Huskies must keep enthusiasm with 0-5 record

This was supposed to be the part of the season where the Huskies made their move. When bowl games and winning seasons began to become a legitimate part of the conversation.

Instead, the Huskies today find themselves mired in a hole they never imagined, an 0-5 start that might sink a lot more than just their season.

But somehow, they have to figure out a way to focus on the present, a game with a surging Oregon State team that appears ready to embark on its annual second-half upswing. It's a task the Huskies admit is going to be a challenge.

"Going 0-5, guys aren't really as jacked up as they were when the season started," said fifth-year senior safety Mesphin Forrester. "But we just have to find a way to bring back the enthusiasm, whether it be in practice or in games or whatever. At 0-5, you catch guys with their heads down here and there. But you just have to pick those guys up."

Forrester said one way is to mention that a bowl game remains a possibility — however remote for a team that has lost seven in a row, tying North Texas for the longest streak in the nation. Any major conference team that gets to 6-6 is likely to get a bowl invite this year.

"As long as there is a little window open, we are going to run with it and think we can," Forrester said.

Should the motivation lag even just a little today, however, the Huskies could be staring at an embarrassing defeat. Oregon State has already won a school-record four in a row against the Huskies, including three straight at Husky Stadium. The tables have now turned so far that Oregon State is a 16-point favorite, with some players admitting they have to make sure not to overlook the Huskies.

"We are not going to go down there and take those guys lightly," said sophomore receiver James Rodgers. "They are hungry for a win."

Rodgers' younger brother, 5-foot-7 freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers, has become one of the breakout stories of the season, gaining 718 yards in the first six games of his career to rank 10th in the nation and first in the Pac-10.

His height, one thing that scared off a lot of recruiters about both he and his brother (also 5-7), often serves now as one of his biggest advantages, defenders sometimes finding it difficult to figure out where he is.

"He's small, and we are going to have to look for him," said UW defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim. "But if we just stay in our gaps, he will run into one of us."

Should UW spend too much time on Rodgers, Oregon State might just fling the ball to senior receiver Sammie Stroughter, who caught seven passes for 223 yards in a 27-17 Beavers win here in 2006.

This will be the first home start for Washington quarterback Ronnie Fouch, a redshirt freshman taking over for injured Jake Locker, who might be out for the year with a broken thumb suffered Sept. 27 against Stanford.

Fouch's first start resulted in a 48-14 loss at Arizona two weeks ago as the Huskies failed to mount a rushing attack. The Huskies will hope for an improved performance from Fouch, who might be steadier with a game under his belt.

The Huskies spent the bye week again trying to get more out of their running game, the most disappointing aspect of this season. The Huskies are averaging just 103.6 rushing yards per game despite running behind a veteran line.

"That's something that this football team needs to have happen," said offensive line coach Mike Denbrock. "We definitely need to find a way to run the football and that obviously starts with the guys up front. We need to do a better job of blocking people and moving people around, making the running backs' job easier."

Maybe, some suggested this week, the Huskies will be motivated by the Oregon State game a year ago, a raucous affair in which Locker was sent to the hospital and four players were ejected.

"We've got a lot of things to be angry about," Denbrock said. "So that just adds to the list I think of things that should make sure these guys are nice and motivated to play good football [today]."

Ultimately, though, it will be up to the players.

"I don't think any of us expected we would be 0-5," said safety Nate Williams. "It's just one of those things we have to be able to put in our past and look ahead and know that we can still win a couple more games. It is kind of tough to face the fact that we are 0-5 right now. I don't think any of us like that. It definitely doesn't make practice fun."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com