Ducks prepare for all possibilities against Huskies
Young Washington team a mystery for Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. – You know all those things that Washington fans are wondering about this Huskies football team?
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti is wondering, too.
There’s always some mystery mixed in with the start of a new football season, but the 2008 Huskies have taken that to extremes.
No one outside of the Washington locker room quite knows what changes Ed Donatell might have brought to the UW defense. The same goes for Brian White with special teams.
Add in about a dozen and a half players on the depth chart who have never played a down of major college football and the Huskies figure to arrive in Autzen Stadium tonight as a surprise package wrapped in purple and gold.
“I don’t know really what their defense is going to be like, what their special teams is going to be like,” Bellotti said. “… Any time you have youth combined with new coaching people, you’re sort of hamstrung. On a first-game basis we try to prepare for everything and prepare in a semi-generic mode.”
Three true freshmen seem certain to see extensive playing time: Tailback Chris Polk and defensive tackle Senio Kelemete are in the starting lineup, and Jordan Polk is listed on the No. 1 kick return team.
“Youth does bring some very good things with it,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said. “They are unscarred. They come into it very fresh, very aggressive, very competitive.”
It might work to the young Huskies’ favor that they weren’t around to see how the Ducks have dominated UW in recent seasons. Oregon is on a four-game winning streak – matching its longest domination of the series. None has been close: The Ducks won 31-6 in 2004, 45-21 in 2005, 34-14 in 2006 and 55-34 last season.
However, key players who did much of the damage for the Ducks – quarterback Dennis Dixon and tailback Jonathan Stewart – are no longer around. Dixon’s apparent heir to the starting quarterback job – Nate Costa – has been lost for the season with a knee injury.
That moves sophomore Justin Roper into the second start of his career. The first was impressive, as he led Oregon to a 56-21 win over South Florida in last season’s Sun Bowl.
His presence also gives UW a rare advantage in experience at a crucial position.
Washington quarterback Jake Locker said he expects to be near 100 percent after suffering a hamstring strain that cost him 12 practices in the middle of camp.