Pac-12 notes: Huskies need challenge to gauge their strength
With a quarter of the regular season in the books, the Washington Huskies have aced every test. Or, they’ve at least proved prepared for the pop quizzes.
Blowout wins over Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State are sufficient evidence only that the Huskies are a good team, not necessarily justification for their No. 9 ranking or playoff chatter. The sports books give the Huskies 20-to-1 odds of winning the national championship, not making them contenders, but odds that assume a couple of rational people might take that bet.
The lofty ranking comes despite an OK season last year: seven wins including the bowl. Quarterback Jake Browning is having a good season, but the offensive line has not been Top-10 good and Myles Gaskin has yet to break 100 rushing yards in a game, despite averaging better than that as a freshman last season.
There is a good chance we will not know whether UW is ready to compete on a national stage until its Week 5 matchup with No. 7 Stanford. But at least this weekend, against Arizona, the Huskies will have to show their stuff on the road, against a team with a few good players.
UW is favored in Saturday’s matchup by just less than 10 points, meaning the Huskies are going to have to sweat in the second half for the first time. Wildcats running back Nick Wilson ranks No. 4 in the Pac-12 with 85.7 rushing yards per game. He will be the first real test for a defense allowing just 91.3 yards on the ground and leading the league by only allowing 10 points per game.
As long as the Huskies win, it’s to their benefit to face a little adversity before Stanford comes to Seattle. Things have been a little too easy for the Huskies, who have led by at least three scores in every game so far before allowing a point.
That probably will not happen against UA, and it definitely will not happen against the Cardinal.
“It is what it is and I think as a coach you’re always looking for different situations that you’re trying to put your kids in,” UW coach Chris Petersen said during the Pac-12 coaches teleconference. “When you play in the Pac-12 you know most games are going to come down to the fourth quarter and be tight games. Getting into one of those games early on and being able to win, I think there’s some benefit there and that hasn’t been our situation.”
Skyline’s Browne gets demoted
The USC Trojans are 1-2 for the first time since Pete Carroll’s first year as head coach (2001), and current coach Clay Helton has decided a shakeup at quarterback is the answer.
Max Browne, the No. 1 quarterback in the country coming out of Skyline High in Sammamish, Washington, is out as the starter. Sam Darnold is in. Browne told reporters that he will probably transfer after the season.
“He is not the reason we’re 1-2. He is not the scapegoat here,” coach Clay Helton told the L.A. Times. “But the realism of football is when you’re 1-2, and you’ve scored one touchdown against Alabama and Stanford, I wanted to see a spark in our offense. I hope Sam can bring that.”
Through three games, both quarterbacks are completing about 63 percent of their passes. Browne is 55 of 87 for 474 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. Darnold is 14 of 22 for 136 yards, with two scores and a pick.