Ty's time running out

Since this is a football season and not an extended wake, the Huskies get to play another game Saturday. It just happens to be against an opponent more polished, more powerful and with a more stable quarterback situation than Oregon.

And you thought 44-10 was depressing.

If Washington doesn't show some vitality, Brigham Young will win by at least three touchdowns, a closer result than the previous fiasco only because of the Husky Stadium advantage. Unless the Huskies improve in every way imaginable, they could get booed more than a roster of Shaun Alexander clones.

Now would be a good time for coach Tyrone Willingham to coax a stunner out of his mangled program. He needs a performance more dramatic than last season's home-opening victory over Boise State. In short, the message is clear: Show us something. Show us something, or prepare for detonation.

Surprise us. Enthrall us. Confuse us, even.

The pessimists, or maybe they're the realists, have this entire year figured out already, you know. After one game, they have determined Washington will be lucky to win three games. They have Willingham exiting early, possibly on Oct. 5, the start of the second bye week. They have a headliner for the coaching wish list, Gary Pinkel of Missouri, a Don James protégé. Only a divine turnaround, the kind that provides sports with theatrical flair, can stop them now.

For once, the Huskies should abandon the myopia of athletics — one game at a time, one play at a time — and focus on the long view. If these players care as much about Willingham as they suggest in interviews, they'd better start playing for him. If they don't understand this game could deeply affect their coach's future and their own security, they'd better call a psychic this week.

The Huskies, from the coaching staff to the players, must realize that this game is everything. Lose it, and with Oklahoma coming next week, an 0-3 start is certain. Win it, and at least there's some hope the Huskies can avoid turning this season into a Mariners copycat.

They must welcome the criticism and find a way to use it. I've never seen a season opener quite like the one Saturday. The Huskies suffered from bad strategy, bad execution, overwhelmed players and a discouraging overall lack of gusto.

They were so lifeless you wondered what music these players listened to on the bus ride to Autzen Stadium. Kenny G? Luther Vandross? Willingham spent the preseason praising his team's passion. In that first game, they needed smelling salts.

It has been a common area of frustration during Willingham's tenure. It's a bit unfair because displaying exuberance doesn't always equate to playing inspired football. But Willingham is a poker-faced coach, his players are similarly mellow, and when you're losing, it comes across as indifferent.

Balanced has its place in a taxing football season, but for once, can we see an all-out, crazed, angry performance from a Willingham team? Can we see a defense that would aim to punish instead of struggling just to make a tackle? Can we see an offense that does more than wait for Jake Locker to make something happen?

To a certain degree, the Huskies can be excused for playing an imperfect game. But they should never be accused of playing a dispassionate one. If they continue to shrug and allow such denouncements, they have no chance to combat their difficult competition.

It's rudimentary stuff, but it speaks to how low the Huskies are. Before we even discuss strategy, we just need to see a team that plays with fire. It's the biggest indictment against Willingham right now. His players are either making so many mistakes that they can't find the confidence to showcase their zest, or they don't have any.

In one peculiar moment Monday, Locker said he thought the team may have been "overconfident" entering the Oregon game. He thought it might've contributed to the flat performance and said, "We have to understand we can't just show up and beat anybody."

Prodigies say the darnedest things. If a few good weeks of practice made the Huskies overconfident, then America's youth really do have a problem with entitlement.

The only thing more humorous than Locker's words was the vote of confidence Willingham gave to punter Jared Ballman, who struggled against Oregon: "I think he can do some exciting punting."

Misguided overconfidence. Misdirected excitement. Yep, the Huskies are in a ditch.

And the public is already prepared to throw dirt atop them.

If they're still alive, they'd better speak now.

"We're a better team than that," linebacker Mason Foster said.

Prove it. You're running out of time.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For his Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports.