August 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Athletic Director’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Azeem Victor knows the value of hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2017 Football Preview: Loaded Huskies look to repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 10 Questions with ... Co-Offensive Coordinator Matt Lubick. . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Greatest Setting: What to expect on gameday at Husky Stadium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
NEW!
ENTER TO WIN a 2016 College Football Playoff football personally autographed by head coach Chris Petersen! MORE ON PAGE 6
The Other Side: The biggest games and can’t-miss moments on UW’s 2017 schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Shot: Indelible Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
GoHUSKIES
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GOHUSKIES! VOLUME 11 / ISSUE 1 / AUGUST 2017
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FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR’S DESK
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s we turn our calendars to August and student-athletes begin to report back to campus, it’s hard to believe another Husky football season has nearly arrived. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday we were celebrating the 2016 Pac-12 Championship together in Santa Clara. As you read this football preview issue, I would encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the recent progress we have seen within our program, and to consider the purpose behind that progress. Media are quick to shine light on our team’s projected winning percentages, talented depth charts or NFL Draft prospects. But when I visit with fans, I seem to hear just as much pride and excitement about Coach Petersen’s approach to team-building, preparation for our student-athletes’ life after football and efforts in the Seattle community. Those of us lucky enough to work with Coach Pete can attest to the depth of passion he feels for building something special here at Washington, and for making sure that we build it the right way, true to the values of the University. “Built for Life” is not just a catchy slogan, it is truly a teaching philosophy that is executed tangibly throughout the program every day of the year. As we all bring great hopes into this 2017
Jennifer Cohen
season, I think it’s important to celebrate the way this program is being built, with sights set on big things on and off the field of competition. If we can accomplish these goals, together we will make a remarkable impact on the Seattle community for years to come. GO HUSKIES!
INTRODUCING GoHUSKIES MAGAZINE
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ith a new season comes a new name for the official season-ticket holder publication of UW Athletics. As we enter our 11th year providing unique content to Huskies fans, the new title, “GoHuskies Magazine” reflects a greater alignment with our digital offerings (online at GoHuskies.com) and a new social hashtag campaign, #GoHuskies. We’ll still be delivering the same great features you’ve come to expect, and bringing you unique in-
sights into the world of Husky athletics, and the role you play as part of it. In addition to the printed magazine, each issue is available digitally at GoHuskies.com, including links to advertisers and special features. We hope to further grow the magazine’s digital presence in the near future — let us know if we’re hitting the mark, or if there’s anything you’d like to see more of. And most importantly, GO DAWGS!
Football & Men’s Basketball Flagship Radio Station: KOMO Newsradio AM 1000 & FM 97.7
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THE POWER OF
HOPE His best friend murdered, his high school GPA at 1.54, life was at a low point for Azeem Victor — until he took it upon himself to turn it around
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By Brian Beaky Editor, GoHuskies Magazine
f there’s one thing his teammates want to make clear, it’s that Azeem Victor is not a violent man. He’s funny, they say, and trustworthy ... the kind of person you want not only as a teammate, but as a friend.
The violence, though, is inescapable.
Victor’s hits aren’t just tackles, they’re lightning strikes — fast, loud and, yes, violent, the kind of hits that make opponents think twice about crossing his zone, and make fans collectively wince in sympathy for the unfortunate recipient. Which was what made Victor’s leg injury in 2016 — the one that caused him to miss the last four games of the season — so difficult to understand. Victor is the hammer, not the nail — and the hammer doesn’t get hurt. “It was pretty sad — I’ve never been hurt before in football,” he says, “and of course I wanted to be able to contribute to the amazing season we had. But the biggest thing was having a good support system, always having a clear mind, being positive. My family helped, and my teammates really stepped up and supported me.” You see, there’s the Azeem Victor you know from watching him on the field — the one who embodies the inherent violence of the game through his speed, instincts and unmatched energy, the one who seems both
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HOPE fearsome and fearless, the one you don’t want to see barreling towards you. But there’s another Azeem, one only his friends, family and teammates see. That’s the one who cracks jokes in the locker room, who graduated on time last year with a degree in American Ethnic Studies and a grade-point-average above 3.0, the one who started his own foundation, Azeem’s Dream, to help at-risk urban youth. Lightning and hammers are strong, yes, but Victor is stronger — because he’s developed the ability to turn the lightning off.
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he violence was the easiest to come by. Growing up in Compton, Calif., violence was all around Victor. An older kid in the neighborhood, Quentin Dimitris, took Victor under his wing and treated him like a brother. He showed Victor how to carry himself, how to get through the days — and how to wreak havoc on a football field like nobody’s business. A middle linebacker who idolized NFL legends like Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis, Dimitris was “an all-around beast,” Victor says, channeling the anger and violence of his situation into hits that L.A. high school football observers still talk about to this day. “Even in Pop Warner, he wore the neck roll, and I was like, ‘Oooh, yeah, I like that,’” Victor recalls. “I looked up to him like a brother.” Dimitris was an inspiration for Victor, and along with his family, one of his greatest supporters; he was also a gang member. In 2013, that second side to Dimitris’s character caught up to the first, when he was shot in the head on the way to his se-
ENTER TO WIN! To thank you for being a strong supporter of Husky football, we’re giving you the chance to win a Purple Reign Prize Pack, including a 2016 College Football Playoff football personally autographed by head coach Chris Petersen! To enter to win, log on to GoHuskies.com/PrizePack!
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nior prom. For a kid from Compton — even one like Victor who managed to avoid the gang entanglements — violence is simply a part of life. “He was one of my closest friends,” recalls Victor, who carries a towel with him on the field that says “Q RIP.” “Now, playing middle linebacker like he did, I try to play with that same passion that he played with. He didn’t get his chance, so now I try to do it for him.”
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s for the other side of Victor’s personality — that required a little more cultivation from those around him. At the end of his junior year — already a year behind in school — a counselor sat down with Victor and his father to inform them that Victor’s 1.54 GPA put him at serious risk of failing to graduate. As Victor describes it, the counselor casually said, “There’s always community college.” “That was the first time that reality began to set in,” Victor writes on his foundation’s website. “To have someone speak that much disbelief over you hurts deeply.” More than the counselor’s lack of faith, Victor says that the disappointment on his father’s face cut the deepest. For the next year, he dedicated himself to proving that he wasn’t a failure, that he wasn’t going to wind up like so many other kids in his neighborhood; that he was going to make
it — for his father, for Quentin, for himself. Working seemingly around the clock — and with the help of tutors and teachers who saw the honesty in his efforts and dedicated their time to help him achieve his goals — Victor earned his degree from Pomona High School in 2013. He calls it “the biggest accomplishment of my life.” Most importantly, the lessons stuck. This wasn’t just another high-school athlete pulling up his grades to get a scholarship, then doing just enough each quarter to remain eligible. This was a sea change in the way Victor viewed the world, and his place in it. He wasn’t just another kid from Compton, resigned to a life on the streets. He was a young man with a dream — and there was a whole network of people out there willing to help him achieve it ... if he was only humble enough, and brave enough, to ask. Last year, Victor dedicated himself to making sure that kids like himself — atrisk, urban youth who feel their future prospects are hopeless — are aware of the opportunities around them, launching the Azeem’s Dream Foundation with help from sponsors and private donors. In addition to outreach conducted by Victor himself (including a recent backpack drive), the foundation’s website, AzeemsDreamFoundation.com, includes links to Continued on page 9 GoHUSKIES
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HOPE free, online tutoring assistance, peermentor programs and other services, along with regular blog posts from the founder. “I am committed to bring...hope to kids who are being told that they ‘can’t,’” Victor says. “’Hope’ is a powerful, small word that carries an enormous amount of weight. [I want] to show youth that they are not alone, that dreams do come true, [and] help them realize that they can succeed regardless of their situation.” The first photo you see when you click the “media” link on the foundation’s website is proof of Victor’s statement. It’s from this past June, and shows a 6-foot3, African-American man in a graduation cap and gown, standing outside of Husky Stadium. He’s flanked by two older women, both beaming with pride, as he clutches in his hands the one thing that 17-year-old kid with a 1.54 GPA and only two years’ worth of high school credits seemed unlikely ever to possess — a college diploma. Hope is a powerful word.
shows both sides. He’s the hopeless kid with a chip on his shoulder, the 15-year-old whose closest friend was murdered by a rival gang, the physical freak with the uncanny instincts, the force of nature whose hits are felt all the way to Husky Stadium’s upper deck, the hard-working student who completed six years’ of schooling in five years’ time, the civic leader with an eye towards helping those less fortunate, and the ball-busting teammate who inspires respect and admiration from his peers. He’s all of those things, and that’s the point. No one aspect of a person’s personality, no one fact of their situation, defines who they are — or who they can be. The opportunities exist, and the choices are ours — if we’re simply willing to believe in ourselves. To believe in hope.
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ictor, of course, doesn’t have to go into the at-risk neighborhoods to find kids to impact — he’s inspiring young people every single day in the UW locker room. Just ask them. “I have a lot of trust in him, he’s a great teammate,” says quarterback Jake Browning, one of the few people on the roster who knows what it’s like to take one of Victor’s hits. “He’s someone that I’m good friends with.” “Azeem is unreal,” says sophomore safety Taylor Rapp, who often lines up directly behind Victor in the team’s defensive formation. “He’s in on basically every play. It’s unreal being behind him.” “With his energy, and his aggressiveness, he makes everyone better around him,” says fellow linebacker Sean Constantine, who has played alongside Victor for the last four years. “He’s one heck of an athlete, one of the best I’ve ever seen. And he’s actually a very funny guy off the field. I’m lucky I’ve gotten to know him.” “I can be, yeah, I’m a little funny,” Victor says, chuckling, when told what his teammates say about him. “My mom would probably say that I’m crazy, and my dad would probably say that I’m a mellow dude. I show both sides.” And that’s the thing about Victor — he GoHUSKIES
“’Hope’ is a powerful, small word that carries an enormous amount of weight,” Victor says. “[I want] to show youth that they are not alone, that dreams do come true, [and] that they can succeed regardless of their situation.”
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YEAH, THIS TEAM IS CAPABLE OF SCORING A LOT OF POINTS.
Pettis’s 15 TDs in 2016 rank third all-time at UW. Photo by Scott Eklund
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GoHUSKIES
Back
to
BASICS? How do you improve on 12-2
One game at a time.
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on’t tell Jake Browning that the Huskies are coming off one of the best seasons in program history. Don’t tell him that the team won 12 games in 2016, routed Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and reached the semi-final round of the College Football Playoff. Don’t tell the junior quarterback that he finished sixth in voting for the Heisman Trophy, was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and threw for more yards per attempt than any of the famed UW signal-callers that ever came before him. Don’t tell him that the Huskies broke
GoHUSKIES
By Brian Beaky Editor, GoHuskies Magazine
school records for touchdowns and points scored, including 44 against Stanford, 45 against Washington State, 66 against Cal and, oh yeah, 70 against Oregon. He doesn’t want to hear it. Any of it. “We’re still practicing like we were a 7-6 team that had to fight just to make a bowl game,” he says. “That was enough to motivate us last year. If you change what you’re doing just because you’ve had some success, you’re dooming yourself.” Fortunately for Browning — and his Husky teammates, coaches and the legions of fans that have proudly displayed their purple and gold throughout the re-
gion these last 12 months — the changes are few and far between. The biggest ones are on defense, where three members of the Huskies’ eighthranked pass defense now ply their trade in the NFL — including second-rounders Kevin King, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker — not to mention sixth-round pass rusher Elijah Qualls, and sack-master Joe Mathis. On the surface, that looks like a lot of talent to replace in one offseason. Ask senior linebacker Azeem Victor, though, if the Huskies can match their defensive dominance of last season, and he just smiles. Continued on page 12
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“They said the same thing about us when Shaq (Thompson) left, and Danny (Shelton) and those guys,” he says. “Our defense is stacked. The new guys just to have to step up, and they’re prepared. That’s the thing, throughout this process, they’re prepared. It’s a credit to the system. Everyone is prepared to go at any time.” One key addition to the defense will be Victor himself. The linebacker was leading the team in tackles through nine games before suffering a broken leg in a November game against USC (indeed, leading tackler Budda Baker finished with just four more than Victor for the entire season, despite playing in five more games). Teamed with fellow ‘backer Kieshawn Bierria, the two are a stabilizing force in the middle of the defense — and a terrorizing one to opposing teams.
“If you change what you’re doing just because you’ve had some success, you’re dooming yourself.” The Huskies also return Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Taylor Rapp, space (and running back-) eating defensive tackles Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, starting safety Jojo McIntosh and a deep veteran bench, while adding an intriguing group of freshmen including defensive backs Keith Taylor and Elijah Molden, each of whom enrolled early and have a full spring under their belts already. Opportunities abound at both cornerback and defensive line, and with the Huskies’ recent pedigree at those two positions — with six players drafted to the NFL in the last five years, including five in the second round or higher — the competition to take advantage could well produce the Huskies’ next defensive star. “It’s been a bit of a change,” says Rapp of the young faces in the Huskies’ defensive backs meeting room this year. “Last year, I was the young one being led around by Budda, Sid and Kev; this year, I have to step up and be a leader. I don’t really feel any pressure, though; I just need to do the same things I did last year.” It certainly sounds like Rapp’s received Browning’s message. On offense, there aren’t truly many changes at all. Yes, world-beating speedster John Ross is off to the Cincinnati Bengals, but the names replacing him are all ones that Husky fans have become familiar with over the last PAGE 12
With nine returning starters on offense, the Huskies should boast one of the nation’s most prolific offenses once again. Photos by Scott Eklund and Mason Kelley
“
We’re still practicing
like we were a 7-6 team
that had to fight just to make a bowl game.
”
several years — junior Chico McClatcher (who will also be a leading candidate to take over Ross’s return duties), sophomores Aaron Fuller, Andre Baccellia and Quinten Pounds, junior Brayden Lenius and, of course, senior Dante Pettis, whose 15 touchdowns last year were the third-most in UW Continued on page 14 GoHUSKIES
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UW led the nation in turnover margin at +18. Photo by Scott Eklund
history (but, amusingly, only second-most among 2016 Huskies, to Ross’s 17). That’s six receivers with at least a year’s worth of experience in Jonathan Smith’s high-powered offense — and we haven’t even mentioned tight ends like veteran Drew Sample or highly regarded freshman Hunter Bryant. They’ll be bolstered by what has to be the Pac-12’s deepest group of running backs, and one of the deepest in the nation. Junior Myles Gaskin has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, and needs 1,431 yards to pass Chris Polk for No. 1 all-time at UW. Senior Lavon Coleman added 852 yards and seven touchdowns of his own last season — ninth-best in the Pac-12 conference — while redshirt freshman Sean McGrew, the 2015 Gatorade California State Player of the Year, further bolsters the unit. In all, the Huskies return 2,432 of their (nearly school-record) 2,774 rushing yards from last year — while adding one of the nation’s top prep running backs to the fold. And they’ll be running behind an offensive line that replaces just one starter, left tackle Jake Eldrenkamp.
“Everyone is prepared.” Yeah, this team is capable of scoring a lot of points. It’s no surprise that when McClatcher surveys the roster, he sees a team that can not only repeat last year’s high-flying theatrics, but even improve upon them. “We already see signs that we can be a better team than we were last year,” McClatcher says. “We’re grinding every day, with the goal to get back to the Pac-12 Championship.” It’s a favorable schedule, too, with just four Pac-12 road games — at Colorado, Oregon State, Arizona State and Stanford — and no regular-season game against the conference’s other preseason top10 team, USC. Don’t tell that to Jake Browning, though. While everything the Huskies could ever dream of achieving might be realistically on the table in 2017, he only wants to talk about the season-opener at Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 1. “We’re oh-and-oh,” he says, “and that’s all that matters. It’s a new year, and you can’t let success change what you’re doing.” And his personal goals for the season? Heisman? School records? “I just want to win games,” he says. If the Huskies play up to their potential the way they did in 2016, that shouldn’t be a problem. PAGE 14
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TWO GREAT SCHOOLS ONE GREAT TRADITION The Apple Cup is a Washington tradition and one of the great rivalries in all of college sports. Whether you’re cheering for the Dawgs or screaming for the Cougs, Boeing is proud to be the title sponsor of this annual matchup between two great competitors.
10 QUESTIONS WITH... CO-OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT LUBICK
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att Lubick grew up in a football family as the son of Sonny Lubick, the former head coach at Montana State and Colorado State. The younger Lubick joined Coach Petersen’s staff this offseason as the Huskies’ new wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator. He was born in Bozeman, Mont., and played at Western Montana, where he was an NAIA All-America defensive back. Among others, he’s coached at Oregon State, Arizona State and Oregon in the Pac-12 Conference.
You grew up with a college football coach as your father. Do you recall a time when you realized that this was unusual? “It was an awesome deal, as my dad always made it a point of including me in everything he did as a way to spend time with him. I enjoyed sports, hanging out in the locker room, going on road trips. It was good family. I wouldn’t say it was unusual because I didn’t know anything else.”
When did you figure out that you’d like to coach? “I went to school to be a dentist, and the last year of my pre-dental school, I was getting burned out and wanted to give coaching a shot.”
You were on the staff at Oregon State when current Husky offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith was playing quarterback. Have you kept in touch or followed his career closely? “I loved him as a player. He won a lot of games at Oregon State. You could make an argument that he’s the most successful quarterback in the history of Oregon State. He’s one of those guys you knew was going to be a great coach, because he was a coach on the field. He was our team leader. You’re only as good as your team leader and he was as good as it gets.”
What about this position attracted you to it? What stands out about the UW so far? “Great people, a positive atmosphere and just how welcoming people are.”
What impact do you think your time in Montana had on you? “There are a lot of great people in Montana. It’s very close-knit. People are very friendly. A lot of great coaches have come out of Montana. The family values carry over to football — work ethic, finishing jobs and not taking things for granted.”
“The people. The reputation of Coach Petersen and the comfort of knowing Coach Smith and being able to trust him. I’ve always admired Coach Petersen’s program and how successful it’s been. He’s very organized, which I kind of assumed before I got here. He’s very driven; one of the more driven coaches I’ve been with in terms of always looking to find ways to get better in every aspect. And that’s every day. He has a unique way of not only motivating players, but motivating coaches, too.”
What do you think of Husky Stadium, now that you see it from the home-team side?
How does playing defensive back in college, and having coached them, impact how you coach receivers? “It’s huge in terms of understanding how to attack an opponent. When you’re teaching offense, you’re teaching how to attack other teams’ defenses, and vice versa. There’s huge carry-over from one side to the other. I recommend that every coach get experience on both sides of the ball. It helps tremendously from a game-plan standpoint.”
You have two veteran returners in Dante Pettis and Chico McClatcher. What do you think of them so far? “They’re great kids. I knew from watching them on tape that they were great football players, but they’re even better people. They work hard. They’re very attentive. They’re hungry to get better. That’s the key to improvement.”
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“I’d never really had the chance to experience what’s around Husky Stadium, how beautiful the campus is. And, the actual facilities — they did everything first-class. I thought we had excellent facilities at Oregon, but this is as good as it gets, especially in terms of how convenient and functional it all is. You couldn’t have a better situation as far as getting to meetings and the game field and having everything right there.”
What’s your favorite thing to eat at Sonny Lubick Steakhouse (Fort Collins, Colo.)? “My favorite thing is the salmon. They have great steaks, but I’m really a salmon guy.”
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LONG TIME GoHuskies takes a look at what to expect at Husky Stadium this season
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t’s been nine months since we last gathered together at Husky Stadium — and while some may say it feels like yesterday, I’d guess most of us feel as if it’s taken forever for this highly anticipated season to roll around. Like kids looking forward to Christmas, Saturday, Sept. 9, just can’t come soon enough. The last few seasons, of course, have been landmark ones in terms of the gameday experience, from the opening of the new Husky Stadium in 2013, through the opening of the Husky Stadium Light Rail station in 2016. Nothing quite as dramatic is planned for this coming fall, though there are certain opportunities fans will want to be aware of before the season begins.
LEGENDARY HUSKIES TO BE HONORED
Two of the most recognizable names associated with Husky football, Don James and Bob Rondeau, will both be honored in unique ways during the 2017 season. Washington football alumni raised funds to create a statue honoring James, the Huskies’ national champion head coach. The statue will be located in the northwest plaza, alongside that of longtime head coach Jim Owens, and will be unveiled as part of the Homecoming festivities on Saturday, Oct. 28, prior to the Huskies’ game against UCLA. Rondeau, meanwhile, will be recognized for his incredible 37 years as “The Voice of the Huskies” at the Apple Cup on Nov. 25. Nearly every Husky fan alive grew up listening to Rondeau’s calls of the greatest moments in Husky football history. Few individuals have given more years to the program than Rondeau; make sure you’re in your seat on Nov. 25 to recognize a true Husky legend in the way Husky fans do best.
RAINIER VISTA TAILGATE OPPORTUNITIES The Greatest Setting in College Football has long been known for its unique tailgating (and sailgating) opportunities. Now Washington fans will have another unique and picturesque option. The Husky Tailgate Club at Rainier Vista (the on-campus pathway leading from Red Square, past Drumheller Fountain, to the gates of Husky Stadium) will feature premium, turnkey tailgating solutions operated by UW’s new hospitality partner, IMG Live. The new tailgate packages, which require no setup or clean-up for fans, are offered in three different sizes, accommodating groups of either 10, 20 or 40. Reservations can now be made at GoHuskies.com.
EAST ENDZONE BEER GARDEN Following the success of the Offleash Beer Garden in the northwest corner of Husky Stadium, department officials expanded the offering to a new garden above section 101 prior to the 2016 season, and will now offer a third location on the outer perimeter of the east endzone seating. All three locations are open to all fans, on a first-come, first-served basis (each area has a maximum capacity, for safety reasons). For more specific info about Husky football gameday, including transportation, parking, tailgating, bag policies and more, visit www.GoHuskies.com and click the “Inside” tab at the top of the page.
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LOOK AHEAD A
Chris Petersen’s players may take things one game at a time — but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t peek at what’s coming down the road this season
BY BRIAN BEAKY Editor • GoHuskies Magazine
FRI. — SEPT. 1 — 5 P.M. AT RUTGERS The 2017 season kicks off on a Friday night in New Jersey, where the Huskies will look to repeat their dominant performance in last year’s season-opener against Rutgers. In addition to seeing the team take the field for the first time since the 2017 Peach Bowl, Husky fans will get their first look at the team’s exciting new freshmen. Who will be this year’s Myles Gaskin or Taylor Rapp?
SAT. — SEPT. 9 — 5 P.M.
MONTANA
The Huskies open the home slate on Sept. 9 against Montana, who will no doubt be thirsty for revenge after Washington’s 58-7 win the last time these two teams met ... in 1951. OK, so maybe the Grizzlies won’t have vengeance on their minds, but the perennial FCS Playoff contenders will be hungry to join the likes of Eastern Washington, Cal Poly and other FCS squads who have pulled major upsets in recent years. It’ll be up to Jake Browning and Co. to keep the Griz in check and start the home slate off on the right foot
SAT. — SEPT. 16 — 6:30 P.M.
FRESNO STATE
Part of Jake Browning’s improvement in 2016 was credited to former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford, who joined Washington as an offensive consultant for most of last season. On Sept. 16, Browning and Tedford will meet again at Husky Stadium — this time on opposite sidelines, with Tedford leading Fresno State as its new head coach. Not only will Tedford have the Bulldogs well-versed in the UW offense, but his team will also be battlehardened: just a week before traveling to Husky Stadium, Fresno State plays Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
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A
LOOK AHEAD
SAT. — SEPT. 23 AT COLORADO
SAT. — SEPT. 30 AT OREGON STATE
The road to the 2017 Pac-12 title begins where the road to last year’s Pac-12 title ended — on a distant field, against Colorado. This time, it’s the Pac-12 South champion Buffs welcoming Washington to Boulder to kick off the 2017 conference slate. Washington has won seven straight in the series dating back to 1999, including all five matchups since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12. Like Washington, the Buffs will be breaking in several new starters on defense; unlike the Huskies, Colorado will also feature a new signal-caller, with sophomore Steven Montez (who played extensively in the Pac-12 Championship Game) expected to take the reins.
In a year where the Huskies play just four Pac-12 road games, they get two out of the way in September, including the opener at Colorado and this game a week later, at Oregon State. The Huskies have won six of the last seven against the Beavers — the last four by an average of 33 points — largely on the strength of incredible performances from the running game. The Huskies rushed for 530 yards against the Beavers in 2013 (second most in school history), 226 yards in 2014, 271 yards in 2015, and 219 yards last season. Tailback Myles Gaskin needs 1,500 rushing yards this season — roughly 115 per game, including a potential bowl game — to pass Napoleon Kaufman for first place in UW history. Having never rushed for fewer than 127 yards against the Beavers, the Huskies would be wise to feed Gaskin once again.
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A
LOOK AHEAD
SAT. — OCT. 7
CALIFORNIA A rare three-road-game September means the Huskies will spend most of the season’s remainder at home — five of seven games, to be exact, beginning with this one against longtime conference rival Cal. The Bears will have a new look this fall, with former UW defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox (who orchestrated a dramatic turnaround of Washington’s defensive fortunes in 2012) taking over as head coach, and former Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin (whose high-flying Eagles teams ranked among FCS’s top-five offenses for the last four years) heading up the offense. With that kind of leadership, this is one game the Huskies certainly can’t afford to overlook.
SAT. — OCT. 14 AT ARIZONA STATE After snapping a 10-game losing streak against the Sun Devils last year with a 44-18 win at Husky Stadium, Washington will look for its first victory in Tempe since 2001, when John Anderson kicked a lastminute field goal to pull out a 33-31win. Quarterback Jake Browning lit up the Sun Devils last year for 338 yards and two touchdowns, and needs just 17 touchdowns to claim the No. 1 spot in Husky history. The Sun Devils, for their part, add both a new quarterback (transfer Blake Barnett) and offensive coordinator from Alabama, to an offense that already averaged 33.3 points per game in 2017. The new-look Husky secondary will certainly have its hands full in the desert.
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A
LOOK AHEAD
SAT. — OCT. 28
SAT. — NOV. 4
UCLA
OREGON
After its first and only bye week of the 2017 season, the Huskies return home for four of the next five weeks, kicking it of with what will undoubtedly be one of the most special nights of the season. The long-awaited statue of Don James will be unveiled prior to the Oct. 28 homecoming game with UCLA, as Husky players and fans from all eras return to Husky Stadium to pay tribute to one of college football’s legendary men, whose lessons still ring through the halls of Husky football more than 20 years after his retirement. The game itself, too, is a highlight of the schedule — Heisman candidate quarterback Josh Rosen should be back to full health, while Husky alum Jim Mora’s defenses always come to play.
If you don’t know what to look forward to in this game, then you haven’t been following Husky football for the past several decades. Jake Browning and Co. will no doubt hope to pick up right where they left off in last year’s 70-21 victory in Eugene, but the Ducks — led by new head coach Willie Taggart, impressive young quarterback Justin Herbert, outstanding tailback Royce Freeman and former Colorado defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt — will no doubt have different ideas. It’s been 14 years since 72,000 Husky fans were able to celebrate a victory over their southern rival at home — should Washington pull it out this fall, there might not be enough room in the parking lots to contain all the Husky fans who will be looking to share in the party.
SAT. — NOV. 18
SAT. — NOV. 25
FRI. — NOV. 10 — 7:30 P.M. AT STANFORD
UTAH
WASHINGTON STATE
The Huskies hit the road for the final time in 2017, in search of their first win in Palo Alto since 2007. Don’t let the Huskies’ admittedly dominant 44-6 win in Seattle last year fool you — this Stanford team is still every bit as capable of winning the Pac-12 as those that wore down opponents for the last decade with a combination of suffocating defense and a bruising running game. All-world tailback Christian McCaffrey may be gone, but just about everyone else is back from a Cardinal team that won six straight to end the season at 10-3 overall. Make no mistake about it — this may not only be the biggest game on the Huskies’ schedule, but one of the biggest in the entire conference in 2017, and has the national-television slot it deserves.
A decade ago, when Boise State and Utah were repeatedly crashing the BCS party, football writers used to wonder whether Chris Petersen and Kyle Whittingham could cut it at the game’s highest level. Hopefully, a combined 21-6 record last year has helped dispel that notion. Leading their respective Pac-12 squads, Petersen and Whittingham have been two of the conference’s winningest coaches of the last several years, and this one should be no different. After a narrow win at Utah in 2016 — thanks to Dante Pettis’s fourth-quarter punt return touchdown — Washington will have its hands full with a Utah offense that is converting to a faster, more pass-heavy attack under new OC Troy Taylor.
Last year’s Apple Cup was very nearly a “winner take all” game for the Pac-12 North Division title. Could it be so again? Both teams’ fan bases certainly think so — you know what to expect from Washington, so we’ll use this space to tout the virtues of Cougars senior quarterback Luke Falk (whose three-year career passing yards total is already the eighth-most in Pac-12 history), and a defense returning nine of its top-10 tacklers. If all goes well for both teams, Husky fans could be in for the most competitive — and most high-stakes — Apple Cup to come to Husky Stadium in nearly 20 years. I’m sure you’ll be more than ready.
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Photographs by RED BOX PICTURES
READY TO ROCK
Redshirt sophomore Benning Potoa’e (Dupont, Wash.), an outside linebacker, poses during a June 20 photo shoot. To purchase Husky Athletics photography, visit www.HUSKIESPHOTOSTORE.com
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