As the season went south: the worst moments of the year
Malamute, 23 December 2008

There were plenty of worst moments for Husky football in 2008. I’m sure you have a list that is as long as mine or longer. Here are my worst moments of the year, chronologically listed:

• The negative tone for the season (January 30): Published eight years after the fact and just before signing day, “Victory and Ruins” sets a grim, negative tone for the year. The Seattle Times' series exposes the off-field problems of three players from the 2000 Rose Bowl season, including Curtis Williams. Would the Times have published its series if C-Dub had still been with us and a paraplegic? Answer: Yes. Unfortunately, chapter three illustrates the callousness of our times. The suspicion of a Times' vendetta against former UW coach Rick Neuheisel, who is hired by UCLA one month earlier (Dec 29), gains more credence.
  
  
• The Prophecy that fell flat (March 11): In a talk given to alumni at Indian Wells, Tyrone Willingham concludes his remarks by saying that the Huskies’ offense averaged 29.2 points per game in 2007. By reducing the points allowed by 7 points and maintaining the same offensive output, we can win a lot of games this season, he says.
 As it turns out, the winless Huskies average 13.2 points per game and give up 38.6 points per game.


• The veil of secrecy (April 3): Closed practices to the media and fans in light of their reopening by new head coach Steve Sarkisian. In Tyrone Willingham's mind, “V & R,” most likely, reaffirms his decision to keep practices closed, along with his basic distrust of the media.
In a way, the media hoist themselves by their own petards in their public airing of C-Dub's off-field problems, almost six years after his death. Asked what he thought about V&R being published less than a week before signing day, Willingham responds, "...Why would someone not have trust for the media? Whoa, pretty easy..."


• The spring game (April 26): The prophetic 17 points totaled in the spring game juxtaposed with the resemblance of the defense from the previous season. Otherwise, the cozy warmth of the day and the redolence of spring puts the aged stadium to sleep. President Mark Emmert reportedly is seen in his work clothes, hack-sawing away at some exposed rebar, and the old "seaplane," with its folded up purple wings, continues to rust by the side of the lake.



• The confirmation (August 30): The ten points scored against Oregon in the opening game reaffirms the negative notions left over from the spring game. The Huskies’ defense gives up 496 yards and 44 points.
The playmakers look skinny, the team looks slow, and the OL looks fat. The Dawgs appear to be motoring a sputtering 2004 Gilby, in the fast lane.


• The shoulder injury to Spirit, our canine mascot (September 5): With the Dawgs' Spirit broken, it becomes another burden to shoulder during the never-ending season.



• The flag (September 6): The flag thrown against super-sportsman Jake Locker for excessive celebration defies reason. The referee making the judgment call ends up looking like the hotdog. As a consequence, UW falls to BYU, 28-27.  From a historical perspective, Locker resembles Hugh McElhenny, Don Heinrich and Arnie Weinmeister morphed into one. See “Legends of the forties.”



• The exile (September 9): E. J. Savanah’s exit from the team now seems as mysterious as ever under the light of his reinstatement. Later in the season, the banishment of a Tyee member from viewing practices because his son posts a generic description of a practice on the web seems more than excessive.



• The Stanford game and Jake Locker’s thumb injury (September 27): Jim Harbaugh's star wars machine knocks Ty Willingham's hot seat out of orbit, sending it into "Tree" fall. NCAA scientists are mum as to where and when it will crash and burn, although speculation centers on October 27.



• The news conference (September 29):
  
  Reporter (1): “Do you want to start off with the results of Jake’s MRI?”
  
  Tyrone: “I don’t have them. I don’t worry about them.”
  
  Reporter (1): “You don’t…care?”
  
  Tyrone: “No. “
  
  Reporter (1): “No?”
  
  Tyrone: "No. He’ll be well when he’s well. We’ll be ready to roll. Okay? So I am sorry. I don’t have the results of it. It hasn’t been a concern. We said it would be day-by-day. He’ll be ready pretty soon. And away we go.”
  
  Reporter (2) prods him about the MRI.
  
  Tyrone: “I haven’t looked at them. They are not a big concern for me. Okay.”
  
  Questions about other players intervene.
  
  Reporter (2): "You said Jake will be ready pretty soon."
  
  Tyrone: “Yeah. He says he’s ready tomorrow. That’s not accurate. But he says he’s ready tomorrow.”
  
  Reporter (3): “Knowing what that MRI said, it makes no difference to…“ (the rest of his words are inaudible as Willingham interrupts) Tyrone: “No, no. It always makes a difference.”
  
  Reporter (3): "So they know and you don’t…know."
  
  Tyrone: “They know. I haven’t looked at them. I haven’t asked them about them.”



• The rumors (October 27): The James L. Mora rumors gain momentum as they pertain to the Dawgs’ head-coaching job. Mora will likely never forget the unfortunate comments he made on Softy’s radio show, those erstwhile comments fueling a conflagration of wild speculation after Tyrone Willingham is fired on this day.
  
  
• The LafApple Cup (November 22): The Huskies lose, 16-13, in double overtime after outplaying the APR-challenged Cougars most of the way. The Dawgs secure a last place finish in the conference with a loss to Cal two weeks later. For the 17 NCAA statistical categories, the Huskies average 108.4 out of 119 teams, as computed on December 23rd. 
  
  
• The running game (December 6): The Huskies offensive line, which was expected to resemble a road grader, performs like a first grader for most of the season, averaging 99.3 rushing yards per game, this notion confirmed on the day the last stats are posted.



• The realization of what will be a lingering memory (December 6): It will always be with us, fans. The 0-12 season, the worst in Pac-10 history, will unforgivably scar our memories.
It needn't have happened, to wit:


• The formula: The NCAA's role and incompetence in the Washington debacle can't be emphasized enough, and vice versa; add to this a vendetta, an eavesdropper, an imprudent coach, a snitch, and two fish wraps and you have the formula for an implosion. File this formula under lessons learned.