Washington

The good news: The Huskies return 18 starters. The bad news: These guys have contributed to 14 consecutive losses, the longest skid in the land. OK, so we've established that there's nowhere to go but up for this once-proud program, and former USC assistant Steve Sarkisian was brought in to lead the Huskies back to the promised land. He's not getting breaks from the schedule-maker. Washington plays host to Louisiana State and USC and travels to Notre Dame in its first five games. Thanks to Amy!

Comments

[Coach]

Is it possible that this formerly great Washington football program has fallen to such present depths, entirely due to coaching?

I mean, it seems like Washington's fall from the AP poll coincides with the tenure of their past two coaches.

If UW has likewise failed to recruit good players in that time, then that might also be the fault of the past two head coaches.

I don't follow the program closely enough to know if UW's demise is accompanied by a fall-off in player talent... it might be true (the NFL is the best judge of college talent, and they haven't selected any Washington players for two years running now, I believe).

Anyway, the new coaching staff at Washington is impressive for their pedigree (USC) and youth (Sarkisian and Holt and Nussmeier).

This program might turn around quicker than a lot of people think... I'd even add them to the six dark horses you listed in your Covers column.

It's possible that coaching might be why this program fell so far so quickly (it's too coincidental), and it's every bit as possible that a good coaching change is the simple solution.