Huskies enter rabid zone for game with Irish
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A 175th consecutive sellout crowd of 80,000-plus will greet them at Notre Dame Stadium, which will be fortified by NBC-TV cameras transmitting all the action to every corner of the country.
Against the backdrop of Touchdown Jesus while being shoved into college football’s ultimate regular-season spotlight, the Washington Huskies (0-2) might best be advised to drop to their knees and say a few prayers.
Today, they’ll take on the rapidly improving Fighting Irish (2-1), feeling a little unsure of themselves and their talent level, having committed a season’s worth of critical mistakes in two confidence-sapping losses at Husky Stadium. Now they’re being asked to somehow regroup on the road, in a heart-skipping environment, with their concentration levels about to be fully assaulted.
Michael O’Hara is one of the tour guides awaiting them. He’s a former wishbone quarterback for Bellevue’s Newport High School who will play special teams for Notre Dame, covering kickoffs and punts against his hometown team. This junior will gladly explain how he and his teammates have no trouble putting on a game face on game day at home. They just plug into the electricity.
“It’s hyped up here,” said O’Hara, a walk-on wide receiver who previously appeared in two Irish games in 2002. “From the moment you wake up in the morning until walking off the field, it’s absolute chaos. You walk to the stadium, and hundreds and hundreds of fans line it all the way, cheering you on.
“In the stadium, they never sit down once, and they’re roaring. We have the best students in the country. It’s pretty intense.”
Even in the best of seasons, visiting teams worry about the trappings of Notre Dame, regardless of the skill level of those wearing the blue shirts.
Eight years ago, the Huskies showed up with a lineup filled with Corey Dillon, Olin Kreutz, Benji Olson, Jerome Pathon, Brock Huard, Cam Cleeland and Tony Parrish, all guys gainfully employed in the NFL, not to mention Bob Sapp, one of Japan’s favorite Sumo wrestling superheroes, and were thoroughly embarrassed, losing 54-20 in a game far more lopsided than the score.
Pro prospects are hard to find on this current UW entry, which was noticeably sluggish in practice earlier in the week, feeling the effects of a losing hangover rather than feeding off the energy of a trip to Notre Dame.
Coming into this one, the Huskies haven’t offered their usual task-at-hand bravado. They sound more defensive than convincing. Consider senior offensive tackle and co-captain Khalif Barnes’ take on things.
“It’s not like we’re hopeless and things are completely out of whack,” Barnes insisted. “There’s no time to panic. It’s way early in the season to do that. It’s not easy, but we’re going to (show up).
“What are we going to do, stay at home?”
Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. A rollicking Notre Dame Stadium should be good for at least a touchdown advantage, if not a mind-bending experience. Things tend to get ugly here.
On the Huskies’ only other visit to South Bend, in 1948, they were round-housed 46-0. Much of the damage was done in the opening half, with the Irish taking a merciful approach after intermission by unloading the bench and using 16 different running backs and not attempting a pass.
“I think the mystique has a different effect on different people,” Irish linebacker Mike Goolsby said. “It’s something we take for granted. I think for other teams coming in, they feel a little overwhelmed by it.”
Confirmed teammate Carlyle Holiday, a backup wide receiver: “You can sense when an opponent comes in here, they’re in a little bit of awe and it takes them a while to get started, to get going fast on the field.”