Huskies get week off to prepare for Stanford

To no one's surprise, Washington arrived at its first bye week with a 0-3 record after starting the season against three tough, ranked teams.

The margin of the Huskies' drubbing in two of those three losses was somewhat surprising, and has left fans wondering if the program is regressing.

Two of the losses were complete blowouts - the second a 55-14 drubbing by No. 2 Oklahoma on national television Saturday night - and that's increasing the heat that coach Tyrone Willingham was feeling even before the season began.

To become simply bowl eligible, the Huskies must go 6-3 in their final nine games. That seems to be asking a lot for a program that has just 11 wins since the beginning of the 2005 season. The Huskies next play Stanford, on Sept. 27.

"We should walk away knowing that we have played some of the best football teams in this country," Willingham said Monday as his Huskies regrouped after facing No. 17 Oregon, No. 14 BYU and Oklahoma to begin the season. "Hopefully that will be a measure of growth in itself. We can't just rely on that. We have to get better in all the areas."

Oregon beat the Huskies 44-10.

The biggest area of improvement Willingham would like to see is on the defensive side, where the numbers being allowed by the Huskies are jaw-dropping.

Washington is giving up 520.7 yards per game so far in 2008, dwarfing the 446 yards the Huskies allowed last season, the worst total in school history. In Washington's defense, the Seattle team has faced three offenses that UW defensive coordinator Ed Donatell believes will be among the top 10 offenses in the country at the end of the season.

Still, the numbers amaze the Huskies even while they are on the field. Cornerback Mesphin Forrester recalled looking up at one of the scoreboards midway through Saturday's loss and being astonished at how many yards Oklahoma had already rolled up.

"It didn't feel like it," Forrester said. "That's why when I looked I was like 'man they have that many yards?' That's just something, it can't get in our heads."

While the offense has mostly been quarterback Jake Locker and little else, the defensive side is where the more noticeable problems lie. Washington has yet to record a sack.

In three games, opponents are converting 68 percent of third-down situations against the Huskies.

"You can't give up 500 yards and expect to win," linebacker Mason Foster said. "Going against those teams really points out, brings to light what you need to work on. ... It really prepares you. You've seen the worst and now you're ready to go against everybody."

Then there are the injuries.

Starting strong safety Darin Harris missed the Oklahoma game after suffering a concussion against BYU. That left 26-year-old sophomore Tripper Johnson, who spent the last eight years playing minor league baseball, and freshman Johri Fogerson, who only switched to safety two weeks ago, at the back end of the Huskies' defense alongside free safety Nate Williams.

Fogerson held his own, leading Washington with nine solo tackles, but also made a number of youthful mistakes.

The Huskies have also been without cornerback Byron Davenport and safety Victor Aiyewa in the secondary, both out with injuries.

Harris could be back in time for the Stanford game.