USC causes UW coach’s memory loss

SEATTLE – University of Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham knew on Monday that his Huskies were 30-point underdogs to top-ranked Southern California.

“I did catch that,” Willingham said at his weekly press conference. “I usually don’t have any knowledge of what the point spread is, but it’s what it is.”

Sometime between Monday and Thursday afternoon, the abstruse coach seemed to have forgotten.

“I don’t (know the spread) unless you tell me. What is it?” Willingham asked.

It was still USC by 30.

“OK,” he said.

What does that say?

“It shows me what the bettors need to make money. That’s what it shows me.”

It also shows the glaring difference in the two programs’ directions over the last five years.

In 2000, the Huskies went 11-1 with a 7-1 Pacific-10 Conference record, while the Trojans were 5-7 and 2-6. Every season since, Washington’s record worsened. USC’s improved.

Maybe for the coach and players of the team spiraling downward, a short memory is a good thing to have.

While Willingham struggles to resurrect the Huskies’ program, he points to a fundamental approach that has produced just one win in six games, but one he will adhere to even against the mighty Trojans.

“The biggest thing is each week you want to make sure you’ve prepared your team for success,” he said.

It sounds so simple.

But how does it translate against USC, the nation’s best offense?

“I don’t know if picking a poison is the right thing to do, period. I think you have to still stay with your fundamentals,” Willingham said.

“If we can have the ability to stop the run, that forces them to pass the football, which as we know, they have been very adept at doing,” he added. “But then you give yourself a reasonable chance. But if you allow them to just run and throw, it becomes a very difficult afternoon.”