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Huskies aim to bounce back against Arizona

Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

SEATTLE – After a long week that left the University of Washington football team with too many hours to stew, the Huskies finally have a chance today to move past last weekend’s disaster at Stanford.

The odds seem to be in UW’s favor.

Almost every blowout loss of the Steve Sarkisian era has seen the Huskies come back strong. Even on the three occasions when UW followed a double-digit defeat with another loss, the Huskies competed well – losing in overtime at Notre Dame after a 20-point loss to Stanford in 2009, losing by one point at UCLA a few weeks after a 24-point loss to Oregon, and staying close with the Ducks for three quarters last season after a 41-0 loss to the Cardinal.

The other four times UW got blown out, including a 13-point loss at Nebraska earlier this season, the Huskies rebounded with a victory.

Washington (5-2 overall, 3-1 Pacific-12 Conference) seems to have a lot of things working in its favor when it plays host to Arizona tonight, starting with the Wildcats’ defense. Arizona (2-5, 1-4) is struggling even more than the UW defense, ranking 13 spots behind the Huskies at No. 114 in the nation in yards allowed per game (464.1).

During a five-game losing streak that came to an end last week at UCLA, the Wildcats allowed five consecutive opponents to score 37 or more points on them.

But the Huskies are less concerned with today’s opponent than they are their ability to bounce back. The 65-21 loss at Stanford last weekend left players simmering all week at a chance for redemption.

“The type of team we have here, we’re going to be motivated by the loss,” wide receiver James Johnson said. “We’re looking forward to playing again.”

The UW defense is particularly in need of a quick turnaround. The Huskies gave up 446 rushing yards to Stanford, which piled up a point total that matched the most given up by a UW team since 1921.

Arizona was already struggling on defense, and the Wildcats are playing with a depleted secondary that will be missing suspended cornerback Shaquille Richardson.