A must-win game for both Huskies, Beavers

Every other year, the Washington and Oregon State football teams show up at Husky Stadium for an unfair fight.

Time after time, OSU has gone home with a front tooth knocked out, with the notable exception of 1985, when a last-minute blocked punt led to a totally unexpected 21-20 victory for an overmatched OSU team predicted to lose by 37 points.

UW usually cruises against the Beavers, defeating them in 25 of the past 27 meetings, including the most recent seven in Seattle.

There should be plenty of agony to pass around again today. The difference this time is: The guys in the purple shirts are the ones more likely to feel it.

The Huskies are a team practically disintegrating before everyone’s eyes.

This week, they received the devastating news that senior co-captain Khalif Barnes, the UW’s four-year starting offensive tackle and top player, was probably lost for the season with a broken wrist. The body language in everyone else seemed to scream out: What next?

Barnes’ practice-field fracture came after the Huskies confirmed that former starting tight end Ben Bandel would never play again because of a knee injury; that last week’s starting quarterback Carl Bonnell couldn’t play against the Beavers because of a groin injury; that defensive end Mike Mapuolesega, another one-time starter, remains out with a bad knee; that senior co-captains Charles Frederick and Derrick Johnson should be back at wide receiver and cornerback after long injury absences, but likely at less than full strength; that fullback senior co-captain Zach Tuiasosopo was still on crutches with a broken foot; that Barnes had wrist surgery similar to that sidelining wide receiver Corey Williams; and that quarterback Isaiah Stanback was back from a month-long injury but still had a hitch in his step.

There’s more. Since Barnes went down, defensive tackle Donny Mateaki, a former starter, has been lost for the season with a foot injury.

Would the last UW football player in Seattle please turn out the lights?

“We’re playing everyone that’s in our program right now,” grim Huskies coach Keith Gilbertson said, his team a 6½ -point underdog at home.

On paper, these are a pair of 1-4 football teams tied for last place in the league with Arizona, each with a different set of problems once they step the field with whomever they have. The Huskies can’t throw and the Beavers can’t run.

The Huskies have changed quarterbacks almost as rapidly as they change directions with each quarter. With Bonnell out, junior Casey Paus returns as the starter for the second time, with the long-absent Stanback as his backup, hoping to generate some passing yards.

How bad has it been through the air? Consider this assessment of the UW’s recent 21-6 win over San Jose State.

“We threw the ball terrible and we did a terrible job of adjusting routes,” Gilbertson said. “Our passing game was nil.”

A healthier Frederick should give a boost to the youthful receiving corps, one that has dropped 15 passes.

“I think the young guys have more knowledge of what they have to do now,” Frederick said. “They’ve been catching the ball in practice. They’re happy I’m out there with them.”

The Beavers aren’t exactly thrilled to see Frederick again, even in a somewhat gimpy condition. He had a career day against them last year in Corvallis, scoring on an 86-yard punt return and 35- and 87-yard pass plays.

No one outside of this game cares about the outcome, but there’s much at stake for the combatants involved.

The loser moves one step from a bowl-less, sub-.500 season, practically signaling surrender for 2004. Both could be home for good by Thanksgiving.