By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
The greatest run of football in Washington's modern era began when nobody was really expecting it. The 1990 Huskies had looked so sluggish in their first two games — narrow victories at home against San Jose State and at Purdue — that they had actually dropped in the national rankings despite winning. As they prepared in Week 3 to face fifth-ranked USC, the three-time defending Pac-10 champ, the smart money was on the Trojans, who were favored by 4 ½ points. Huskies fans know the rest: Todd Marinovich saw nothing but purple and Washington began a three-year run as one of the most dominant teams in the country. Chris Tormey, then and now Washington's linebackers coach, told his players the story of that game this week, seeing some parallels between where the Huskies were then and where they are now as they prepare to host 16th-ranked California at 12:30 p.m. today.
"He talked to us about that game and how that really springboarded their season," said linebacker Scott White. "This could be the same type of game against a team like Cal that is ranked in the Top 20. This could really do that, give a lot of momentum and confidence to a team that is really searching for something, a spark to really ignite us and get us going." A game that could, simply put, kick-start the Tyrone Willingham era at Washington. Certainly, there could be no more fitting way for Willingham to get his first Washington win than against Cal, a team against which he went 7-0 while head coach at rival Stanford from 1995 to 2001. Willingham, though, said the importance of today's game is a much more immediate one — the game is Washington's Pac-10 opener. "That is something that every Pac-10 team should start with, whether you are the last-place team or the first-place team," Willingham said. "That's why you are in the conference — to get to that pinnacle. We'd like to be one of those teams, so this is an important game. And by its place on the schedule, if you can win it, then you are sitting there alone for a little while." The Huskies, though, also need a win simply to remember what one feels like. Washington has lost seven in a row since a win over San Jose State on Oct. 9, and 13 of 15 since late in the 2003 season.
"It's imperative that we get this win," White said. "We cannot get off to another bad start this year and play catch-up all year." Victory looked like it was coming last week when the Huskies led Air Force 17-6 with 10:43 left. But a couple of UW mistakes and Air Force's ability to take advantage of injuries in the Huskies' secondary led to a Falcons rally and a 20-17 UW loss. "The end felt like a terrible dream," said Washington cornerback Matt Fountaine. "A bad sinking feeling that you don't want to feel again." Willingham said his players have to learn how to make the "five or six plays down the stretch" to close a game. Asked how long that could take, Willingham said he hoped one week. Winning today may be a bit more complicated, however. Cal isn't considered as good as it was a year ago, when it went 10-2 and spent much of the season ranked in the Top 10.
And the Bears also have some immediate reasons for concern. Most notable is new quarterback Joe Ayoob went 0 for 10 in his first action last week after replacing starter Nate Longshore, who broke his left ankle. But the Bears also have a dominating line and a game-breaking running back in Marshawn Lynch. And while the Bears lost eight starters from last year's defense, the newcomers are a talented bunch, indicative of the upgrade in recruiting in Berkeley since Jeff Tedford took over in 2002. "They play hard and they play fast," Willingham said of Cal's defense. "We have to be prepared to match it." If the Huskies can, maybe they'll point to today as the day the new era truly began. Chambers' mom regrets call. The saga of Craig Chambers' playing time deepened yesterday when his mother called KJR-AM to say she didn't understand why he wasn't playing more. But Sue Chambers said a few hours later that she wished she hadn't called and that "Craig is really upset that I did that." She also said her son is not considering transferring. Chambers led Washington in receiving yards last season, but isn't listed on the top teams. He played sparingly against Air Force, catching one pass for 19 yards on the next-to-last play of the game. Willingham has said only that the other receivers are playing better. Receivers coach Eric Yarber said before the Air Force game that "Chambers knows he has to give great effort and make plays in practice for us to have confidence in the game."
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