The losing tradition and slide to mediocrity among the State of Washington's three marquee football teams really started at the end of last season when Washington State ended its season by traveling to Seattle and beating arch-rival Washington 42-35 in Husky Stadium. The Cougars ended their season at 5-7.
Washington then traveled to Hawaii and lost to the Warriors 35-28, ending its season at 4-9.
The Seattle Seahawks would end their regular season last year at 10-6 before beating the Washington Redskins 35-14 in their first playoff game, and then being eliminated 42-20 by the Green Bay Packers in the second round.
What has happened to the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks since then has been horrific-all three of the state's flagship football teams have inadvertently raised losing to an art form. Here is the score:
The Washington Huskies have not won a game this season, losing 6 straight times (and 8 times including last year's two season-ending losses). They have been beaten by Oregon 44-10, Brigham Young 28-27, Oklahoma 55-14, Stanford 35-28, Arizona 48-14 and Oregon State 34-13. They have been out scored 244 to 106.
Not to be outdone, the Washington State Cougars managed to beat 1-AA Portland State 48-9 but have lost 7 other games. They have been beaten by Oklahoma State 39-13, California 66-3, Baylor 45-17, Oregon 63-14, UCLA 28-3, Oregon State 66-13 and Southern California 69-0. They have been out scored 385 to 111.
The Cougars have given up 60+ points 3 times, and their 69-0 shutout loss to Southern Cal was the first time Washington State has not scored in 280 consecutive games, dating back to 1984, 24 years ago. First year coach Paul Wulff has to be beside himself implementing his system with on-the-field players he did not recruit.
The Seattle Seahawks managed to beat the St. Louis Rams 37-13 but have lost 5 other games. They have been beaten by Buffalo 34-10, San Francisco 33-30, the New York Giants 44-6, Green Bay 27-17 and Tampa Bay 20-10. They have been out scored 171 to 110.
In total, Washington's three flagship teams this season have a current combined record of 2-18 and have been out scored 800 to 327. It is currently not a good idea to have a football team anywhere near Seattle or in the State of Washington.
The talent pool at Washington and Washington State is dreadful; the losses run up by the talent pool of the Seahawks are inexcusable. Excuses aside, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, Washington State coach Paul Wulff and Seattle Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren are having terrible seasons.
But what about the fans and supporters? I thought you would never ask. They are not taking it very well. They are angry, upset and intolerant of failure. Sounds pretty normal to me. Who wants to back a bunch of losers?
It certainly does not take any talent to lose. Unfortunately, the prospect of any of these teams doing diddly-squat this year is slim to none, and Slim left town a long time ago.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
Read some of my articles on running, including:
"Updated USA Prep Track & Field Records and the New Best 2008 Top Performances"
"Meet 'Pre' - America's Greatest Running Legend and Greatest Middle Distance Runner"
"Arthur Lydiard, the World's Greatest Middle Distance Coach, on How to Train Effectively"
"What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running"
"A St. Patrick's Day Toast to Irish Runners Marcus O'Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan"
"Millrose Games Celebrates 100th Birthday as Track's Most Prestigious Indoor Event".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
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