Huskies Ready For Miami?

Finally, the color of the pants matched the gold in the helmets.

That was good.

The new synthetic field at Husky Stadium, however, looked strangely muddy as the rubber that gives the ersatz grass life came to the surface.

That was bad.

It was that kind of an opener for Washington, which defeated Idaho 44-20, but had more trouble doing it than the score indicated.

Marques Tuiasosopo was the hero for Washington, which was good and bad.

The Huskies are as explosive and at the same time as fragile as any UW team I can remember.

They weren’t ready to play Miami - next Saturday’s matchup - but didn’t have to be.

The best part about the Idaho game was that it was played on Saturday and not Oct. 23 when it was scheduled. Not only did the Huskies get a game’s experience for a very young team, but now they’ll have a bye the week before they play Oregon in Eugene.

“It’s been awhile since Washington has played a national showcase game,” said coach Rick Neuheisel of the Miami game. “It’s nice people think we’re worthy.”

But are they?

The Miami coaches will tell you they are. Stopping the option with Tuiasosopo must be every defensive coordinator’s nightmare. Yesterday he ran for 80 yards and passed for 223.

But what if he is injured? Or what if the tight end, Jerramy Stevens, should be suddenly charged by police, who arrested him this summer on investigation of sexual assault?

Right now, the Huskies have established Tuiasosopo, Stevens and wide receiver Todd Eltrom, who was magnificent in catching six balls for 104 yards and a touchdown.

But where was the rest of the running game? Where was Paul Arnold?

“I was just horrible in the first half,” said Arnold, the game-breaking back from Seattle. “It was my first start, I was trying not to be nervous, but maybe I was. My coaches stayed confident in me, and that helped.”

Arnold, who had 14 yards on five carries in the first half, burst 27 yards as Washington scored on its first drive in the second half.

In most respects, backups Braxton Cleman, Willie Hurst and even freshman Rich Alexis were more impressive, if not more productive.

“Paul’s a home-run threat,” said Neuheisel. “We need him.”

Collectively, and coming for the most part off Tuiasosopo’s option threat, the Huskies did rush for 239 yards. And they’ve won more than 90 percent of their games since 1990 when they’ve topped 200 yards rushing.

But this was not one team rolling over the other.

Tuiasosopo carried the ball 15 times. He threw it 30 times. The Huskies only had 75 plays. He was the show.

Neuheisel wants his quarterback to pitch the ball more often, to threaten the corners, to use Arnold’s speed. The offense needs to diversify, if for no other reason than to keep Tuiasosopo from being injured.

The good news was the receiving of sophomore Wilbur Hooks, who caught five passes for 59 yards. While Hooks and Wondame Davis, who had two receptions, were good at catching the ball, they had trouble getting open the way Elstrom did.

Miami will make Hooks and Davis beat them before they’ll let Tuiasosopo run the ball every time he wants as Idaho did.

Defensively, Washington showed some speed and quickness in the secondary even though the Vandals threw for 256 yards. Idaho quarterback John Welsh is skilled. He probably throws the ball better than half the quarterbacks in the Pac-10.

The problem was Washington’s inability to get pressure without blitzing. The defensive front is small and inexperienced. There is no telling how it will hold up to the pounding of a team bent on running the ball.

Partly sunny, which can also mean partly cloudy. It was that kind of a day.