Cardinal no longer a gimme game for Huskies

STANFORD, Calif. – Looking at Washington’s football schedule before the season, there were few obvious wins to be found. With a strong Pac-10, and difficult non-conference schedule, there were few, if any gimmes.

The one that looked about as winnable as any was today’s game against Stanford. The Cardinal went 1-11 last season, with the only win being a 20-3 shocker against the Huskies. These new and improved, Jake Locker-led Huskies wouldn’t have a tough time with the lowly Cardinal, would they? This was the one sure thing on the schedule, right?

Maybe not. Under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, Stanford has won three games and has found a confidence that hasn’t been at Stanford in some time.

The perception of Stanford changed in a big way last month, when the Cardinal made a big statement by shocking USC on a night when quarterback Tavita Pritchard was making his first college start.

On that crazy night at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Stanford made it known that it was nobody’s patsy.

“I think we were kind of looked at as a doormat for a while these past couple of years,” said Pritchard, a Tacoma native. “I think we might have opened some eyes when we got a win in the Coliseum.”

Coincidentally, as interest builds in Stanford football and people talk about the effect of the new head coach, the man who last coached Stanford to a winning season or a bowl game comes to town with the Huskies.

While Tyrone Willingham may be under pressure in his current role as Huskies head coach, he is still revered in Stanford for what he did during his tenure on the farm. In his seven years as the head coach at Stanford (he also served as an assistant under Dennis Green from 1989-91), Willingham led the Cardinal to four bowl games, including the 2000 Rose Bowl. Willingham was twice Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

“He’s thought of extremely highly,” Harbaugh said. “He’s revered around here. Everybody has nothing but great things to say about him. A lot of the people who knew him here have been very helpful to me, and I’ve spoken to Coach Willingham on a number of occasions to get his advice and input. Just from the people that knew him, you ask questions like, how did Tyrone do it? It’s been very helpful.”

Willingham said he has a lot of fond memories of his days at Stanford, and that the trip back is “special.”