Washington Huskies

All players are equal, but some players are more equal than others. That's the basis of our Most Important Player series.

First off, quarterbacks are excluded to make things more interesting. It goes without saying, for example, that Oregon's Marcus Mariota is the Ducks' most important player.

And most important doesn't necessarily have to be "best." An All-American's backup can be pretty darn good, too.

Our most important guys are players who could swing a win total one way or the other, based on their living up to expectations. Or their absence.

Washington: S Sean Parker

2012 production: Tallied 77 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions with six passes defended. He also forced three fumbles.

Why Parker is so important: As stated above, quarterbacks are excluded from this series. But we never said anything about excluding the quarterback of the defense. And that's exactly what Sean Parker is for the Huskies -- a quarterback at safety who headlines a surging secondary.

There are a lot of different directions to go with the Huskies. Running back Bishop Sankey is an obvious choice. He's a 1,400-yard rusher who has quickly climbed from by-committee option to A-list playmaker. Kasen Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins are strong options as well.

Defensively, there are some good linebacker options in Shaq Thompson, John Timu or Travis Feeney. All could fill this space.

But Parker, who was selected by his teammates as a captain last year, is the guy who makes everything click.

"Tremendous player. Great leader. Really exemplifies what we want back there," said head coach Steve Sarkisian.

As documented, the Huskies' defense made huge strides in 2012 -- particularly in the secondary -- in their first year under defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. And if they hope to be a Top-25 team -- as many have them slated -- that defense will have to keep improving. Parker will have to keep improving.

He stepped up in some of Washington's biggest games last year. He forced a fumble, had five tackles and a tackle for a loss in the win over Stanford. Against Oregon State he broke up three passes and had an interception that stopped an early drive deep in Washington territory.

This year's schedule isn't quite as daunting. But they still play in the Pac-12 North and they have to travel to Arizona State and UCLA -- not to mention the home opener against Boise State in a rematch of last year's bowl game. But there is plenty of leadership on the Huskies this year and Parker, an all-league honorable mention pick last season, is considered the leader of the leaders.

He's started in all 13 games each of the last two seasons and has been through the peaks and valleys of the program. The Huskies have a chance to ascend to peaks they haven't reached in a decade. If they do, chances are Parker plays a huge role in getting them there.

Unlike last year, there aren't nearly as many questions surrounding the Washington defense as the Huskies head into the final stretch before fall camp.

Last year a new scheme and new coaches were being installed, headlined by new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. The Huskies' defense was abysmal in 2011 -- so head coach Steve Sarkisian blew it up and started from scratch.

Now the Huskies are looking to build off of the momentum they gained in 2012 when they made huge strides in one year under Wilcox & Co.

"The numbers don't lie," Sarkisian said.

They certainly don't.

The biggest advances were in the secondary, where the Huskies jumped from 87th to 27th in pass efficiency defense, 106th to 31st in total defense, 108th to 39th in scoring defense and 116th to 23rd in pass defense. They had 17 interceptions last year compared to 10 the year before.

"Our secondary really had a very good season for us last year," Sarkisian said. "I thought Justin Wilcox, Keith Heyward, our secondary coach, really came in and did a great job. ... You look at the increase in play we had in the secondary -- our pass defense numbers, our ability to create turnovers -- I think really speaks volumes to their coaching and their ability to develop our players."


That's what Sarkisian is banking on in 2013 -- player development. More specifically, at the cornerback spot where they have to replace first-round draft pick Desmond Trufant. Sarkisian called the competition "healthy" this spring, but isn't anywhere closer to declaring anyone as the leader in the clubhouse for that starting spot. And it might end up being by-committee or which player has the hot hand that week. A few defensive backs have switched positions or spent time at safety and corner in an effort to make the defensive backfield deeper and more versatile.

With Marcus Peters, who started the final eight games opposite Trufant last season, back on one side, the competition heated up over spring between Travell Dixon and Greg Ducre. Sarkisian said that redshirt freshman Cleveland Wallace has also made a big push. Dixon is a JC transfer (once committed to Alabama) and Ducre had 15 tackles while appearing in 13 games last season.

"Desmond Trufant was a great player for us," Sarkisian said. "Anytime you have a first-round draft pick at corner it tells you the quality of player you have. But I think we've got some really capable guys that are stepping in."

If the Huskies can shore up that spot, expect the secondary to make even bigger strides in 2013. Sean Parker, who started all 13 games at safety, returns as the unquestioned leader of the secondary. Will Shamburger, who started two games last year, will see a larger role. But there's some good competition there as well. Tre Watson (who can pitch in either at corner or safety) is in the mix, and early enrollee Trevor Walker had a strong first spring. Brandon Beaver, who converted from corner to safety late last season but was limited in the spring, is also going to press for playing time.

Lots of names. But that also means lots of depth.

"We've got a good amount of talent back there," Sarkisian said. "It's about finding the right combination of those guys. For some of those guys who were redshirt players for us last year, Travell, Brandon, Cleveland, fall camp is going to be big for them. This spring was good to get the terminology and fundamentals and techniques after spending all year on the service team last year. There is a healthy competition going on back there and the end result is we're fortunate to have good depth and good coaches and we feel good about our pass defense when the fall rolls around."

With recruiting behind us and spring well underway, the Pac-12 blog thought it would be fun to examine each team's chances of winning its respective division.

This is not whether the team of the day can win the Pac-12. And we're not predicting any winners. Rather, this is our take on the team's chances of winning the North or South.

Buy or sell Washington winning the North?

Ted Miller

Sell: I think Washington is going to take another step forward under coach Steve Sarkisian this season. I think this team wins nine or 10 games and ends up ranked in the nation's top-25 by season's end.

But I don't think the Huskies overtake the Oregon/Stanford tandem. If the Cardinal doesn't win the North Division, the Ducks will. And vice versa. That's my entirely predictable and justifiable position. I don't expect any so-called pundits to project it differently.

You know: Just like USC was a certainty in the South last season.

As we all know -- see those pesky 2012 Trojans -- there are no sure things. So if the Ducks and Cardinal were to both slip, I do see Washington as owning the best chance of clawing to the top.

Why? There are 20 returning starters from a 7-6 team that beat Stanford and Oregon State. There are intriguing guys coming off the injury list. I suspect quarterback Keith Price has a bounce back this fall, looking far closer to the guy he was in 2011 than he was in 2012. He certainly can expect better offensive line play (if everyone stays healthy).

Further, there's plenty of star power: tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, running back Bishop Sankey, receiver Kasen Williams, nose tackle Danny Shelton and linebacker Shaq Thompson. I like the idea of Year 2 with defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.

Yet for all that, I don't see the Huskies winning the North.

We should have a good idea of things by mid-October. The Huskies should be 4-0 when they visit Stanford on Oct. 5. If they were somehow to win that game and improve to 5-0, Oregon's visit the next weekend to renovated Husky Stadium might be the biggest thing in Montlake since … 1991.

To be honest, I can't adequately describe how much Washington fans would salivate over that one. This is the nastiest rivalry in the Pac-12, and the Ducks have won nine consecutive games in that nasty rivalry by at least 17 points. That is the cruelest bane for all who wear purple. Not surprisingly, Oregon fans have not been shy about pointing that out to Huskies fans, who have had few counter-tweaks of late.

The Pac-12 blog might need to add bandwidth for that week. I get warm-fuzzies just thinking about stirring that pot… ah, bliss.

But, really, think about what that means: The Huskies beating top-5 teams back-to-back.

Just don't see it happening. Been wrong before. But probably not this time. Maybe.

Kevin Gemmell

Sell: I like Washington this year -- and think the Huskies will finally get over that seven-win hump with nine or 10 wins. The defense made huge strides last season, and I've been a big Sankey fan -- even before his breakout game against Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. I promise here and now that he will be on the preseason Top 25 list (unless Pitt somehow finds a way to block it).

But what scares me the most about Washington this season is the travel. When it was playing in CenturyLink last season -- there was something special about this team. Or maybe it was just the effect the NFL stadium had on opponents. Whatever it was, Washington was a top 15 team when playing at home -- going 5-1 with its only loss to USC.

There, the Huskies beat top 10 teams Stanford and Oregon State. Stanford coach David Shaw told me it was the third loudest game he'd ever experienced. The second was a trip to Autzen, and the first was an NFL playoff game.

The acoustics at the newly minted Husky Stadium might prove to be as tympanicly torturous as those at The CLink. Too bad some of Washington's biggest games aren't at home. Last season Washington was 2-5 away from Seattle, with its only victories coming at Cal and Colorado.

This season it is at Stanford (and I don't think there is any need to rehash what happened last time the Huskies traveled to The Farm). Then it's home to Oregon -- and I don't think there is any need to rehash the recent history of that rivalry. Oh wait, Ted already did. Then they are at Arizona State -- a team that will contend for the Pac-12 South and poses a defensive front that rivals Stanford's.

Then it's at UCLA and at Oregon State in back-to-back games before closing out the season with the Apple Cup at home. We're expecting UCLA and Oregon State to also be top 25 teams. That means four of Washington's five road games this season are against potentially ranked teams. For a team with a history of troubles away from home, this doesn't bode particularly well.

As Ted notes, and I concur, the Huskies should be a better team in 2013. But until they show they can notch quality road wins, a buy rating feels like a stretch.

Washington's dramatic improvement and blossoming promise since going winless in 2008 yielded to a frustrated "what if?" and "not yet" in 2012 under fourth-year coach Steve Sarkisian.

Yet when you roll together the mixed bag of red-letter wins and bad losses and the lessons both entail, and then toss in impressive returning talent, there's reason to believe the program might turn the reopening of renovated Husky Stadium into a welcome-back party for a program that's been off the college football map for more than a decade.

Washington features 20 returning starters with A-list talent on both sides of the ball. After three consecutive seven-win seasons, which have grown progressively less satisfying for fans, the Huskies seem poised to take the proverbial next step.

"I'd say so, without a doubt," said Sarkisian when asked if this was his most talented team. But then he added, "If we'd finished the last two games, we'd have finished last season as a 9-4 team. But we didn't get it done."

Not getting it done -- at least not yet -- is why some seem intent on putting Sarkisian on the hot seat.

Washington, despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2012 -- six top-20 and four top-10 teams -- seemed on the cusp of a nine-win season in November. All the Huskies had to do was hold on to an 18-point fourth-quarter lead against Washington State and then win a bowl game.

Neither happened, and the Huskies' worst fourth quarter in Apple Cup history left an ugly smudge on Sarkisian's generally strong résumé.

Further, the 2012 season played out in surprising ways, positively and negatively.

The Huskies' biggest questions before the season were defense and running back. But the defense was vastly improved under first-year coordinator Justin Wilcox, and Bishop Sankey rushed for 1,439 yards. Meanwhile, the biggest certainty was QB Keith Price, who'd ranked seventh in the nation in passing efficiency in 2011, with 33 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 67 percent completion rate.

Price was touted as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate. But he started slowly and never found his rhythm. He finished eighth in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency with 19 TDs and 13 picks.

That had many folks wondering if he'd keep his job in 2013. Before spring practices began, Sarkisian essentially said it was Price's job to lose, but he certainly could lose it if he got outplayed.

After six practices -- Washington returns to the field on April 2 after spring break -- Sarkisian said Price looks more like his 2011 self, particularly after the Huskies concluded their first session with a scrimmage.

"That was probably the best practice he's had in over a year," Sarkisian said. "He played really well."

A lot of Price playing well has to do with his health. His legs seemed shot much of last season. Not only was he not running well, he wasn't moving in the pocket and his throws lacked velocity and accuracy, two qualities that are often connected. The offseason priority has been getting Price's leg strength back.

"Not that Keith is ever going to be a runner, but he's at his best when he can avoid the initial pass rush and is able to buy time and keep his eyes downfield and create plays," Sarkisian said. "We've definitely seen that this spring."

It's not all on Price, though. The Huskies were beaten up on the offensive line last fall, and the lack of depth showed -- see 38 sacks surrendered. Further, there were times when the Huskies didn't seem mentally tough. They seemed intimidated at LSU, which fell into a pattern of woeful performances on the road -- see Oregon, Arizona and Washington State.

The difference between teams that win six or seven games and those that win nine or 10 or more is often consistency of performance.

"There are a couple of key things for taking a next step, for this to be our best team," Sarkisian said. "Yeah, I know it's our most talented team. But are we really going to be a team that goes on the road and it doesn't matter what time, or what the weather is, or who the opponent is, or what their record is? That stuff can't matter to us anymore. We've got to play our game."

When asked if he feels like he's on the hot seat, Sarkisian said, "Not at all."

On paper, hot-seat talk should give way to high hopes. The grounds for optimism are solid. The Huskies have the talent and experience to end up in the top 25.

But Washington needs to eclipse being a team of "not yet" and "what if?"

Despite making a huge impact on a defense that shaved off an average of 11 points per game between 2011 and 2012, Shaq Thompson doesn't feel like he did much. Despite earning Pac-12 honorable mention as a true freshman, he felt more like a supporting player than a leading man.

All that changes in 2013, the highly touted sophomore proclaimed.

"I feel like I could do more on the field," Thompson said after a recent practice. "It was my first year and I felt more like I was helping rather than doing. I feel like I could have contributed way more. There were games where I felt like I could have left more on the field.

"Sophomore year, I'm going to leave it on the field every game. Go hard or go home."

Appearing in all 13 games last season, Thompson totaled 74 tackles (44 solo) and was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for a loss. He also shared the team high with three interceptions. Defining Thompson isn't always easy. He's been called a safety, a nickelback and a linebacker. He joked that it just depends what day of the week it is. Because in truth -- while he's officially a linebacker -- the Huskies want him to be that versatile of a player.

It's what's expected when one of the top recruits in the country commits to your school.

"When I got here, they put a lot on me," he said. "But I took it. When you're highly recruited, you just have to drop all of those stars and you have to play. You have to grow up on the field."

Like all rookies, Thompson said one of the biggest adjustments was the speed of the game. He said it took him about three games to really grasp the ebb and flow of college football. But there were also the mental aspects that needed re-tooling. As a successful prep player, he sometimes had to subdue his instincts to try to be all over the field at once.

"In high school, you run Cover 2 and man up the rest of the way and you can do a lot more," he said. "Here, you realize that there are 10 other guys on the field and they are all really good. You have to trust your brothers. Trust your family. Focus on your assignment. Because if you miss your assignment, it could be a busted play and go for a touchdown and that's on you. Don't worry about anybody else's assignment. Worry about yourself."

While Thompson learned on the job, so did the defense around him. Washington made huge strides under new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox -- catapulting from 106th in defense in 2011 to 31st in 2012. The year before they allowed 35.9 points per game compared to 24.1 last season.

Those numbers are nice, but they didn't help at the end of the year when the Huskies dropped their final two games. The first was an overtime upset loss to rival Washington State in the Apple Cup -- a game where the defense blew an 18-point fourth-quarter lead. Then in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas they rallied from an early 18-3 deficit to eventually go ahead late in the fourth. But they couldn't hold and fell 28-26 to Boise State.

"It hurt. It's frustrating," Thompson said. "We still think about those games. They were big and we let up. We should have had those. We let up in the Apple Cup and we let up against Boise State. But all we can do is learn from it and build off it."

This year, look for Thompson to spend more time up in the box since he's officially been slotted as a linebacker. While he's versatile enough to step back in the secondary, he believes this plays better to skill set. And his mentality.

"I like the contact," he said. "I like to get physical. The hard part is taking on the linemen. Those guys are 100 pounds more than you so you really have to work with your hands and learn to get off blocks. It gets mean down in the trenches."

Call them seeming contradictions if you will, but Washington begins spring practices Tuesday with two mixed messages.

• Senior Keith Price is the Huskies' starting quarterback. Unless he isn't.
• There is a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the Huskies' potential in 2013. And general frustration with the program.

With 20 starters back, including a handful of seeming budding stars, the Huskies have the look of a top-25 team that could make some noise in the rugged Pac-12 North Division after three consecutive 7-win seasons, campaigns that have progressively soured fans pining for the proverbial "next step."

This, coach Steve Sarkisian acknowledges.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t be in a position to compete for a division championship," he said.

Sarkisian also acknowledged the Huskies' offensive struggles in 2012. While an equal share of the blame should go to poor offensive line play, which was aggravated by injury issues, the easy guy to point the finger at is Price, whose play decidedly regressed after a strong debut season in 2011.

Price went from a darkhorse Heisman Trophy contender to eighth in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency, trailing three first-year starters and California's oft-criticized Zach Maynard. The Huskies averaged just 24 points per game, down nine from the 2011 season.

"We need to get our offensive numbers back to where they were two years ago," Sarkisian said.

And that starts with Price. Unless it doesn't.

"Keith Price is our starting quarterback -- the goal is to get Keith Price back to playing the way he was two years ago," Sarkisian said. "But there are four guys behind him who are going to be chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to make this thing into a competition that either is going to push Keith to be better than he's been or, ultimately, try to surpass him."

So this is Price's job. Unless... "As I've said to Keith," Sarkisian said, "we're not going to be stubborn enough that if we think another guy is playing better that guy won't get that opportunity to beat him out."

Those four guys trying to raise an eyebrow at Price's expense: Redshirt freshmen Cyler Miles, Jeff Lindquist, sophomore Derrick Brown and true freshman Troy Williams.

The bottom line meaning behind Sarkisian's statements is fairly straightforward: 1. He wants Price to win the job; 2. But he wants the Huskies to win as many games as possible in a critical season for him and the program; 3. He's going to play the guy who gives him the best chance for No. 2.

The quarterbacks will be working with a new position coach, Marques Tuiasosopo, whose name immediately evokes pleasant memories for Huskies fans. He quarterbacked the program to a No. 3 final ranking after the 2000 season, the Huskies' last Rose Bowl victory. A former dual-threat player, he's got an NFL pedigree, an easy-going style and a natural follow-me-to-the-gold! ability to lead. He also will allow Sarkisian to be more big-picture with the offense.

If the Huskies get the Price of 2011 -- or someone else who can produce a top-10 in the nation passing efficiency rating -- there are a lot of toys to play with, starting with RB Bishop Sankey, WR Kasen Williams and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. A young offensive line that got pushed around in 2012 should be much better, and the (eventual) return of former starters Colin Tanigawa and Erik Kohler will provide another boost.

The dramatic improvement of the defense in Year 1 under coordinator Justin Wilcox also suggests strong reasons for optimism.

Of course, the program has been glutted with optimism the past few seasons. Seven wins were a revelation in 2010. Not so much in 2012, particularly when the Huskies blew their final two games, most notably a shocking fourth-quarter collapse against Washington State, something that Cougars fans never, ever, ever bring up these days.

Sarkisian, as is his wont, can find a silver lining even there.

"I don’t think that taste is going to go anywhere for awhile, which is OK," he said. "We lost two games that we should have won. The end result is we are sitting here talking about a 7-6 football team when we could have been here talking about a 9-4 football team. But I don’t know if that’s all bad. If we would have finished 9-4 and found a way to finish those last two games, I don’t know what January or February would have been like for us as a football team. We may have still been hungry and I would like to think so and striving for more. We might have grown a bit complacent. What I do know is there is zero complacency in our locker room right now."

That lack of complacency must start with Price. He needs to regain his mojo. The same could be said for Sarkisian.

Washington will open a remodeled Husky Stadium this fall, a facility that will immediately rank among the nation's best. That will add to the anticipation of a special season, one that Huskies fans have turned purple -- appropriately -- holding their collective breath anticipating.

Said Sarkisian of Price, "We've been through a lot together and we've got one chapter left that we want to make a great ending."

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.

It has to be unsettling for Steve Sarkisian, Justin Wilcox, Bishop Sankey and everyone else who rocks the purple and gold. Each game day they wake up and hope that team shows up; the one that is resilient, tough-minded, physical and plays with a bit of nastiness. But inconsistencies throughout Washington’s 4-4 season have left all of the above questioning exactly which team would show up each week.

Eight games into the season, the personality of the 2012 Washington Huskies is yet to be defined.

“The personality is we’ve been schizophrenic,” said Wilcox, Washington’s defensive coordinator. “Consistency on our part has to improve. We have to continue to find the reasons why. But that’s something that’s shown up every week. Speaking from our side of the ball, we’ve played better against certain styles of teams. But at the end of the day it’s confidence in your technique and scheme and abilities.”

Saturday night at CenturyLink Field -- that team showed up; the one that punches first and asks questions later; the one that dictates and isn’t dictated to. And for the second time this year the Huskies knocked off a top-10 team by topping the No. 7 Oregon State Beavers 20-17 -- prompting another field-storming from the fan base. In fact, it was one month ago to the day that the Huskies stunned No. 8 Stanford 17-13.

But that game also marked the last time they had picked up a victory. A three-game skid followed, including losses to ranked Oregon and USC and blowout loss last week at Arizona. On the south side of .500 and needing to inspire his team, Sarkisian got back to some basics in practice last week with some physical hitting drills usually reserved for fall camp.

“We needed [a victory] for our own well-being,” he said. “It wasn’t so much about the record, it was for what’s inside of us. Pride is a powerful thing. You earn pride. It’s not given. We earned it tonight.”

Moving forward, slowly but surely, Sarkisian said his team’s identity is starting to take shape. And Saturday night was a big step forward.

“I don’t doubt our toughness,” he said. “What I’m figuring out week after week is the maturity level. Which of our young players is growing up each week? A guy like Jaydon Mickens made a couple of plays and started to grow up. I’ve seen Kendyl Taylor start to grow up. Each week I feel like we’re getting one more guy and one more guy. That’s all going to help shape our personality. Until then, we’re going to continue to be a blue-collar, lunch-pail, hard-hat kind of team. And that’s OK. You can win that way. It just makes it a little harder.”

And Saturday wasn’t easy. Sankey rushed for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns against one of the top rushing defenses in the country while the defense intercepted Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion four times.

“I feel like we have our own personality,” Sankey said. “We’re continuing to develop that. This past week we had to get down to the nitty-gritty. We’re making strides each day, each week. This past week was a big week for us in getting back to the basics -- working hard and hitting. It paid off tonight.”

When points were at a premium, the Huskies held a 10-0 advantage at halftime following a 45-yard field goal from Travis Coons and a 1-yard touchdown run from Sankey. It was the first time this year that Oregon State (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12) had been blanked in the first half.

“We couldn’t get anything going in the first half and we turned the ball over, so it was a two-fold problem,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “Then we moved the ball [in the second half] and we still turned it over.”

This was Mannion’s first game back since having minor knee surgery three weeks ago. And he didn’t look good, completing 18 of 34 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown and four picks. Prior to this game, he had four interceptions for the season.

“I think [turnovers] probably will be the thing we regret the most,” Riley said. “Having the ball with some opportunities and turning the ball back to them when we had scoring opportunities. As you can see in a game like that, even if one of those opportunities, if one or two would have turned into field goals, it makes a big difference.”

It didn't help, either, that Markus Wheaton was knocked out of the game after taking a hard hit in the second quarter. Fellow receiver Brandin Cooks turned in another sensational performance, catching nine balls for 123 yards with a score.

Mannion was eventually replaced in the fourth quarter by Cody Vaz -- who had led the Beavers to a pair of victories during Mannion’s rehabilitation. Vaz sparked the offense with a seven-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Connor Hamlett that tied the game at 17-17.

But the Huskies moved the ball to the Oregon State 12 and Coons converted a 30-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the game.

Washington’s offensive struggles also continued. The Huskies were outgained 427-293 in total yards. Quarterback Keith Price was 18-of-30 for 194 yards with an interception. But winning the turnover battle by a 4-to-1 margin helps.

“At the end of the day, I don’t know how pretty it was,” Sarkisian said. “We had some penalties and things; that’s a good football team, obviously, in Oregon State. I was proud of the character our guys possessed, their ability to preserve with the game could have really started swaying in Oregon State’s favor when they notched it up at 10-10. But our defense continually came up with stops.”

With four consecutive games coming up against unranked teams, it stands to reason that the Huskies could probably end the year on a five-game win streak.

But then again, no one really knows for sure.

EUGENE, Ore. -- At some point, Washington is going to beat its arch-rival Oregon again, but the odds seem stacked against the Huskies tonight.

For one, the Ducks are playing in Autzen Stadium. They are 34-4 at home since Chip Kelly first arrived in 2007 as their offensive coordinator.

Second, the Ducks are again strong on both sides of the ball. Their offense is among the nation's leaders in rushing, scoring and total offense. The defense is better than its numbers suggest, considering its starters have played little in the fourth quarter this year. The Ducks' 4.55 yards per play ranks third in the Pac-12.

The Huskies? They are much better on defense, giving up just under 19.8 points per game -- virtually the same as the Ducks. But they are struggling offensively due to a injury ravaged offensive line that is down three starters from what it thought it would be. The Huskies are scoring 23.3 points per game, which ranks 10th in the conference.

Oregon averages 52.4, tops in the Pac-12 by a wide margin.

So the Ducks are going to need to be much below their average tonight, while the Huskies need much better, for Washington to have a chance.

The key will be big plays that go against Oregon, which is not typically how things go here. The Huskies need to slow the Ducks running game and force redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota to make mistakes passing. And they need to take advantage of those miscues.

The Huskies offense, meanwhile, needs to create some sort of running threat that keeps the Ducks honest, while quarterback Keith Price needs to time to hook up with tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and receiver Kasen Williams.

It will help the Huskies that the Ducks, already young at safety due to the season-ending knee injury to John Boyett, might be without weakside linebacker Michael Clay, who was hurt last week against Washington State.

Oregon has been a second-half team under Kelly. It tends to make good adjustments to other teams' schemes and it also wears down opposing defenses with its tempo. That said, if the Huskies can keep things close into the fourth quarter, it's possible that Mariota will feel some pressure, and press as a result.

Perhaps a few Oregon miscues would open a door for the Huskies to end an eight-game losing streak in the series?

New Washington defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, a former Oregon player, faces a stiff challenge from Chip Kelly and the Ducks offense.

Washington pulled off the shocker against a team that had dominated it of late, notching an upset 17-13 win over the nation's No. 8 team.

It was over when: On fourth-and-4 from the Washington 34-yard line, Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes attempted a fade route to tight end Levine Toilolo. Desmond Trufant grabbed the interception at the Huskies' 8-yard line with 1:46 left, and the Cardinal didn't get the ball back.

Game ball goes to: The Washington defense. THIS is why Steve Sarkisian hired Justin Wilcox to coordinate his defense. After three years of getting run over by Stanford, the Huskies held the Cardinal to just 235 total yards. Stanford rushed for 446 last year.

Stat of the game: The Huskies outrushed Stanford 136 yards to 65. Anyone see that coming?

Unsung hero of the game: Huskies receiver Kasen Williams caught 10 passes for 129 yards, with a 35-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies their go-ahead points. It was a short toss into the flat on which Williams did nearly all the work on his own. By the way, the Huskies passed for just 177 total yards.

Worst call: Stanford opted to go big with the fade route on fourth-and-4. The play works, it's brilliant. But it didn't this time.

What it means: The problem for the Pac-12 with the Huskies' victory is that LSU stomped Washington 41-3 on Sept. 8. That will resonate nationally when folks compare conferences. As for the Pac-12 picture, the Huskies take a step forward and Stanford takes a step back. And this further diminishes USC, which lost 21-14 at Stanford on Sept. 15.