SEATTLE -- During his introductory press conference on Dec. 6, 2013, Chris Petersen emphasized the process of turning around a program in eighteen months. Now, 36 months since uttering those words, Petersen has his program ranked in the top five for the first time since 2000 after defeating Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
On the heels of a 44-6 route of No.7 Stanford last Friday at Husky Stadium, No.5 Washington is calling Oregon just another opponent while trying to downplay the national attention.
"Washington is back," said Dennis Dodd, CBSSports National College Football Writer told Rivals on Monday. "You can define that any way you want, but UW is a national brand that had been dormant for too long. There is still a long way to go but the Huskies are definitely a top 10 team and definitely the favorite now to win the Pac-12."
Yet, with a 5-0 start, the Huskies have lost 12 consecutive games to the Ducks. Petersen, who is well out-spoken against social media and to a degree media itself, announced Monday there will be no player availability this week.
Petersen knows this game is not just another game. Washington ended its road losing streak against Arizona two weeks ago, and for the Huskies to continue being taken seriously there can be no letup.
But when UW travels to Autzen Stadium this Saturday, already an 8.5 point favorite against the Ducks, it won't be facing the same team it has over the past decade.
"In my opinion this is a long, slow, continuing decline for Oregon," Dodd said, when asked if the Ducks can regain their years of dominance. "They had something special under Chip Kelly. I don’t know if anyone could follow him. Having to dip down to FCS get two quarterbacks after fielding a Heisman Trophy winer is unacceptable."
Dodd added to the question marks surrounding the head coaching future in Eugene, saying "I’m sure there is some grumbling about Mark Helfrich."
Once the scoreboard strikes 0:00, if Washington leaves Eugene still undefeated, there are still several games left on the schedule to trip them up. The though of running the table, even for ex-Husky safety Tony Parrish, is something that shouldn't be brought up.
"A win this weekend puts us in control of the Pac-12," Parrish told Rivals on Monday. "But there's a lot of football ahead of us this season. I'm averse to sayings like 'run the table."
Dodd noted that road games against Utah and Cal, along with the Apple Cup in the regular season finale, are all games that could prevent UW from an undefeated regular season.
"I don’t think anyone thinks UW is going to run the table," Dodd said. "There are still trips to Utah, Cal and please don’t laugh, Washington State. This is too balanced a conference."
