Huskies Win

There's a tradition in college football, at least the the top FBS Divsion I level. That is, early in your season, usually the first game you play an FCS Division I team. These are teams from smaller schools who can't get into the FBS series.

Either that, or play Idaho.

The point is to give your team a game to work out the kinks, get some practice playing in a game (there's no pre-season in college football), and, it is hoped, get an early win.

That doesn't always work out for example, this year Portland State beat Washington State University in WSU's home opener. Oops.

The University of Washington Huskies for years never did this. They only played upper-level FBS teams.  But about five years ago they decided to start playing FCS teams.

Last week my beloved Huskies lost in a heart breaker to Boise State University.  BSU is not only an FBS team, but was ranked at #23 on the top 25 AP poll.  (They moved up to #20 after that game but since they lost this week to BYU, they may be dropping a bit.)

This week the Huskies played Sacramento State, an FCS team. I was wishing the whole time we could have played this game, first, then faced BSU. That's because our team looked much better and much more confident, especially as the second quarter started. True freshmen quarterback Jake Browning did much better, showed much better skill and confidence. A new star emerged, a kid called Gaskin who made three touchdowns.  By the middle of the third quarter, Husky coach Chris Petersen was putting in second-stringers.  The final score was 0-49.

If the Huskies had played this game first, then went to play BSU, they may have won instead of losing by 3 points when they were 13 point underdogs.

So this was a great confidence booster and a good way for Browning and this young team to get some much-needed practice. And while I'm glad to see the Huskies win, the fact it was an FCS team tempers the happiness.

Next week the Huskies take on Utah State at home.  While Utah State (USU?) is an FBS team, it's not considered a very good one. Looking for another win, but not one with an asterisk.