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Articles
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Holding
Sark's feet to the fire, Part II
The question of goals and a timetable for reaching them emerges through all the hoopla and euphoria of Steve Sarkisian’s hiring. At this time, reality has set in. Washington's record, (3-5, 2-3 Pac-10), is a marked improvement over last season's 0-12 record under former coach Tyrone Willingham. But... How well is Sarkisian doing in his quest to turn Washington's football fortunes around? What is a fair timetable for him to get the Huskies to a bowl? Two or three years? Two remaining games this season appear winnable, those against UCLA and Washington State, but posting wins over Oregon State and Cal should carry formidable odds, considering the Huskies' feckless performance against Oregon last week. After that loss, some irate fans are comparing this year's team with last year's Willingham team. Check the message boards. Since six wins are needed to get to a bowl, getting to a bowl seems out of reach this season. So how do we measure Sark's progress at UW since we won't likely have a bowl to measure it by? In this article, two benchmarks are used to measure Sarkisian's progress: the Stoops' benchmark and the Willingham/Sarkisian statistical benchmark. (Benchmark: something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged.) Will the progress shown by these standards quiet Washington's disgruntled fans? Absolutely not. The Stoops benchmark: The rationale for choosing the coaching record of Mike Stoops at Arizona in measuring the progress Sarkisian is making at Washington is provided by this article, "Holding Sark's feet to the fire." In 2004, Mike Stoops took over an Arizona team that went 2-10 the previous year. In subsequent years (2004-2008), he posted seasons that went 3-8, 3-8, 6-6, 5-7 and 8-5, respectively. This year, Arizona is 5 -2 overall (3-1 in conference play) and likely headed to another bowl, having beaten BYU in last year's Las Vegas Bowl. In December 2008, Stoops' contract at UA was extended through the 2013 season. Currently, Sark is running on shorter track than Stoops did in 2004, that is, Sark has posted a signature win over Pete Carroll, as well as a win over Stoops, and has won 37.5% of his games compared to Stoops's winning percentage in 2004, which was 27.2%. Stoops' first recruiting class at Arizona (the 2004 class) was ranked 64th in the nation by scout.com. After that his classes were ranked as follows: 15, 19, 49, and 39. Sarkisian's first class, the one in 2009, was ranked 66th best by scout.com. His current class is ranked 16th by scout. In recruiting, Sark is running neck-and-neck with Stoops. -- The Willingham/Sarkisian statistical benchmark: Of the 26 comparable statistical entries shown by Table 2, Sarkisian's team (2009) beats the Willingham team (2008) in 21 out of 26 entries. Of the 5 statistical categories, Sarkisian wins 3, Willingham 1 and 1 is tied. Total offense is up 28% and total defense has improved by 6%. Run defense has improved by a 27% margin, though pass defense is down 15%. The team is averaging 11.4 points more per game than it did last year and is giving up 8.8 fewer points per game. Table 1. Category Summary (summary of stats in Table 2 below)
1. Ball Control
2. Blocking and Tackling
3. Mistakes
4. Field Position
5. Scoreboard, Baby
Richard Linde can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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Hiring a new football coach
is like buying a new car. It seems to drive better than the old one and
it looks shinier, but can it live up to all the hype we saw on TV and
heard from the dealership, as in "Troy's used and new coaches for sale?"