Huskies D a big disappointment

So it wasn't the schedule.

It wasn't the mighty competition that turned the Washington defense into road kill.

It wasn't that the first three offenses the Huskies faced were too electric to manage.

As Stanford proved in a 35-28 downer Saturday, the Huskies are no match for even mortal teams.

In a coach-killing kind of defeat, in an astonishingly drab effort, the Huskies showed their defensive warts are here to stay. The way they are playing right now, they couldn't tackle a microphone stand.

The game will be most remembered for Jake Locker breaking his right thumb, an injury that could finish pulling the curtain down on Tyrone Willingham's tenure, but the greatest disappointment was, once again, the incapable Washington defense.

Washington is 0-4 now, if you're still following closely. Thoughts of the Huskies emerging from a bye week and turning around this season turned out to be a miscalculation. This team is as uninspiring as ever, mostly because its defense can't even achieve rudimentary execution.

The Huskies, who were ranked 118th of 119 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total yards allowed entering this game, gave up 466 yards to Stanford.

The Cardinal had averaged 272.5.

Stanford gained 235 in the first half alone against the Huskies. And most of that was without running back Toby Gerhart.

Gerhart, normally the lifeline for a staggering offense, left in the first quarter with an apparent concussion. He had only four touches, and still the Cardinal dominated.

Most every other defense would've tortured a team so dependent on one player. But these Huskies aren't like most defenses. In fact, they are below most defenses. They seem determined to achieve that last-place spot in the defensive rankings.

Asked what went wrong, linebacker Mason Foster said: "Everything. Giving up all those yards. Letting them score. It was a very winnable game. This is very disappointing. I don't know if I can explain it right now. It's terrible."

And in the understatement of the year, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell explained: "The bottom line is, we're not doing enough."

If the Huskies keep this up, we'll wonder if Ed Donatell is nothing more than an alias for Kent Baer.

OK, OK: That's not entirely fair to Donatell. Every game, the first-year Washington coordinator must hide astonishing flaws. His linemen can't compete at this level right now, and everything falls apart from there. The linebackers are better, but they're not huge impact players. And the secondary is subpar, too.

So, basically, the Huskies merely hope to get stops every down. Sometimes, they make plays, but usually they get overwhelmed. And they remain a frightening example of how not to tackle.

They remain at zero sacks for the season, too, which just might be the most remarkable stat in all of college football. It shows how inactive the defense has been. They can't pressure the quarterback, and therefore a guy like Stanford quarterback. Tavita Pritchard, who's been struggling to meet coach Jim Harbaugh's approval, can turn into an All-American against them.

In this game, Donatell was getting an extraordinary early performance from linebacker Donald Butler, who forced a fumble and commanded the defense with vigor. But he was forced to leave with a concussion in the second quarter, and the Huskies collapsed. It was that simple.

Stanford backup running back Anthony Kimble rushed for 157 yards. The Huskies helped Kimble transform into Adrian Peterson. It's amazing how slow this defense looks.

Which leads us to the question of the evening.

Huh?

Why did Stanford look faster and more athletic at times? Why can't the Huskies, who don't play an overly aggressive style of defense, prevent big plays?

For a program once known for a bruising, relentless brand of defense, this is the greatest indicator of how far Huskies football has fallen. Firing Baer hasn't worked. Donatell has no answers. If Stanford can run a video-game offense against the Huskies, you wonder if there's any team that can't do the same.

"We can't seem to get the right rhythm," Willingham said. "We put pressure, but then on pressure they catch it in front of us. ... And then we don't put pressure, we don't stop them that way.

"We haven't found the cure."

The Washington defense isn't just bad. It appears to be irredeemably bad. The Huskies have so many problems in so many areas, issues that will require more than practice to fix.

This season has officially become long and torturous. And eight games remain.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com.