Good luck, Huskies

Seeing as how my last post concerning the Huskies didn't earn me too many fans, I just wanted to wish U-Dub good luck against #3 Oklahoma...

They're gonna need it.

Update: It's already 7-0 Oklahoma just a couple minutes in. Harbinger of things to come? I think so. And contrary to what most of you think, it makes me incredibly sad. I really respect and like Coach Tyrone Willingham. Despite his less-than-stellar record since he came on board, I think he's received a disproportionate amount of the blame for the Huskies' lack of success.

It's hard to recruit talent when your program has developed a reputation as an afterthought in their conference, let alone the national title scene. Memories of former Husky glory are quickly fading, especially when you consider that incoming freshman were around ten years old when the Huskies last won the Rose Bowl.

Plus, the calls for Coach Willingham's head are ridiculous. The fact is, one of the major problems that the program faces is a lack of consistency at coach. It's like a game of musical chairs. How is firing Willingham going to help solve this issue? Recruits are simply going to look at UW and think, "Hey, the guy that recruited me probably isn't going to make it to my senior year, so why should I go there?" The fact that Willingham has been able to put together a nationally ranked recruiting class in spite of these issues is a testament to his coaching and recruiting abilities.

Furthermore, if we fire Willingham, who do we replace him with? There is no way that a coach even close to his calibre will be willing to come and coach given the current environment at Washington. Think about it, the fanbase is tired of losing, and if you can't magically turn it around in about two years, alumni and donors will be putting pressure on administrators to fire you. Who wants to come to that?

Look, I'm not saying we give Willingham carte blanche: at some point, winning needs to take place, but I still think we need to let him recruit one more class. After this year, he will have only his own recruits. If he can't put together a winning season next year, then it probably will be time for Willingham to leave. But I'm reluctant to give even that timetable since he's facing so many difficulties right now.

Good luck, Ty.

And as I glance up at the ESPN ticker, I see that less than 45 minutes after kickoff, it's 13-0 Oklahoma. Hey, at least we blocked the extra point. Karma? Irony? You decide.