Sarkisian’s Huskies big surprise

SEATTLE – As the Washington Huskies hit the midway point of their schedule this week, Steve Sarkisian remarked that for coaches, this is the time when the season becomes a little bit like the movie “Groundhog Day.”

“You just kind of wake up, you look at film, you put together a game plan, you play Saturday, you wake up and do it all over again,” he said.

Sarkisian should have been here last year if he really wanted a season that felt the same week in and week out.

Compared to the drudgery that was the 0-12 record of 2008, this has been a thriller worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, already producing three games that figure to be remembered by UW fans for decades.

That makes it already the second-most successful season for the Huskies since 2003, and the record is even more impressive when considering it has come against a schedule judged by the Sagarin Ratings this week as the toughest in the country.

“After six games, sitting at 3-3, when you look at the quality of opponents we’ve played, I’m very proud of our football team,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve really improved. We’ve improved physically, we’ve improved mentally. And so I think our future’s very bright.”

Here’s our own look at the first half that was and the second half to come:

Biggest surprise: That the Huskies are, in fact, 3-3 against what might be the toughest schedule in the nation.

Biggest transformation: Jake Locker’s return to full health after missing the final eight games of last season can’t be understated when assessing UW’s improvement. Locker has helped UW make the switch from an offense predicated on his running skills to one featuring a more conventional passing attack.

Locker has completed 113 of 198 passes for a career-best 57.1 completion ratio, and has a passer efficiency rating of 130.1, compared to a combined 104.7 his first two seasons.

Biggest improvement: The few glimpses UW fans got of running back Chris Polk in 2008 didn’t indicate what they’d see in 2009. But he has turned from an unsure true freshman to an assertive redshirt freshman living up to his billing as one of the best running back recruits to sign with UW in years.

Biggest disappointment: The return games. Washington seems to have the talent to produce some quality returns. But the Huskies have struggled mightily, ranking 110th in the nation – their worst standing in any category – on kickoff returns, at just 18.3 yards per attempt.

Biggest concern: The defense is surely getting better, and some of its stats are no doubt skewed by the schedule. But the reality is also that the 418 yards it is giving up per game would be the worst of any Huskies team not coached by Tyrone Willingham.

Second-half outlook: The Huskies are halfway to their first bowl game since 2002 – a 6-6 record is all that’s needed, and would almost certainly be enough to get UW an invite.