Washington Huskies

Inspired by Florida's "#ComePlayWRFortheJoker" campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here's a look at recruiting pitches for the Pac-12:

Arizona Wildcats
What they're selling: Rich Rodriguez's offensive system worked wonders at West Virginia and introduced the nation to Denard Robinson at Michigan. In 2012, the explosive offense scored at least 34 points in 10 of the Wildcats' 13 games.
What they're missing: The Wildcats don't have the Territorial Cup, which went to Arizona State following a 41-34 victory last season. If Arizona is going to climb the Pac-12 ranks, it'll need to win at home and lock up local talent over the Sun Devils.

Arizona State Sun Devils
What they're selling: There's a new attitude at Arizona State, as Todd Graham took the Sun Devils from the most penalized team in the country to one of the least penalized in just one year. Installing that discipline and accountability has been a major selling point for recruits signing up to play with Graham.
What they're missing: The Sun Devils won their final three games of the season for the first time in more than three decades, but losses to UCLA and USC leave them looking up at the Pac-12 South leaders in the battle for national prominence.

California Golden Bears
What they're selling: One of the top public universities in the world, Cal will always be able to pitch its strong academics to recruiting. The new facilities and revamped California Memorial Stadium will help accentuate the package with a pretty bow.
What they're missing: Coach Sonny Dykes has recent Pac-12 experience, but his three years at Louisiana Tech took him completely out of the minds of West region recruits. In-state recruits, essential to Cal's recruiting success, are unfamiliar with what Dykes' systems look like in game action, although the Golden Bears will have a chance to make several statements this fall.

Colorado Buffaloes
What they're selling: The Buffaloes need playmakers at a multitude of position on both sides of the ball. Playing time and the ability to make an instant impact are certainly on the table for Colorado recruits.
What they're missing: Colorado was two points away from a winless season in 2012 and has very little on-field momentum heading into 2013. The Buffs have just four wins in two years in the Pac-12, and until that changes, it'll be difficult to win significant recruiting battles.

Oregon Ducks
What they're selling: The noisy uniforms and noisier Autzen Stadium provide the flash, but there is plenty of substance in the fast-paced offense the Ducks run. It's unlikely that will slow down under new coach Mark Helfrich.
What they're missing: Mostly obviously, they're missing Chip Kelly, which has left a slight cloud over how the program might change direction or continue unaltered under the new staff. But the possibility of looming NCAA sanctions means the Ducks can't sell completely smooth sailing to recruits in this class.

Oregon State Beavers
What they're selling: The Beavers can sell credibility, not just on the field, but with the coaching staff as well. Mike Riley and his staff have proven they can win in Corvallis and year after year, the Beavers' coach comes across as incredibly genuine to recruits.
What they're missing: In state, Oregon State is the decided underdog when it comes to flash and national appeal. The Beavers aren't often referred to as a "dream school" by recruits, so there is rarely a sure-fire commitment for coaches when they go out of state.

Stanford Cardinal
What they're selling: Arguably no school in the country has the combination of academics and athletics of Stanford. When you're recruiting student-athletes, that's a good place to start.
What they're missing: Despite the recent success, Stanford is never going to be able to put together the game-day atmosphere of some of its Pac-12 competition, including Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

UCLA Bruins
What they're selling: Jim Mora's staff has Southern California buzzing about the new direction UCLA is headed. That's a good thing for the Bruins, who have climbed out of the shadow of USC.
What they're missing: The Bruins had a chance to completely pass USC, but dropped their final three games of the season. There is still a question about whether they've jumped the Trojans for good and until that is settled on the field this season, the Trojans will likely get the benefit of the doubt, regionally and nationally.

USC Trojans
What they're selling: No Pac-12 program can fall back on tradition like USC. And now with the John McKay Center, old school meets new school in a much-needed facility upgrade.
What they're missing: Rumblings about Lane Kiffin's job security began after a 10-point loss to UCLA, grew louder after a loss to Notre Dame and became deafening after a Sun Bowl loss to Georgia Tech. Despite athletic director Pat Haden throwing his full support behind the coach, recruits and their families are having difficulty believing Kiffin and his staff are there for the long haul.

Utah Utes
What they're selling: Offensively, there is plenty of intrigue as to how co-offensive coordinators Dennis Erickson and Brian Johnson direct the attack. Overall, there is still the memory of what Utah was able to accomplish as a BCS spoiler in 2008, and Kyle Whittingham hopes to spark some of that magic in the Pac-12.
What they're missing: In two years, the Utes are below .500 in the Pac-12 and missed out on a bowl game last season. At this point, it's still an uphill climb in terms of convincing recruits they can cause an upheaval in the conference standings.

Washington Huskies
What they're selling: It's tough to find a coaching staff with more energy on the field or recruiting trail, starting with head coach Steve Sarkisian and moving to every assistant coach on the staff. It's a young group that relates incredibly well to recruits.
What they're missing: The Huskies have yet to win eight games in Sarkisian's three years in Seattle, so hitting that number would be a big step toward proving there is some growing on-field momentum.

Washington State Cougars
What they're selling: Mike Leach is still one of the most interesting personalities in college football, and despite some stumbles in his first year at Washington State, recruits are still interested to see what the Cougars can do this fall in his second year.
What they're missing: The Cougars need wins and they need them now. Washington State hasn't posted a winning record since 2003 and when it comes to on-field performance, it simply can't compete with a majority of Pac-12 teams.

USC, Washington and Colorado are starting spring practices after each suffered through disappointing seasons. Ted Miller says each team has different priorities in order to move on from those disappointments.

Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) running back Joe Mixon now holds six offers. Mason Kelley caught up with the 2014 recruit to get the latest.

Washington started slowly at Colorado, but Keith Price led a second-half onslaught with a career-high five touchdown passes as the Huskies rolled 38-3.

Price, who started the season slowly, and the Huskies continued their upswing. They can post their first eight-win season since 2001 with a win at Washington State next week.

Price completed 22 of 29 passes for 248 yards with no interceptions.

The Buffaloes' (1-10, 1-7) woes continued. Connor Wood started at quarterback, but he was pulled after completing 3 of 6 passes for 11 yards with two interceptions. The Buffs were outgained 476 yards to 141, and they surrendered five turnovers.

With a loss to Utah on Friday, Colorado will finish with the worst record in school history.

A few storylines to keep an eye on this week:

1. And the winner in the North is ...? Could be Oregon. If the Ducks can get past visiting Stanford this week, they'll lock up the division and earn a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. They still have to go through Oregon State next week -- but wins over both of those clubs should help them in the BCS standings. Well, at least on the computer side. The Ducks hold the No. 1 spot in both human polls. So if they win out, they will be in the national championship game. The North Division winner could be Stanford, too. If the Cardinal win this weekend and close out with a victory at UCLA next week, Stanford and Oregon will each have one conference loss, with the Cardinal holding the tiebreaker.
2. And the winner in the South is ...? We'll see Saturday, but we know it will be from Los Angeles. The USC-UCLA rivalry hasn't been one of late. UCLA's last victory over the Trojans came in 2006 -- a 13-9 win that snapped USC's NCAA record of 63 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points and also cost the Trojans a spot in the BCS title game. The scenario is winner-take-all -- regardless of what happens next week.
3. On the bubble: Arizona State and Utah are both trying to make the postseason. ASU has the easier road, needing just one win to lock up bowl eligibility. And it hosts a Washington State team that is winless in conference play. Utah has to first beat Arizona at home this week, then win at Colorado next. The Utes are yet to win a road game this year.
4. QB carousel: Seems like it wouldn't be a normal week in the Pac-12 if there weren't quarterback issues. Almost half of the league has uncertainty at the position heading into this weekend. Arizona's Matt Scott might not be able to go again this week; same for Cal's Zach Maynard. Nick Hirschman suffered a concussion last week for Colorado, Jeff Tuel was injured for Washington State, opening the door for Connor Halliday's five touchdowns. And the Sean Mannion-Cody Vaz back-and-forth continues at Oregon State, pending Vaz's health.
5. [+] Enlarge
   Rick Scuteri/US PresswireUtah's chances at the postseason hinge on doing a better job stopping Ka'Deem Carey than Colorado.
   Quality matchups: If the Utes do want to get into the postseason, they'll have to find a way to slow down Arizona running back Ka'Deem Carey, who rushed for a Pac-12 record 366 yards and five touchdowns in last week's victory over Colorado. It's Utah's strength as a defense versus Arizona's strength as an offense. You can say the same for the Oregon-Stanford matchup, which pits Oregon's league-best rushing attack against Stanford's conference-leading rush defense.
6. Gone in 60 seconds: Per the folks at ESPN Stats & Information, Stanford is the only FBS team that hasn't allowed a touchdown drive of three plays or fewer; it is also one of only five teams that has not allowed a touchdown in less than a minute. Oregon, of course, leads the FBS in touchdown drives that last one minute or less. Stopwatches at the ready.
7. The SoCal tight-end factor: More super-cool stuff from the Stats & Info group: Matt Barkley and Brett Hundley have combined to throw 17 touchdowns and zero interceptions when targeting their tight ends. Hundley completes 75.6 percent of his passes when targeting a tight end; Barkley is at 67.2 percent. Could make for an interesting sidebar to Saturday's matchup.
8. Off and running: Washington's Bishop Sankey heads to Colorado as one of the hottest running backs in the conference right now. He ha rushed for 351 yards and four touchdowns in his past two games and last week became the 11th player in UW history to reach the 1K milestone. Expect him to add to that total. Colorado ranks last in the conference against the run, yielding 227.6 yards per game on the ground to go with a conference-worst 25 rushing touchdowns allowed.
9. Decisions, decisions: When California coach Jeff Tedford gets back to the Bay Area following the Bears' trip to Oregon State, he'll have sit down with athletic director Sandy Barbour to discuss the future of Cal football and what role -- if any -- he plays in it. Walking into that meeting with a victory over the No. 16 Beavers would probably go over better than closing out the year on a five-game losing streak.

In the preseason, if you penciled in Washington at 6-4 heading into the season's final two weekends, you would have been branded an optimist. The Huskies faced a brutal schedule, perhaps the toughest in the nation, and it's become even tougher than it looked in August as the season played out.

Anyone project San Diego State as an 8-3 team? Or Oregon State as a top-10 team much of the season?

The Huskies posted wins over both those teams, and when you toss in a victory over Stanford, you have three wins over teams that are presently a combined 23-7.

The only true hiccup this season was at Arizona, a listless 52-17 defeat. But the Wildcats, also 6-4, are pretty darn good. They have wins against Oklahoma State and USC and nailbiting losses to Stanford and Oregon State.

While the Huskies haven't been strong on the road this year, they will be favorites in their final two regular-season games, at Colorado on Saturday and at Washington State in the Apple Cup on Nov. 23. That means they have a good shot at an eight-win regular season, with a chance at a ninth in a bowl game.

The last time the Huskies won eight games? That would be 2001. That means most of the current Huskies can't even remember the last time it happened.

And, yet, during a three-game midseason slide, some people were questioning the trajectory of the program under coach Steve Sarkisian.

People! Don't they just drive you crazy?

You get the feeling that a lot of those same people came around at some point last Saturday during the Huskies 16-play, 82-yard, fourth-quarter TD drive, which lasted 8:43 and put a dagger into Utah.

Sarkisian called the 34-15 victory the Huskies' most complete performance. The defense under new coordinator Justin Wilcox is astronomically better than a year ago, and QB Keith Price has started to look like his old self, completing 24 of 33 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for a TD.

"I thought that was by far and away [Price's] best game of the year," Sarkisian said, then added. "I just think from a mental standpoint he is healthy. He's back to Keith Price as I know him, which is fun to be around... He is exuding a tremendous amount of confidence and leadership, and in the end I think our team feeds off of him."

Of course, there are other schools of thought, ones that hear about playing well in all three phases and yawn. These people prefer the "Hat Over Visor Theory."

Sarkisian is a visor guy, like Steve Spurrier. But it seems the Huskies are now 4-0 when he wears a hat. This has become a fairly big deal in Seattle. Really.

"I haven't spent that much time delegating over what to wear in the game," Sarkisian said. "But now, it's pretty clear to me the hat, it's just unbelievable the success we have with me in the hat. So we'll continue with the hat."

Sark is laughing at the question, but here's a guess that he will be wearing a hat until the magic -- and it is clearly hat magic -- goes away.

And, with a 9-4 finish with a bowl victory as a potential outcome, which could earn the Huskies a top-15 2013 preseason ranking as they move back into a fancy new Husky Stadium, hat magic is just fine.

Taking a look at four major issue for the Pac-12 in Week 11.