend, when Washington visits Oregon. The Huskies have won the past two in the series by blowout margins, and the intensity of that rivalry should help the squad focus when they return to practice today.

After that comes a Nov. 6 visit from Arizona, the Huskies’ homecoming game and perhaps their best remaining chance to win.

That game is followed by a Nov. 13 visit from California, the Huskies’ final home appearance of the season and a chance to play spoiler to a Top 10 team with Rose Bowl hopes.

The season concludes Nov. 20 with a visit to Washington State for the Apple Cup. The Huskies have a six-game winning streak in the series.

“It’s going to be a long winter,” sophomore linebacker Scott White said. “At the same time, we’ve got to play for pride. We’ve got our two biggest rivals coming up in Oregon and WSU.”

The Huskies’ top priority the final month is revving an offense that has sputtered under all three quarterbacks who have played this season: junior Casey Paus, sophomore Isaiah Stanback and freshman Carl Bonnell. Stanback got his first start at USC and went 3 for 16 for 22 yards before being relieved by Paus.

Gilbertson didn’t name a quarterback for Oregon but said USC’s defensive domination was so complete he didn’t expect the quarterback depth chart to change because of it.