The Huskies took care of business in a game that could have found them a little distracted and sleepy.

They went 9-4 in nonconference play and begin Pac-10 competition Saturday, hosting Washington State.

Jon Brockman led the way again, with 21 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs. The Huskies also got nice place from their guards: Tim Morris, Venoy Overton and Justin Dentmon had 10 points each, and Ryan Appleby added nine.

Key stats: Washington dominated across the stats sheet. The Huskies hit 52 percent of their shots and limited the Bengals to 41 percent. UW outrebounded Idaho State, 36-24. Washington had 19 assists and 10 turnovers, while ISU had 12 assists and 18 turnovers.

Key run: There's no real turning point in a game like this. But Idaho State hung around for about eight minutes, trailing only 17-13. Then a Joel Smith steal and an Atem Wallace dunk ignited an 11-3 UW run, and the Bengals never got within striking distance again.

Observations: UW ended its nonconference season 9-4, its sixth straight winning record outside of the Pac-10. … Brockman climbed to 975 career points, 25 short of becoming the 32nd Husky to reach 1,000. … Idaho State is 3-10 against an ambitious nonconference schedule that included Iowa, Brigham Young, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington State and Washington. “My philosophy is that if it doesn’t kill us it is going to make us better in the long run,” coach Joe O’Brien said. … Idaho State forward Austin Kilpatrick, a sophomore from Puyallup High School, had six points in 23 minutes before fouling out. .... UW football coach Tyrone Willingham was in attendance. He received a nice hand when shown on the Hec Ed video screen.

Quotable: “They don’t even look at it any more. Tim (Morris) breaks his nose in practice and everybody rushes over to him and makes sure he’s all right. I get hit and the trainer doesn’t really even come over. He just gives me something to push up in there so the bleeding stops.” – Brockman, who went to the bench briefly Tuesday after getting whacked in the nose yet again. (He said it with a smile.)

Next: 7 p.m. Saturday, vs. Washington State, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Happy New Year.

Football coach Tyrone Willingham is in attendance at the basketball game today.

When he was shown on the video boards above the Hec Ed court, he received a nice hand.

Washington is taking care of business in the pretty blah game that was expected with a smallish, quiet crowd in attendance.

Tim Morris is leading the Huskies with 10 points.

UW is hitting 52 percent of its shots, Idaho State 44 percent.

The Idaho State Bengals are a significant step down from LSU's Bayou Bengals. So Washington's 3 p.m. game at Hec Ed should mostly just test the Huskies' ability to deal with a tough travel schedule and keep their mind on business on this New Year's Eve.

Meanwhile, normal gameday drill from here: I'll pop in with any pregame notes, give a halftime update, and then return after the game with notes and quotes.

The game is on FSN, and for those of you who are choosing the Huskies over football, we'd be happy to hear your game and postgame comments as well, on this final tuneup before UW begins conference play Saturday against Washington State.

I'm on my way home from Louisiana, but wanted to pass along this LA Daily News story that points out that UCLA will try to keep DeWayne Walker as a Bruin, even though it has named Rick Neuheisel for the top job.

Big comeback for the Huskies, big win and big road win.

The turning point was an apparently pretty stinging halftime lecture by coach Lorenzo Romar. But it seemed to work as the Huskies opened the second half on a 12-0 run that chopped LSU’s lead to a more manageable, 41-39. Another 9-0 run a few minutes later sent the Huskies ahead to stay.

I thought the most interesting comment after the game came from senior Tim Morris, who said what the Huskies did today, they couldn't have done at the start of the month in their 96-71 pounding at Oklahoma State.

“Against Oklahoma State we weren’t playing as a team at all," he said. "Offensively we weren’t. Defensively we weren’t. … We couldn't have come back and had this win at that time. We weren’t together enough. You call it growing up, you call it becoming more of a team. Whatever you call it, we’ve grown."

It also was good to see Ryan Appleby enjoying himself so much. He's a big Pete Maravich fan and had been looking forward to this game for a long time. He toured a pretty intersting Maravich display area in the arena and he sought out stories from LSU officials who knew Maravich.

“This has been a great honor to be able to come in here in Pete Maravich Assembly Center, especially to get a win,” said Appleby, who scored 12 points. “I grew up watching all of his videos and doing all of his drills and stuff. To be able to come in here and get a win is something special.”

A few other notes:

Star of the game: Sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter led UW with 17 points. He also provided five rebounds and showed newfound aggressiveness that he says he will continue.

Key stats: LSU shot 51.7 percent in the first half, 37.9 percent in the second. … The Tigers had 18 turnovers and nine assists. … The UW bench outscored the LSU bench, 28-4. … Washington hit only three of its first 18 shots, but ended the game with a 45.9 shooting percentage.

Observations: The 16-point deficit was the largest the Huskies have overcome since their famous 2004 comeback at Oregon State. … UW guard Tim Morris, who suffered a broken nose in practice Thursday, played with a protective mask. Appleby also said he was at less than 100 percent due to back spasms. … Appleby made his first trips to the foul line this season, hitting two of two.

Next: 3 p.m. Monday, vs. Idaho State, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

UCLA has just announced that Rick Neuheisel will be their new head football coach.

This will not only add interest to the Bruins' visit to Husky Stadium next fall, but it also probably increases the chance the UCLA defensive coordinator may move to UW. Also that is no sure thing, as Neuheisel has said he would want to keep Walker, and even if Walker decides to move on, he might move on elsewhere.

The Huskies shooting has stayed cold, hitting 11 of 33 shots.

Meanwhile, LSU center Chris Johnson started hot and stayed hot, leading all scorers at half with 15 points.

Coming into the game, LSU was concerned about controling Jon Brockman, a far more muscular, powerful player than anything the Tigers have. However, they've kept him in control so far with eight points.

LSU also stressed its need to control the Huskies on the boards, and so far they've held their own, 19-19.

Turnovers are close -- seven by UW, six by LSU -- but the Tigers have a significant advantage in points off turnovers, 10-2.

The Huskies hit just three of their first 18 shots (16.7 percent) and have fallen behind early, 24-13.

If they can begin finding the hole they've got every chance here, because so far this is about as quiet and gentle a crowd as they could hope to find on the road.

The crowd is drifting into Pete Maravich Assembly Center for today's UW-LSU game.

A crowd of about 7,500-8,000 is expected. That's partly because school isn't in session, and partly because the campus -- the state, really -- is nearly fully focused on the BCS championship game next week 90 miles south in New Orleans.

Unfortunately, the Northwest audience is likely to be close to zero, as the game won't be on conventional over-the-air or cable TV. It might be available on FSN-South on some dish packages, and on ESPN's pay-per-view offerings on some cable systems.

In any case, I'll try to keep the infomation flowing here today: any pregame news, a halftime report, and then notes and quotes after the game.

Here is the CSTV report that Carolina Panthers' coach John Fox is now being considered for the UCLA coaching job.

There had been rumors that there was another candidate out there in addition to Rick Neuheisel and DeWayne Walker. Maybe Fox is the mystery man.

The Huskies practiced today at Pete Maravich Assembly Center for their Saturday game at LSU.

It was a lot of fun especially to see Ryan Appleby taking in the hollowed ground of his longtime hero, Pete Maravich.

"Just seeing a lot of the film of Pistol Pete and seeing him when he was on campus, and things like that, it’s almost a little eerie I guess knowing that he walked around here at one time," he said.

While this was Appleby's first time at LSU, coach Lorenzo Romar had been twice before: once with Athletes in Action and once as an assistant at UCLA. That gave him a lasting memory of the LSU mascot, a real live tiger who in those days attended the basketball games.

"He was along the baseline in a cage," Romar said. "You could see guys thinking, ‘Coach, no loose balls tonight … I’m not running out of bounds.’"

Romar's pro career ended the year that Pete Maravich's ended, so they never played on the same court at the same time. However, I asked Romar of his memories of Maravich: "I’ve got a brother that’s 18 months younger than me and every morning he would check the LA Times for a number of things in the sports, but one of the main reasons was how many did the Pistol get," Romar said. "And in college I remember him playing for LSU and all the scoring that he did. But he did things in such a flamboyant manner, he was unbelievable. And then later he became a Christian, and that was something that I remember and I was really impressed with how his life changed in that way."

Tim Morris suffered a broken nose in practice in Seattle on Thursday, but he took part in the Baton Rouge practice today and said the mask didn't bother him. "It was fine," he said. "I shot the ball better than normal, really."

Finally, I asked Jon Brockman how this LSU team is different from the one UW beat in Seattle last season. "Last year when they came into our place we were a little worried about them banging us around and we knew it was going to be a real physical game. Now their focus has shifted a little bit to where they still have some really good post players, but they’re not the kinds of guys who are going to beast you around. They’re the type of guys that are going to be real nifty and have good footwork and they’re so long they can get their shot off over anyone. It’s definitely going to be a different style of basketball game."

By the way, the team was scheduled to have dinner Friday night at a place called Louisiana Lagniappe, a Baton Rouge restaurant picked out by someone who should know: UW president Mark Emmert, who came to UW from LSU. ("Lagniappe," by the way, is a Louisiana word meaning "a little something extra," sort of like the 13th donut of a baker's dozen.)

Game time is noon Saturday. Unfortunately, it's not on regular TV or cable anywhere but in the South.

I just spent a few minutes with LSU basketball coach John Brady, talking out his team's game with Washington tomorrow.

Brady's Tigers are a long a lean team - plenty of blocked shots -- but not very physical -- not good rebounders. That makes UW's Jon Brockman a particular concern in the game tomorrow. He says he plans to use a combination of man and zone, and double-teams, and to try to force Brockman to receive the ball out of his comfort zone.

Here's a little more, in his own words:

JOHN BRADY
On the difference between this season's Tigers and the ones UW beat last season: "In the past … we’ve always been a forward-dominated, inside-dominated big and mean team. Now we’re a long and lean team, I don’t know how mean we’re are. That’s the biggest difference, we’ve gone from big and mean to long and lean."

On his team's high number of blocks and low number of rebounds: "We’re an athletic team. But we’re blocking shots because they’re getting it around the goal on us. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Yes, we’re athletic and we can run a little bit, but they may be getting it too close. I’d rather them have to shoot it from out there and not be able to throw it in. But thank God we can block some shots, because otherwise we’d be giving up lay-ups."

On LSU legend Pete Maravich: "Maravich is probably the most exciting player to play in the Southeastern Conference in any sport. He had a three-year period there where he sold out every arena home and away. The stories here are still legendary where when he was a freshman he couldn’t play varsity, so the freshman games in the old Cow Palace would sell out – 6,500 – and then everybody would leave and there’d be 500 left to watch the (varsity) play.

I was growing up in McColm, Miss., and I had me a pair of some floppy socks and some black Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, and I tried to grow my hair long. Everybody did. He wore a necklace one time and I bought one and wanted to play with a choker necklace like he did. I think he revived basketball in the Southeastern Conference at the time. It just do happens he played at LSU and it’s unfortunate that Pete Maravich is not with us here today and can’t walk around and enjoy this campus and the reverence that he would have with the fans here. He would probably be one of the most revered athletes to ever play here. If Billy Cannon and Pete Maravich were walking side-by-side, it would be a toss-up, I think, about which one would be the most revered athlete to ever play here."

On the UW game: "We’re excited about it. They’ve got four starters back from last year’s team, Brockman is going to be the most physical post player that we’ve faced this year and he’s going to be a difficult challenge for us. Appleby’s a tremendous shooter on the perimeter, Dentmon’s a nice player, Pondexter played well against us last year. Our biggest challenge is going to be containing Brockman and see if we can keep him off the boards.

"We’re going to try to zone some, double him some, maybe a different player or two deep down on the wing, depending who passes him the ball. We’ll try to push him and make him catch it in places he’s not used to catching it. We’re going to double-team him with different players, and play some zone and try to not let them get a rhythm of getting him the ball in places where they want him to get it.

"Another big thing is whoever shoots it for their team is to keep him off the glass, because it doesn’t matter how good a defensive possession you have, if you let him get to the offensive board, that negates the good defensive possession."

As for those Huskies, they are on the court of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center right now (12:30 PST).

I should get some time with coach Lorenzo and the team one they're finished, and I'll pop back in here if there is any news.

I do see that Tim Morris, who suffered a broken nose yesterday, is practicing with a mask.

And it was fun to watch Ryan Appleby -- a longtime Maravich fan -- walk into the arena for the first time and look up at that retired No. 23 hanging from the rafters.

Tim Morris, a starting guard on the Washington men’s basketball team, suffered a broken nose in practice Thursday.

He was taken to University Hospital, but was released in time to travel with the team to Louisiana, where the Huskies will meet LSU on Saturday. He is expected to be available to play with a protective mask.

Also available is starting guard Ryan Appleby, who suffered back spasms last weekend against Cal State Northridge.

Even with full silence at UW, all indications point to UCLA assistant DeWayne Walker as Tyrone Willingham's top choice for the Huskies’ defensive coordinator position.

However, Walker may have other options.

According to several reports, Walker met with UCLA officials Wednesday morning about the Bruins' head job, and then had a face-to-face meeting with Willingham later in the day.

Some reports indicate that Willingham may have sweetened the pot by suggesting a two-year contract, which could ease Walker’s concerns about the fate of the UW staff beyond the 2008 season.

However, there's no way to sweeten the pot enough if UCLA offers Walker. He and former UW head coach Rick Neuheisel have been interviewed twice. Temple coach Al Golden also interviewed, but as since taken himself out of the running. Also, LA sources indicate the interviews -- even the list of candidates -- may not yet be complete.

The Washington Huksies' visit LSU at noon Saturday. And LSU basketball now and forever is linked with Pistol Pete Maravich, who played there 1966-70. I happened to be growing up in Louisiana back then, and my memories of discovering Pete remain vivid. I try to tell a little about what it was like in my Friday column.

Meanwhile, here's the real thing.

UW junior forward Jon Brockman was named Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball player of the week today.

Here is the release from the Pac-10.

Tyrone Willingham hasn't spoken to local media since the press conference announcing his return as UW's head coach.

However, ESPN's Web site has a mostly upbeat look at UW's football future, with a few quotes from the coach.

I haven't spoken to Kent Baer since he was fired as UW defensive coordinator, and I haven't seen him quoted in the local media.

However, he apparently had a few words for his hometown paper in Logan, Utah, declining to cast himeself as a scapegoat saying instead, "Sometimes, maybe you're just together too long."

He also said he would like to continue coaching for another 10 years, and would especially like to get a chance at a head job and/or a shot in the NFL.

Here is the full article by Craig Hislop.

UW was happy to get the win, of course. And coach Lorenzo Romar was happy to see players like Justin Dentmon and Venoy Overton step up and help make up for the loss of Ryan Appleby (back spasms).

However, Romar wasn't thrilled with the performance and didn't think the Huskies built on the progress of their past couple of games.

“I didn’t think we made a big step today," he said. "I don’t think we improved defensively tonight. I thought there were times we did a really good job and forced them to turn the ball over and take bad shots, but I didn’t think tonight was where we can look back and say, ‘Hey, we made another huge step.’”

More on Appleby: He came into the game with UW’s top scoring average. However, he was shut out, partly by a box-and-one Northridge defense, and also by back spasms, which limited him to 14 minutes. Appleby, who also suffered back spasms over the summer, said he expects to be ready for the next game. “I drove middle, kicked it to (Justin Dentmon), planted on my right foot and turned and felt the muscle pull,” he said. “… The real test is when you wake up in the morning. If I wake up and I’m good, hopefully I’ll be all right in a couple of days.”

Star of the game: Most UW guards played well. But there’s no overlooking the performance of forward Jon Brockman, who had a game-high 21 points and shared game-high rebounding honors with 10. The performance returned him to his position as UW scoring leader.

Key stats: The Huskies outrebounded the Matadors, 42-29. … UW guard Venoy Overton hit all five of his shots, including four from 3-point range. … Both teams had more turnovers than assists.

Key run: Northridge had pulled to within four points, 58-54, with less than eight minutes remaining. Then a Tim Morris 3-pointer ignited a 13-1 run by the Huskies, and their lead never dipped below double digits again.

Next: Noon Saturday, at Louisiana State, Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge.

He looked a little wobbly during halftime warmups, but he's taken the floor with the rest of the lineup that started the game.

Washington has been in control most of the way against the Matadors of the Big West Conference.

Justin Dentmon leads all scorers with 13 points. Jon Brockman has 12.

UW is shooting 50 percent, CSN 43 percent. Washington is leading on the boards, 22-14.

As mentioned below, Ryan Appleby went out about five minutes from halftime with back spasms. His status for the remainder of the game is undetermined. He was scoreless in the first half.

UW senior guard Ryan Appleby is on the bench again after going to the locker room with back spasms.

His return remains questionable.

UW leads Cal State Northridge, 39-30, with about a minute remaining in the first half.

The UW men are back in action today, playing Cal State Northridge at 3 p.m. at Hec Ed. The game also will be shown on FSN.

Here is my preview from today's paper, which takes a look at the progress of this season's freshman class.

Well, that Bellotti-to-UCLA thing didn't last long, even by Internet standards.

Here's the release from the Ducks.

Hmm, the UCLA football coaching search just gets more and more interesting with the report that Oregon's Mike Bellotti -- the Pac-10's dean of coaches -- has appeared on the Bruin's list. Here's a report from the LA Daily News. And here's now it looks from the Eugene Register-Guard.

Meanwhile, here's a Daily News take on DeWayne Walker, the UCLA defensive coordinator and acting head coach who may be the most mentioned name for the UW defensive coordinator's job.

The details are complex and frustrating, but the bottom line is that Washington's basketball game at Louisiana State on Dec. 29 won't be shown locally -- or almost anywhere else.

The rights to the game originally belonged to ESPN, but they decided not to carry it on any of their networks. Instead, ESPN sent the rights to FSN South - not not FSN Northwest or anyone else.

This means that folks with dish packages can watch the Huskies' last chance at a non-conference road win. But no one else.

I've heard from several people that Washington has asked UCLA's permission to talk to DeWayne Walker about the Huskies open defensive coordinator position.

UW officials would neither confirm nor deny this report ... or likely any report, right up until hires are officially announced.

Walker is UCLA's defensive coordinator and also their acting head coach as they prepare for the Las Vegas Bowl in the absence of former/fired head coach Karl Dorrell.

However, just because UW seems interested in Walker doesn't necessarily mean Walker is interested in UW. Walker remains a candidate for the UCLA head job. And even if he isn't selected he might be asked to stay on as UCLA defensive coordinator under Rick Neuheisel, or he might have options as a head coach or coordinator elsewhere.

Word on two coasts -- LA and Baltimore -- places former UW coach Rick Neuheisel as the front runner for the head coaching job at his alma mater, UCLA.

The news provoked this whimsical post (taken from the comments section in a previous post) from blog contributor PapaHawk:

Excerpts from interview between UCLA Chancellor and Rick Neuheisel:

Chancellor: Rick, what are your plans for the program when you first get to UCLA?

RN: Excellence, become the beacon of football greatness in the Pacific 10 conference.

Chancellor: About your time at CU and UW, both programs struggled when you left. If I hire you am I going down that road too?

RN: You have already hired me. By granting me an interview you basically have sealed your own fate. Nobody can resist me ... you have no choice. By agreeing to talk in person with me you have already gone there. college administrators cannot resist my boyish charm and optimism. My candor in this situation will make you feel at ease, like I have changed. Even though I can't change everything, you will think I have.

Chancellor: Okay.

RN: When do I officialy start?

Chancellor: You had me at hello.

RN: Anything else I can do for you?

Chancellor: Can you play me a song on your guitar?

I'll be back talking UW athletics with Dave "The Groz" Grosby again at our regular time, 2:20 this afternoon on KJR, 950-AM. Once again, due to recent events, it seems unlikely that today is the day that crew or soccer will be discussed.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Former UW coach Rick Neuheisel apparently has become a serious candidate, and perhaps the favorite to become head coach at UCLA.

This has double meaning to UW, because according to LA Daily News and other reports, Neuheisel would be willing to keep DeWayne Walker on as defensive coordinator.

Walker also has been mentioned among the most-coveted candidates in UW's search for a defensive coordinator to replace Kent Baer.

The only concern about UW's recruiting class has been that it has seemed a bit heavy on the offensive side.

Recently, even that has been addressed, and especially with the landing of Kennedy High defensive end Everrette Thompson.

Thompson, who scout.com ranks as the No. 11 defensive end prospect in the country, was the top remaining unannounced prospect in the state, and likely nudges the class into the top 15 nationally.

UW let PSU shoot over 60 percent for much of the night, so I wasn't sure what coach Lorenzo Romar would think -- considering he's been stressing defense so much lately. But he seemed to think that Portland had just been hot and that his team is progressing on both ends of the court.

Some notes and thoughts on the game:

Star of the game: Washington forward Jon Brockman scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, both game highs.

Key stats: Washington shot 61.8 percent from the field, its best night of shooting since February 1999. … Portland State grabbed 14 rebounds. UW sports staff couldn’t find a lower opponent’s total in records dating back to the 1980s.

Key run: UW guard Ryan Appleby hit two 3-pointers just before halftime. Then, UW scored the first four points of the second half. The 10-point run took the Huskies from even to their first double-digit lead.

Observations: Appleby tied a school-record with seven 3-pointers. … Portland State 5-foot-8 guard Mickey Polis scored 16 points in the first half, hitting five of five 3-pointers. However, UW shifted bigger defenders on him in the second half and he didn’t score again. … Phil Nelson, a former Husky who is sitting out this season after transferring, sat on the PSU bench and was lightly booed by the Dawg Pack student section.

Romar quote: "I feel like we're making progress. With this lineup, there are some guys tat aren't in the lineup, who, if they could catch tehse guys defensively, would be in the lineup because they're better offensive players. At this point, since these guys give us the best defensive presentation, we're going to continue to go with them."

PSU coach Ken Bone quote: "Overall, I thought we competed well. Our kids fought and went out and did the best they could. Washington is a little bigger and a little stronger, and it took its toll in the last 15 minutes."

Next: 3 p.m. Saturday, vs. Cal State Northridge, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, FSN.

After experimenting the past couple of games, Romar sent out the same lineup tonight as he did Saturday against Portland. However, they're playing much more up-tempo tonight.

The main story tonight has been 3-point shooting. Ryan Appleby has 15 points,all on threes, including one at the buzzer.

Portland State's Mickey Polis had 16 points - on five three-pointers and one that he turned into a four-point play.

Former Husky Phil Nelson just joined his Portland State teammates on the court at Hec Edmundson Pavilion and was greeted with boos from the small number of Dawg Pack studnets already in the gym.

Nelson is redshirting this season and won't play, but he'll likely hear more once the crowd fills in.

Nelson was part of UW's mostly lost recruiting class as Nelson, Spencer Hawes and Adrian Oliver have drifted away, leaving only Quincy Pondexter in purple.

(In other Pac-10 hoops personnel news, Brook Lopez is back with Stanford.)

UCLA's search for a head coach could have an impact on Washington's search for a defensive coordinator.

Here's a nice look at some of the possible actions and reactions from the Daily Breeze.

Even before UW offcially confirmed that Kent Baer wouldn't be back as defensive coordinator, fans and media were speculating who would be wanted -- and willing -- to come in and try to improve that Husky defense.

The current defensive staff includes two men who have served previously as UW defensive coordinator: defensive line coach Randy Hart (1995-98) and linebackers coach Chris Tormey (1994). Tormey also has been head coach at Idaho (1995-99) and Nevada (2000-03).

I've always been intrigued by Tormey, who I thought had a fantasticly innovative defense at Idaho. As a Southern Miss alum, I especially remember his Vandals beating my Golden Eagles in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise with a defense that sometimes used only two -- sometimes even one -- down linemen. The other advantage with Tormey, of course, is that he'd take the job. It's an open question as to how many established guys would want to come in to a place with no athletic director and significant uncertainty regarding this staff.

If Willingham goes outside the current staff, he could consider names such as DeWayne Walker, who was defensive coordinator at UCLA and whose status is uncertain since the firing of Karl Dorrell; and Ron English, defensive coordinator at Michigan whose status on Rich Rodriguez’s new staff hasn’t been announced.

They're both highly regarded guys, who could be retained at their present schools, or have a choice of coordinator jobs, or even head coaching jobs. Or they could be facing a little run of unemployment and decide UW might just work.

Other names also drawing speculation despite what strike me as pretty high degrees of improbability are Ed Orgeron, the former Miami and Southern California assistant recently fired as head coach at Ole Miss; Mark Banker, current defensive coordinator at Oregon State; and Jim Mora Jr., Seahawks secondary coach and UW alum.

I can't imagine any of those guys coming. Orgeron figures to have better options. I don't know why Banker would leave an established gig for such an uncertain one. And I can't see Mora leaving his current position for anything but the top job.

Meanwhile, a reader below posted a pretty enthusiastic vote for Jon Tenuta of Georgia Tech. Here is the latest I could find on his status.

Exceptionally interesting off-season we got going here.

The University of Washington confirmed today that defensive coordinator Kent Baer and tight ends/special teams coach Bob Simmons will not return to the staff next season.

UW football coach Tyrone Willingham met with his coaches this morning and informed them of the news.

Here is the university's press release.

A couple of defensive players on campus Monday afternoon said they had not been told anything.

When it was announced that Willingham would return for his fourth season, he said that he would review his staff as usual in his postseason assesment. However, there also was some thought that today might be the day because a recruiting dead period began Sunday and the staff came back from off the road.

Baer has worked under Willingham since 1995, and the UW defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. However, he came under fire this season as the UW defense fell to last in the Pac-10, giving up a school-record 446 yards per game and an average of 31.6 points per game.

The Washington men's basketball team gets back into action Tuesday against Portland State.

State is a more veteran and more athletic team than the University of Portland, which gave UW fits on Saturday. The Vikings also are coached by former Lorenzo Romar assistant Ken Bone. However, UW transfer Phil Nelson is redshirting this season.

A quick look ahead to the Vikings:

PORTLAND STATE (7-4)
AT WASHINGTON (5-4)
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
TV: FSN.
Radio: 950-AM

Series: Washington leads, 6-0, including a 105-73 win last season. All games have been played in Seattle.
Statistical leaders: For PSU, G Jeremiah Dominguez (11.8 ppg and 3.1 apg); C Scott Morrison (6.1 rpg).

Scouting report: The Vikings top three scorers are separated by less than a point in scoring average: Dominguez (11.8), Deonte Huff (11.6) and Morrison (11.1). Portland State is 4-38 all-time against schools from the Pacific-10 Conference, including losses to top-10 UCLA and Washington State already this season. … G Alex Teifenthaler, a sophomore from Spanaway and Bethel H.S., has appeared in two games since transferring from the University of Portland and is averaging 5.5 points.

Next: 3 p.m. Saturday, vs. Cal State Northridge, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

The Huskies are scheduled to visit USC next Nov. 1, but the question remains whether they will play in the Coliseum -- their longtime home -- or the Rose Bowl -- with whom they are flirting.

That answer could come this week.

The LA Daily News offers this roundup of the situation.

Very ugly win, but coach Lorenzo Romar seemed happy enough with it.

Clearly, he's grading on a curve these days ... he's valuing defense above everything else, and so he was far happier with those 63 points allowed than he was alarmed about those 67 points scored.

Huskies to to 5-4 on the season, Pilots to 3-7.

Portland's Nik Raivio led all scorers with 23.

Star of the game: Senior guard Ryan Appleby led the Huskies with 18 points, including a short twisting jumper in the final seconds that settled it.

Key stats: Washington shot 33 percent in the first half, and 74 percent in the second. … The Huskies had only one assist in the first half and ended with a season-low-tying nine. … Portland outrebounded UW, 33-28.

Key run: Appleby helped pull UW out of its offense doldrums by hitting three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half.

Observations: Appleby and Artem Wallace got their first starts of the season. … Jon Brockman was held to 11 points and managed only six shots. Portland was one of the few teams not to double-team Brockman, and the change seemed to make him tentative as he looked for the defensive help to arrive.

Quotable: “This is a tough place to play. Despite their recent losses, they are a tough team. They had a very impressive winning streak here before (last weekend’s loss to Pittsburgh), a great student section and a very athletic team that is well coach. So, given that context, I am pleased with how our team played.” – Portland coach Eric Reveno.

Next: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, vs. Portland State, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, FSN.

Romar has been valuing defense in selecting his starting lineups, and maybe it's time to try going with offense.

This was about as ugly a home half as I can recall.

Washington his 10 of 30 shots from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, and gave away five points at the line. Fortunately for them, the Pilots also had trouble with foul shooting: 1-for-4.

Brockman didn't score over the first 16 minutes, going 0-for-3 from the field.

Coach Lorenzo Romar implied that he'd probably juggle his starting lineup again today against Portland, and he has.

Ryan Appleby and Artem Wallace will start for the first time this season, along with Jon Brockman, Joel Smith and Tim Morris.

This is by far the most veteran lineup Romar has started -- perhaps the most veteran lineup he can start: two seniors (Appleby and Morris) and three juniors.

Appleby hasn't started because he hasn't been available -- missing the first seven games with a fractured thumb. But this marks quite a resurrection for Wallace, who started the season buried near the end of the bench, having a nice game last week against Pitt and completing his reqard today.

Following up on its report from yesterday, the LA Daily news now reports that former UW coach Rick Neuheisel did interview for the UCLA head coaching job on Friday ... although neither coach nor school would comment.

The UW men's basketball team gets back into action today, hosting the Portland Pilots.

There are a couple of familiar names on the Portland roster: Sikma and Raivio. That is forward Luke Sikma, son of Sonics' immortal Jack Sikma; and Nik Raivio, brother of former Gonzaga Bulldog Derek Raivio.

The Huskies have lost four of five games and have fallen to .500 for the first time since Jan. 31, 2004.

A quick look at the game:

PORTLAND (3-6)
AT WASHINGTON (4-4)
3 p.m., Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

TV: FSN.
Radio: 950-AM
Series: Washington leads, 10-1. The Pilots’ lone win came in 1993. The Huskies have won four in a row, most recently in 1998. UW is 56-18 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference, with 14 of those losses coming against Gonzaga.

Statistical leaders: For Portland, G Nik Raivio, 11.2 ppg; Luke Sikma, 10 rpg and 3.1 apg. For UW, F Jon Brockman, 19 ppg and 11.6 rpg; G Venoy Overton, 4.6 apg.

Scouting report: UW has not revealed its starting lineup, but coach Lorenzo Romar indicated he might try a new combination. … Brockman leads the Pacific-10 Conference in rebounding, Overton leads in steals (2 spg) and Joel Smith leads in 3-point percentage (61.1). … Portland sophomore forward Robin Smeulders has experience with the Dutch National Team. … Point guard Taishi Ito has rejoined the Pilots after missing the last four games following the death of his father. Last season, Ito was the top WCC freshman in six statistical categories. … Starting forward Sherrard Watson is the only senior on the Portland roster, which includes six true freshmen.

Next: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, vs. Portland State, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, FSN.

The L.A. Daily news is reporting that former UW coach Rick Neuheisel will interview for the open head coaching job at UCLA, perhaps today.

That would certainly solve my problem of trying to think up preview stories for the week that UCLA visits Husky Stadium next fall.

Coach Tyrone Willingham picked up another well-regarded recruit Thursday, with the oral commitment of Bradly Roussel, a linebacker from Louisiana.

Roussel is 5-foot-11, 215 pounds and runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds. He played at Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge.

Scout.com gives him a three-star rating and ranks him as the No. 25 middle linebacker prospect in the nation. He was awarded two stars by Rivals.com.

Any of you watching UW's basketball game against Pitt on TV might have noticed the clip from Romar’s playing days, showing him harmonizing on “People Get Ready” on a bus ride with his 1983-84 Milwaukee Bucks teammates.

Even though Romar sounded pretty good to me, he said he got some cracks about his singing.

However, it's clear that he remembers that team fondly.

“That team was one of the first teams where I really understood what ‘team’ meant,” he said. “The bus rides, going to church on Sundays - not the whole team, but when we were on the road a group of us might get together and go. Go to the movies together. Go to each other’s house for dinner. That team was pretty close-knit.”

As far as news, there wasn't much today.

Romar said he will go with another defensive-oriented lineup Saturday against Portland, but he doesn't want to commit to any names until after the Friday practice. That was the main message to the media today and presumably to his players all week: Romar believes this team will go as far as their defense takes them, and he's going to use playing time to reward those who understand.

Chris Polk, an all-purpose running back ranked among the nation’s best, has reconsidered his oral commitment to Southern California and now plans to become a Husky.

Polk is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back from Redlands East Valley High School in Redlands, Calif.

He runs a 4.5 40, and also has been a standout receiver. Scout and Rivals each rate him a four-star recruit.

At least two people speculated about as possible candidates to replace Todd Turner as UW athletic director – Chuck Nelson and Mike Cragg – have confirmed their interest.

University president Mark Emmert hasn’t publicly identified potential candidates, but Nelson and Cragg have been included on most short lists of speculative names -- at this stage, extremely speculative names.

Nelson is a color commentator on UW broadcasts, tournament director of the Boeing Classic and former Husky kicker.

“I’m flattered and humbled to be involved in the conversation,” Nelson said. “Certainly it’s a great institution and I have a great affinity for it. It’s an intriguing idea to be involved in a very large job and a very large undertaking. I like what I’m doing, but I think most alumni would certainly be interesting in helping if they could.”

Cragg is a 1986 UW grad who is now director of Duke University’s Legacy Fund and associate director of athletics for Duke basketball. The Legacy Fund is made up of 30 donors who have made contributions of $1 million or more. He also has overseen the construction of the Krzysewski Center, a $15.2 million facility scheduled to open next month that will serve as an academic support center for all sports and a men and women’s basketball training center.

“I’d be honored if I was considered for the position,” Cragg said. “It’s certainly one of the dream places for me. I’m in one of them right now, but the University of Washington and the athletic director position would be a dream position for me as well.”

Neither man has been contacted by the university.

Emmert has named no candidates, given little information on the search process, but has said he hopes to have a selection by spring.

Three changes have been approved to the 2008 football schedule, which will give the Huskies three open dates in a 12-game campaign that will stretch from Aug. 30 to Dec. 6.

Washington’s game against Oregon has been moved from Sept. 13 to the season opener on Aug. 30; the Oklahoma game has been moved from Sept. 20 to Sept. 13, and the California game from Oct. 11 to the regular-season finale on Dec. 6.

The resulting schedule:
Aug. 30, at Oregon
Sept. 6, BYU
Sept. 13, Oklahoma
Sept. 27, Stanford
Oct. 4, at Arizona
Oct. 18, Oregon State
Oct. 25, Notre Dame
Nov. 1, at USC
Nov. 8, Arizona State
Nov. 15, UCLA
Nov. 22, at WSU
Dec. 6, at California.

Here is a copy of the letter that Todd Turner sent to his athletic staff. It shows a lot of what is so personally admirable about Turner, and a lot of why he drives so many fans crazy.

Ultimately, Turner and Emmert may both have nailed it yesterday: It was no longer a good fit.

December 11, 2007

Dear Friends,

It is with very mixed emotions that I write to you today. After careful consideration and thoughtful reflection on our time here since you welcomed us to the UW, Sara and I have decided that now is the right time for us to leave the University of Washington and return to our Southern roots. This came after lengthy discussions with President Emmert where it became clear that changes in leadership needed to be made. He has accepted my resignation from my position as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics effective January 31, 2008.

I will continue to serve in my current role as AD until I leave next month. As you might expect, much of my work will be dedicated to insuring a smooth transition for the next AD. Fortunately, we have a strong team of leaders in place to carry on the work we have begun. I have recommended to President Emmert in the strongest of terms the importance of maintaining the leadership model that has taken us this far.

I want each of you to know that I feel very good about the work we have accomplished together here during my tenure. When I arrived just over three years ago, the President's primary charge to me was to create a culture of integrity in athletics and to reconnect the athletics program to the mainstream mission of the University. This is something we have worked at every day and, I trust, you will continue to do so as you go forward. I do believe we have made great progress. Along the way we won national and Pac-10 championships. We have achieved academic performance measurements that are among the highest when compared to our West Coast peer institutions. We have created life-enriching opportunities for literally hundreds of young men and women student-athletes. Most importantly, we have established a principle-centered, compliance-sensitive culture in the Athletics Department. Plus, we've had a lot fun.

You have inspired me with your dedication to the well-being of our student-athletes, your commitment to each other, your competitiveness, and good cheer. Together we have reestablished the UW athletics program as one of character and integrity. Thank you for that. Continue doing this and the foundational phase of our mission will be complete. Now, it's up to you to put the final touches on this endeavor with more than a few championship banners. I trust that you will.

I can't encourage or challenge you enough to maintain and build upon the mission and values we have affirmed for athletics at Washington. Creating an environment that develops winners on the field, in the classroom, and in life...that's what it is all about. We have done this together. It is our mantra, our focus, our unifying purpose. Be true to it and the student-athletes will experience what they came to the UW to get...a world-class preparation for a successful, productive life.

Frankly, I've grown concerned recently over the growing imbalance between what the public (i.e. fans) expects and the true purpose of intercollegiate athletics. It's a frightening time to be in your positions if you truly believe in the ideal of the student-athlete within the framework of higher education. It will take exceedingly strong leadership to hold us true to this ideal. In recent days, I've seen a side of athletics that sickens me with the incessant interloping of uninformed, unenlightened, self-anointed experts who look upon intercollegiate athletics solely as entertainment to satisfy their own self interests. That's why competitive success at the UW without compromising values, character, and integrity is so essential. Someone has to be the example. It might as well be the Huskies.

I know some people would think me goofy to keep hammering away on this. But, it has been my life's calling. I learned this in my earliest days as a young administrator at the University of Virginia and it has stuck with me. I cannot give it up. In some ways, that's really at the core of why I am stepping aside...not to give up the fight, but rather to find another platform to underscore the cause. I need you with me on this, so when and if I ever call on you, please step up!

So, after nearly 32 years in this wonderful enterprise, 21 of which were as an Athletics Director, what is a fellow to do to further identify his purpose in life? At 56, there are many productive years ahead for us to enjoy new experiences and exciting challenges. These may come in the world of intercollegiate athletics or some other related or entirely different enterprise. Regardless, the lure of intercollegiate athletics, its value to our young people, and its influence on our society will always be somewhere near the core of what I do. Sara, our children, and I will take some time to reflect on the events of recent months before refocusing upon our future. Along the way, we'll have a few laughs, spend some needed time together, and follow the Huskies with great interest and considerable pride.

On a personal note, I want to thank each and every member of the athletics staff for accepting me and my family as your friends as much as you did me as your colleague. We will be Huskies for life! I will be forever grateful. Sara and I will carry many wonderful memories with us as we pursue a new direction in our lives.

Go DAWGS!

Respectfully,

Todd

Dream - Achieve - Win - Grow - Serve

I'll be back talking UW athletics with Dave "The Groz" Grosby again at our regular time, 2:20 this afternoon on KJR, 950-AM. Once again, the fates have gifted us with plenty to talk about.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Start counting down the days to the Apple Cup.

New Washington State football coach Paul Wulff was introduced to the media on Tuesday and didn't waste any time in establishing that making nice with the Huskies isn't among his top priorities.

Among the notable shots across the bow:

"I learned that very day that I wasn't supposed to like purple. And I don't like purple, and that has not changed. It's 22 years later, and I really don't like purple. And that is going to be very clear."

And ...

"That is a battle that we will win. We're going to go after those guys. We're going to attack them. And we're going to find ways to take control of this deal and run the best program in the state of Washington."

And ...

"Dogs bite and bark. Cougars hunt and kill. There's a big difference."

A link to the Cougfan Web story.

No one knows who UW president Mark Emmert is going to hire -- or even talk to -- to replace athletic director Todd Turner.

But that doesn't stop speculation. And the early speculation tends to involve A.) Folks already at UW who might be ready to step up; B.) Athletic directors or associate athletic directors with UW ties currently working elsewhere; C.) Folks who were seriously considered in 2004; D.) Anyone with success in fund-raising and especially in getting a stadium renovated or constructed; and E.) Anyone who might have once shared a bowl of gumbo with Emmert at LSU.

Because 10 is a nice round number, here are 10 names and the reasons they are sure to be mentioned:

Scott Barnes, UW senior associate athletic director for advancement
On the job since 2005, his area of emphasis is fund-raising.

Mike Cragg, Duke associate athletic director
UW ’86 graduate with reputation as a master fund-raiser.

Chris Hill, Utah athletic director
Experienced and was a finalist when Turner was selected.

Greg Lewis, Big “W” Club director and special assistant to the AD
A name for the future, but likely too inexperienced this time around.

Joel Maturi, Minnesota athletic director
Balanced the athletic budget and got a stadium built on campus.

Bill Moos, former Oregon athletic director
Guided UO building boom, but has no-compete deal with Ducks.

Chuck Nelson, broadcaster, Boeing Classic tournament director
Former player with solid ties to UW and business community.

Jim Phillips, Northern Illinois athletic director
Experienced, affordable and a finalist when Turner was hired.

Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech athletic director
Rising star at LSU when UW president Mark Emmert was there.

Bob Stull, UTEP athletic director
UW ties coaching under Don James and has AD experience.

Todd Turner called a gathering of UW coaches Tuesday morning to let them know that he was stepping down as athletic director.

Football coach Tyrone Willingham was on the road, and received the word in a call. Turner said Willingham was "surprised," but no other public comment has come from Willingham.

However, here are some comments from a couple of other UW coaches:

Men's basketball coach Lorenzo Romar:
Todd, for me personally I felt was a very good leader, a very good mentor to me. Sometimes as your boss, they may not be a mentor – they’re just a boss. But he was a boss and mentor. I thought during his time here he did an excellent job of helping the University of Washington and its athletics department. I do understand that tough decisions have to be made at times. I’m always going to be a fan of Todd Turner and his family.

Romar on the reaction when the coaches were informed:
I’d say one of disappointment. Sometimes there could be a situation where it’s announced and no one says anything and then after about 10 seconds: 'The wicked witch is dead!' That was not the case today. It was disappointment. Todd's done a good job and he’s a likeable persona and a capable leader. We’ve always felt like he came along side of us and asked how he could help us be better in what we do and you can always appreciate that.

Romar on getting a new boss:
Whenever anyone is faced with the unknown you’re just not sure what to think. But it also depends on the type of confidence you have in your leadership, and I have all the confidence in the world in President Emmert and although it is disappointing, I feel that whatever decision is made in the future will be one that is in the best interest of this university and this athletic department, and it will be one that is well thought out and it will be one that later on we will be pleased with.

JIM MCLAUGHLIN, UW volleyball coach:
He supported us, so it’s time to support him. Initially that’s the most important thing you do.

In terms of volleyball, Todd helped us, he supported us, and I’m going to support him right now and help him get through it if he needs my help. I don’t know if it affects us. We know what we’re doing and we’ve got things in place and we’re going to go about business as we’re supposed to go about it. But you lose a friend in the thing, and that’s the important thing.

Because of him we could work our tails off. He wasn’t in my office every day, he was letting me work hard and letting the staff work hard and then he would come in my by and ask 'What can I do?'

Quotes from UW president Mark Emmert and Todd Turner on the Tuesday annoucement that Turner is stepping down as athletic director:

EMMERT on the Willingham decision:
I’m sure people will want to integrate this with the decision on Coach Willingham and that’s not the case at all. I am completely comfortable and confident with our decision about Coach Willingham and I look forward to him being our coach again in the fall.

EMMERT on the timing:
We’ve got a lot of things going on right now and Todd and I have been talking about it for some time – he’s been our AD for 3 1/2 years and he’s done a lot of good and important things at the university. If you remember back four years ago when I was coming in and had to make a decision about an athletic director even before I was officially here, there were a lot of problems in athletics – we had a variety of scandals and problems going on, and the program in many ways was in great disarray. Todd has done a great job of turning that all around. We also have a lot of other things that need to get done in the athletic program and for me this is a question of fit and for Todd as well, is this the right fit for him right now at this stage in his career and we concluded that it would be better for the university and for the program to make a change. If you’re going to do that, you might as well do it. There’s no point in waiting around and dealing with it later. There’s nothing special about this date, it was just the time that we reached agreement on this.

EMMERT on what needs to be done:
People have to understand that I have great respect for Todd, I consider him a good friend and someone who I enjoy and I hope we get to continue to do that – we have a very good working relationship and we always have. The challenge with all of these very high-profile jobs is finding the right fit with the program, with the university, with the community, with the philosophical direction that you want to go with the program, I think that has all worked very well with Todd for the past three years and now there’s some other things that we have to focus our attention on too. There’s a lot of development issues that we’ve got to get done, there’s a lot of issues around building a football stadium, there are any number of different things that we have to do -- Todd is a great guys at doing many of those things but having the right person in the right place that’s the right fit with the community and where we are, I think is a challenge and we’re going to work on that.

EMMERT on if this appeased those who wanted Willingham fired:
If people are looking at this as a tip of the hat in that direction, I don’t do that. That would be an incredibly inappropriate thing to do. ... The boosters and supporters of the UW, they support the university, they don’t lean on us.

EMMERT on the AD search:Where we go from here now is I’ll sit down with some of the coaches and the staff people and academic athletic advisory committee, all of the appropriate groups and talk about the kinds of attributes and characteristics we want in the next athletic director and then we’ll go our and find one.

EMMERT on the search timeline:
I don’t have one yet. The fact is we want to make sure we get the exactly right person with all of the right attributes that we want to bring and we’re going to do that right not just fast. But ideally you want to do that as expeditiously as you can. Hopefully some time in the spring.

TURNER on what changed:
It’s not so much what changed in my eyes, it’s what changed in his eyes. I’m the same person I was when I came here. I have 32 years of experience in Division I athletics at five universities. My knowledge of the intricacies is – at least from an experiential standpoint _ as long as anyone’s that I know of. It’s really a product of my age as much as anything else. I’m the same person with the same values and may even some improved management skills that I was when I was hired three and a half years ago. And the university has moved away from that as far as what they need from someone in that position, then that’s not my decision and I can respect it even if I might disagree with it.

TURNER on UW's athletic success:
And we’ve won national championship and we’ve won Pac-10 championships since I’ve been here. Have we won as many as any of us would have liked? No. But that’s the crowning jewel in any athletic program is the ability to do all the things right in business and ins student success and student experience and include in that some high levels of performance. And it’s not as if we haven't had them. We’ve been to two (Sweet) 16s, we won two national championships, we’ve had national champions as individuals,w we've had coaches of the year. There have been a lot of good things that have happened at Washington competitive. Have we won as many football games as we would have liked? Absolutely not. But rebuilding that is a process that takes a lot of time. There are no magic bullets. … I have every confidence that the building blocks are in place for the next athletics director and for the staff that exists here now to begin to enjoy some competitive success, particularly in football.

TURNER on what he learned while advocating for Tyrone Willingham to keep his job:I learned a lot about myself and about the institution and my collogues and the leadership and the support group during that last two or three months. I learned a lot and I can understand why -- if what I learned is true – there are some people that think I might not be the best fit at Washington. But I can’t speak to what other people think about my fit. I can only say that entered into my thinking about whether I should be here.

TURNER on the university comitting to Willingham for only one more season:
We ended up in one accord of where we were with our football program and our expectations. That’s no surprise to Tyrone.

TURNER on his role until Jan. 31:
I’m not going to making huge policy decisions. I will certainly be involved in facilitating them, but those decisions are something I won’t be accountable for so there is no logic that would have me making them.

TURNER on the Husky Stadium renovation plan:
It’s gone exactly as planned. We’ve not asked one person for one nickel regarding that football stadium – by plan. And the president has been with me 100 percent all along the way in that regard.

TURNER on his comments about Oregon having passed UW in certain ways:
I think some of our fans didn’t like those things. It wasn’t meant to be disrespectful to what we’re doing or to highlight anybody else. It’s just the fact. We’ve got to get better and there are people in our own league who are investing in their programs and doing things to give them a chance to take the leg up on us. We’ve got to respond to that.

TURNER on what made him decide to go:
I don’t think there was any one thing. I think it just came to the realization there’s too much controversy in the air. It’s taken a lot of the fun out of it for me. It’s made it very difficult on the president. I’m at a point in my career where I don’t have to be an athletic director to be happy or be successful.

TURNER on if he knows what he'll do next:
No. That’s going to be exciting to figure that out. I told the staff (Tuesday) morning … my heart has always been in intercollegiate athletics and I sound like a broken record when I talk about our mission and what we’re really all about. And I would expect that whatever I do, whether it be specifically in intercollegiate athletics or even something related to it will likely have something related to my passion.

TURNER on what he's proud of:
First and foremost, I think we returned to our athletic staff a sense of unity and pride and mutual commitment. … I could be totally wrong about that, but I think they feel like this has been a good place to work. So I would say that is first and foremost. … The second thing is I think we have regained some of what may have been lost in terms of respect from some of the university’s internal community: faculty, support staff, university leadership, regents, etc.

TURNER on UW winning in football:
Our ability to win is based upon the context of the time and if it’s a likely expectation. I think it is now and I think if we continue to invest in it winning is going to take care of itself. … I just know that at every place I’ve been, winning has been paramount, along with the student-athlete experience. And they’re not mutually exclusive.

"I am disappointed that I am not the fit that the university feels is necessary," outgoing athletic director Todd Turner said today of his departure from UW.

Although clearly unhappy to be leaving his job about a year and a half before the end of his contract, Turner agreed with president Mark Emmert's statement that the departure is a mutual decision.

He said that he doesn't believe his loyalty to football coach Tyrone Willingham led directly to his departure. However, he seemed to have become disappointed in what he learned during the Willingham discussions about the importance of wins and losses at the exclusion of other parts of the university experience. He wondered if he was naive for believing NCAA football should have values different from the NFL.

That said, he added that he understands the importance of winning and added that the building blocks are in place for that to happen at UW.

Turner said he is proud of a legacy that he believes saw improvement in staff unity, an improvement in the athletic department's perception within other areas of the university, the construction of the Legends Center and improvement in the department's bottom line.

He defended his handling of the stadium project, which he said was run unconventionally due to the pressing problem of Sound Transit stadium timeline.

He said he loves intercollegiate athletics, and hopes his next job will be in the arena he still loves.

Many of the UW coaches got the word about Todd Turner's departure this morning from Turner himself. However, football coach Tyrone Willingham is out of town and could not attend.

Basketball coach Lorenzo Romar said he was disappointed to hear that Turner would be leaving and that he got the sense that other coaches felt the same way.

"Todd, for me personally I felt was a very good leader, a very good mentor to me," Romar said. "Sometimes as your boss, they may not be a mentor – they’re just a boss. But he was a boss and mentor. I thought during his time here he did an excellent job of helping the Univeristy of Washington and its athletics department. I do understand that tough decisions have to be made at times. I’m always going to be a fan of Todd Turner and his family."

Romar said he also received a brief phone briefing from UW president Mark Emmert.

Romar, by the way, made clear that he has no interest in the administrative side of the business -- not now or ever.

Washington athletic director Todd Turner has resigned, effective at the end of January.

University president Mark Emmert said this morning that the move is a mutual decision, "as amicable as these things can be" and that Turner will be paid his remaining contract, which runs through July 2009.

Emmert said the program and Turner were no longer "the right fit." However, he said the move was unrelated to the decision to retain football coach Tyrone Willingham. However, last week, I did ask Turner if he had tied his fate to Willingham's.

In light of events, his answer reads a bit differently today: “I think my fate is tied with everybody I hire – yeah, for sure. Athletic directors, more so now than ever before, are held to a pretty rigorous standard. It used to be quite easy for athletic directors to sit in the chair for 25 years, make lots of hires and lots of decisions and lose every friend they had along the way and still hold on to their positions. I just think that the profession has evolved to a different level of accountability. And that’s not all that bad.”

Here is a link to the university press release, and here is a link to Turner's biography.

Obviously, more information to come.

The Cougars apparently have gotten their man, elevating Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff to the top job.

Obviously, any WSU coaching change impacts the Huskies. This one bring in a guy without Pac-10 -- or even BCS -- coaching expereince. However, it also brings in someone instantly connected to Washington high school programs.

Thoughts?

Some fascinating names are turning up on UCLA's football coaching list.

This LA Daily News roundup continues to cite interesting in Boise State's Chris Petersen, despite his pretty convincing stance that he's not interested.

Also among the top names are former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow and NFL coach Steve Mariucci.

It gets even more interesting a bit further down the list: former UW coach Rick Neuheisel and Hawaii's June Jones. Either of those last two would be extremely interesting additions to the Pac-10 in a variety of ways.

Portland State stuck around with Washington State for a long time Sunday. In fact, the Vikings were the rare team to force the Cougars into an offensive shoot-out type game.

This will matter to Washington a week from Tuesday, when the Vikings visit Hec Ed.

This one went down to a clock review as Justin Dentmon finished a full-court drive ... which the review showed was released a split-second late.

Watching live, I thought it might have looked just late, and the replay I just saw seemed to confirm that.

Heartbreaking for the Huskies, but apparently the right call.

Star of the game: Pitt guard Levance Fields led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field. He added five rebounds and three assists and drew the postgame praise of several Huskies including coach Lorenzo Romar.

Husky of the game: Senior guard Ryan Appleby returned from a thumb injury and hit 6-of-12 3-pointers to lead his team in his season debut.

Key stats: The Panthers shot 61 percent in the second half. … Both teams took care of the ball, as Pitt had nine turnovers and UW had a season-low eight.

Key run: Washington led by eight late in the first half. Pitt closed the gap to three points at halftime and then opened the second half with a 17-9 run, taking a lead they would never surrender.

Observations: Washington is at .500 for the first time since being 8-8 on Jan. 29, 2004. … Romar tweaked his starting lineup, starting Joe Wolfinger in place of Quincy Pondexter and Tim Morris ahead of Justin Dentmon. Pondexter ended up playing 25 minutes, which is typical for him. However, Dentmon’s 24 minutes is about seven below his season average. Despite the start, Wolfinger played just five minutes. … UW center Artem Wallace played a season-high 16 minutes, with Romar crediting his physical presence: “It was an alley fight, and Artem can get physical.” ... The game ends Washington's two-season, home-and-home contract with the Panters. But if they want to just re-sign for another couple of seasons, that would work fine, because the game last season at Pitt and the folo today where two of the best games of the two seasons. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon indicated that's unlikely.

Quotes:
Dentmon: “Everything went silent when I shot it. I don’t know if I got it off or not. … I didn’t know what happened, and I saw my teammates coming on the floor.”

Dentmon: “It’s like somebody stepping on your chest. You figure that you’ve done something good, and you’re happy. The moment they take it away it’s like everything went bad – everything.”

Romar: “As a team, we made progress. You can say, ‘Coach, you don’t have the win.’ I know winning is what it’s all about. But also you’re making progress to put yourself in position to win on a consistent basis.”

Appleby: “It felt good to be out there against a great team like Pittsburgh on our home floor with the great crowd like we have every home game. It was fun. I’ve waited five weeks to get out there again and get a chance to play. There’s no better feeling than that. It would have been great if we’d gotten the win, though.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon: “I predicted when (Appleby) got hurt six weeks ago that he would be ready for us. He made shots against us last year, too. He’s a difference-maker for their team.” – Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon.

Dixon: “I’ve never been in (a situation like that) and hope to never be in it again, to be honest. It (felt like) about an hour and a half standing and waiting on the sideline there. The players kept coming over and saying it wasn’t good.”

Next: 3 p.m. Saturday, vs. Portland, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, FSN.

The altered starting lineup didn't make a big difference. Poindexter and Dentmon were off the bench almost immeidately. (Although the benching may have had sent the appropriate message... both were energetic off the bench.)

However, the return of Ryan Appleby worked wonders as he hit four of five 3-pointers for 12 points. His presence also may have bought some space for Jon Brockman underneath, as he is UW's No. 2 scorer with 10.

Pitt guard Levance Fields leads all scorers with 13.

The Huskies are inserting two new starters into the lineup today for their game against Pitt -- neither named Ryan Appleby.

Apparently based on practice performance, Joe Wolfinger will move into what had been Quincy Pondexter's starting spot, and Tim Morris will start at guard ahead of Justin Dentmon.

UW senior guard Ryan Appleby has been cleared to play today against Pitt.

As I type this, he's warming up with the team, with only a small tape job on ihs injured right thumb.

The Sporting News has named UW quarterback Jake Locker to its No. 2 All-American freshman team, behind Sam Bradford of Oklahoma.

The potential sleeping giant in the desert may be awakening.

First, Arizona State brings in Dennis Erickson for football and Herb Sendek for basketball.

Now, they have made another commitment to football by approving construction of an indoor practice facility.

UW came into this season with five clear chances for a national-attention-gathering, RPI-improving win before heading into Pac-10 play. The first three: Texas A&M, Syracuse and Oklahoma already have become three losses. The last one comes at the end of the month at LSU. The next one comes today, in a game that has to be seen as surprisingly important for this early into the season.

They should get a boost from the expected return of Ryan Appleby, who has been cleared to play.

Here also is a preview from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

I'll be there and will post any pregame notes, halftime report, and then postgame notes and quotes, ideally with some comments from any of you who watched.

A quick preview:

NO. 12 PITTSBURGH (8-0)
AT WASHINGTON (4-3)
Noon, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
TV: FSN.
Radio: 950-AM

Series: Washington leads, 2-1. The Huskies won back-to-back home games in 1950 and lost last season in Pittsburgh, 65-61.

Statistical leaders: For Pitt, F Sam Young, 18.6 ppg and 8.5 rpg; G Lavance Fields, 6.1 apg. For UW, F Jon Brockman, 19.3 ppg and 11.6 rpg; G Venoy Overton, 4.9 apg.

Game notes: Pitt is one of 12 Division I schools to make the NCAA tournament in each of the last six seasons. … This is the Panthers’ first game outside of their home city. … Pitt is a smaller and quicker team than the one UW faced last season. The tallest starter is 6-foot-7 center/forward DeJuan Blair, who is the team leader in steals. … Pitt is looking for its sixth consecutive 9-0 start. … Panthers’ coach Jamie Dixon is 30-2 in December games and 56-3 vs. non-Big East opponents. … Washington has won 31 straight non-conference home games, including three against ranked opponents. The Huskies also have won 11 of their last 13 home games against ranked opponents. … UW freshman Venoy Overton leads the Pacific-10 Conference with 2.29 steals per game. … Washington is hitting 60 percent of its free throws, worst in the Pac-10. … Kids are invited to a free clinic by the Harlem Globetrotters 30 minutes after the game at Marv Harshman Court off the north side concourse of Hec Ed.

Next: 3 p.m. Dec. 15, vs. Portland, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Washington center Juan Garcia announced last night at the team banquet that he will pass on the NFL draft and return to the Huskies next season.

The annoucement means that four of UW's five starters and five of their six most-used linemen will return next season.

I had a little bit of a follow-up conversation with athletic director Todd Turner today, which I'll write about a bit in my Friday column. (Also included will be my 2007 UW report card and look ahead to 2008.)

However, the three key points were these:

Turner thinks it is possible that coach Tyrone Willingham could go into a fifth season without an extended contract -- but not likely.

Despite whatever he might have meant in his controversial quote, he made it clear that mere "quality of the student's experience" won't be enough in Willingham's fourth season: Wins on the field are necessary.

And finally, he knows and accepts that any extension of his own contract -- which runs out in July 2009 -- may depend on whether he was right or wrong about advocating another year for his head football coach.

“I think my fate is tied with everybody I hire - yeah, for sure,” he said. “Athletic directors, more so now than ever before are held to a pretty rigorous standard. It used to be quite easy for athletic directors to sit in the chair for 25 years, make lots of hires and lots of decisions and lose every friend they had along the way and still hold on to their positions. I just think that the profession has evolved to a different level of accountability. And that’s not all that bad.”

Tailback Louis Rankin and defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim won the top offensive and defensive awards tonight at the annual UW football banquet.

Defensive tackle Jordan Reffett won the most-inspirational player award for the second straight season.

Here is the full list of award-winners.

One particular comment that UW athletic director Todd Turner said yesterday has become especially controversial. And since it has often been paraphrased so poorly, I thought I'd go back to the tape and reprint exactly what was said:

"I'm not surprised, frankly, that there are a lot of people interested in the topic (of Willingham's job status). In some ways, it's disappointing and a commentary in some ways of what we do in higher education and what we do in athletics today that we would be so concerned about one measure of excellence and success (presumably, the win-loss record) when the quality of the experience for your students should be primary, and we think our students are getting an exceptional experience here and that will improve even as the record inproves, which will happen."

The 12th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers will arrive at Hec Ed on Saturday with an unbeaten record. That was assured Wednesday as Pitt survived a scare from city rival Duquesne.

UW's game at Pitt last season was one of the most entertaining of the season, and UW certainly needs a breakthrough win this season.

Tickets remain.

Here is a key pragraph from UW president Mark Emmert's written statement on the decision to allow coach Tyrone Willingham to return for his fourth season, and some quotes from athletic director Todd Turner and Willingham himself, who attended today's press conference.

EMMERT on the decision:
“I believe Tyrone Willingham has the talent, character and drive to reach the level of success that we want for our football program. He and I have discussed the need to evaluate all aspects of the program, determine what changes need to be made to strengthen it, and set in motion those changes to point the program in the right direction. Everyone understands that we need to become more competitive, and I am confident Tyrone will do what it takes to make that happen.”

TURNER on the decision:“I think it’s clear that no one of the Husky Nation is thrilled to have only four wins under our belt this past year. But the body of work that I’ve observed, and the university leadership has observed, over the past three years gives clear evidence to me that that record will change in the very near future. The charge that Tyrone had when he arrived at the University of Washington was to put in place the building blocks for a program that could sustain itself over a long period of time. And by any measure, the foundation, we believe, is firmly in place to allow the wins now to take care of themselves.”

WILLINGHAM on his team's offense and defense:“(Scoring) almost 30 points a ball game (is) getting to that realm of putting you in this conference in a position to win football games every weekend. … (But) defensively we’ve got to improve. And whether it’s a 3-4 or a 4-3 or a 5-2 or whatever it is, we’ll figure out the right thing to do to help us be a better defense.”

WILLINGHAM on if he was surprised by the extent of UW's defensive problems:“I knew we had some areas of concern, obviously, because we came into this season know that we would have to use a lot of young personnel in our secondary, that we had not yet had a dominant up-front guy even though we felt good about the experience of our defensive front. I didn’t think we would probably give up as much yardage as we did.”

WILLINGHAM to those who wanted him gone:“My message to them would be please hold on. We’ve had what I call some rough and turbulent waters to navigate. … Hopefully we are in the process of getting through those difficult waters and are now ready to punch our way through and be the kind of football team that I think we can be. To me, that’s exciting.”

Anyone describing coach Tyrone Willingham would get to the word "loyalty" pretty quickly. But Willingham said today that loyalty to the UW football program tops loyalty to his coaching staff.

And if Willingham decides to make changes on his staff, he said he expects little trouble hiring quality coaches, despite heading into the fourth year of his five-year contract with a mild vote of confidence but no contract extention.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook," he said, with coaches eager to fill his running backs coaching spot - which came open yesterday when Trent Miles accepted the head job at Indiana State. Willingham indicated he would expect the same reception if any other staff jobs come open.

Tyrone Willingham will return next seaon as coach of the Washington Huskies, president Mark Emmert and athletic director Todd Turner announced today.

However, neither they nor Willingham would comment on whehter there will be any changes to other portions of the coaching staff. Willingham specifically mentioned that the defensive problems of this team surprised him, however he did not comment directly on the status of defensive coordinator Kent Baer nor any other staff menber.

UW has scheduled a press conference with both coach Tyrone Willingham and athletic director Todd Turner at 2 p.m. to announce that Willingham will return for his fourth season as coach of the Huskies.

I'll be discussing the issue at 1:35 p.m. on KJR-950 a.m., then the station will carry the press conference, and then I'll hustle back here to bring you up to date on the remaining issues, such as the shape of the coaching staff, etc.

I'll be back talking UW athletics with Dave "The Groz" Grosby again at a new time -- 1:35 this afternoon on KJR, 950-AM. It is just my hunch we'll be able to come up with something to talk about.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Sophomore guard Adrian Olvier, who announced yesterday that he will be leaving the University of Washington, hasn't yet announced where he's heading.

However, he told TNT sister paper The Modesto Bee that he is going somewhere where his family can watch him every game, and where he can "compete for a national championship."

Here is a link to the full story.

UW receiver and sociology major Cody Ellis of Puyallup has been selected to the Pacific-10 Conference all-academic team for the fourth straight season.

Other Huskies named to the first team are fullback Paul Homer and linebacker Linus Chou.

Defensive lineman Cameron Elisara and safety Jay Angotti made the second team, and linebacker Donald Butler, offensive tackle Cody Habben and quarterback Jake Locker received honorable mention.

Here is the Pac-10 release.

Guard Adrian Oliver has informed coach Lorenzo Romar that he is leaving the team, citing homesickness.

Oliver had battled injury problems this season - nose, knee and back -- and had averaged 3.4 points in about 10 minutes per game off the bench.

The departure reduces last year's freshman class to one -- Quincy Pondexter - as Oliver follows the earlier departures of Spencer Hawes and Phil Nelson.

Here is the UW release:

SEATTLE -- Sophomore Adrian Oliver is leaving the University of Washington men’s basketball team and will transfer to another school, Coach Lorenzo Romar announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard participated in five of the team's seven games, averaging 11.2 minutes in those outings. He scored at a 3.4-point clip this season with 1.8 rebounds per game for the Huskies, who have a 4-3 record.

"He let me know today," Romar said of Oliver's intention to transfer. "He thought being away from home was something that he could adjust to. But being here has just been too difficult for him, being away from his family.

"Freshmen, when they get away from home, usually are homesick. Just about every one of them go through it. Most don't (leave) after that period. But in Adrian's case it was a little more difficult for him. He's been injured as much as anyone and that doesn't make it any easier."

Oliver struggled through an injury-plagued season, including a back injury suffered last week that prevented him from taking the team's recent road trip to Oklahoma State. A knee injury kept him out of the Nov. 18 home game against Eastern Washington.

When he was playing, Oliver was forced to wear a protective mask since he underwent surgery after breaking his nose during the final contest on the team's five-game tour of Greece in early September.

Oliver cited family issues as his primary reason for transferring.

"At this point my family needs me and I need to be closer to them. I'm going to find a school down there where I can be with my family at the same time."

He will leave at the end of the quarter.

Washington’s fall quarter ends Dec. 7 with final exams the following week that conclude Dec. 14.

A product of Modesto Christian (Calif.) High School, Oliver played all 32 games last season as a freshman for the Huskies who posted a 19-13 record. He started 13 games. Oliver averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Oliver's finest collegiate game came Nov. 24, 2006 against Eastern Washington. He tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 31 minutes.

"I love his family, they are good people. Adrian is a good person. It's just one of those things," Romar concluded. "You never want to see anyone go, but at the same time we'll move on."

The Huskies host 12th-ranked Pittsburgh, Saturday, Dec. 8 at noon Pacific Time in Bank of America Arena. Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased on-line at GoHuskies.com or by calling 206-543-2200.

And a few other hoops notes:

Romar said his team “didn’t handle adversity very well” in its 96-71 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. … In that game, forward Jon Brockman suffered jaw and teeth injuries when his face slammed into an opponent’s chest. He said he is limited to soft foods for now but expects to be ready Saturday when No. 12 Pittsburgh visits Hec Edmundson Pavilion. … Guard Ryan Appleby, who hasn’t played yet this season due to a thumb fracture, has begun practicing and might be cleared in time to play against Pitt.

It is being reported that UW running backs coach Trent Miles is going to get the head job at Indiana State.

Miles is an Indiana native who joined coach Tyrone Willingham at Stanford in 2001 and has been with him ever since.

Miles coached 1,000-yard rusher Louis Rankin this season.

Here is the Indiana State football Web site, where a release will apparently appear shortly.

Coach Tyrone Willingham's annual season-ending press conference, which had been set for noon today, apparently will be postponed, according to the UW sports information department.

There is no immediate indication that this is related to his job status.

(And to further clarify, the UW sports information office adds that the event was never formally scheduled for Tuesday, although that was the general expectation. Therefore, the event was not technically postponed.)

Washington quarterback Jake Locker was honored as Pac-10 freshman of the year today, as the all-conference team and other football honors were announced.

Tailback Louis Rankin and center Juan Garcia were named to the all-conference second team.

Locker, defensive tackle Jordan Reffett and receiver Anthony Russo got honorable mention.

The five honorees represented the fewest from any Pac-10 school.

UCLA announced the firing of head football coach Karl Dorrell today.

Meanwhile, nothing out of UW today, as Tyrone Willingham remains scheduled for his regular end-of-season press conference around noon Tuesday.

Here are some of the things UW coaches and players were saying after the Hawaii game.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TIM LAPPANO
On whether the staff should return: I think we’ve made some improvement. We’ve recruited a lot of good football players. ... I think we’ve made a lot of progress. This program’s a lot better now that it was when we got here. It is. I know there aren’t enough wins yet, but I think we’ve done some pretty good things.

I think that’s half the problem with Washington. If you look at the turnover, there is no continuity and consistency.

If we had inherited a program that had a lot of draft picks—how guys have we had drafted the last three years? If we had players getting drafted and all that kind of stuff, then you’ve got to say ‘Wait a minute now,’ but I think we are really close to doing some great things. I think the recruiting thing shows that. We played a good football team in here. Some people thought we were going to get blown out (against Hawaii), and we played out tails off for the most part.

Who blew us out this year? Nobody quit. We never quit. They played hard in every game, we just didn’t make plays that we need to make to win some of these types of games, and it happened again tonight. I know you guys are saying, ‘Well you’ve said that for 11, 12, 13 weeks now,’ but we’ll turn the corner. We will.

COACH TYRONE WILLINGHAM
Overview on the game: This was a real disappointment because our young men played a heck of a football game. It’s that old football circumstance that one more play and we win a football. We just did not make the one more play.

On whether the Friday travel delays hurt his team: Our guys played a heck of a football game. The travel did nothing. The travel was a heck of an opportunity for our guys to do a little more bonding. They sit around, had fun, played cards. It’s not the ideal location playing in the airport terminal, but our guys are resourceful, they know how to handle themselves and they made a good situation out of it.

On the offensive troubles after the 21-0 start: We just misfired. We got a holding call here a penalty there, we didn’t execute some things and we got slowed down.

On the defense against high-scoring Hawaii: The truth is we didn’t do well enough. That was the tale of the tape. We didn’t do well enough offensively; we didn’t do well enough defensively, even though I think we played a heck of a football game on both sides because that is a very talented offense. They do a lot of things very well.

On Louis Rankin's season: I think Louis has proved for the most part most of the critics wrong. He ran hard. He made plays only a few backs can make. … I think it’s a credit to his hard work; obviously it’s a credit to our offensive line also. They did a wonderful job, and I think it’s a credit to our coaches because our coaches did a nice job of coaching the offense and him so they could be successful.

On Jake Locker's season: I think a lot of growth took place and at the same time, I think he showed the ability to be one of the best quarterbacks in this country.

QB JAKE LOCKER
On the game: We just weren’t able to pull the game out. It was a tough game. It wasn’t really that last play that it came down to. We didn’t score in the second half. Our defense gave us the opportunity to win the game, and we didn’t take advantage of it.

On the coaching staff: We’re all behind coach. We all like what he’s done here. We have a lot of respect for him. There’s not a game that we went out when we didn’t play for each other and play for him and play for the coaches. We’re a team, and so every time we step on that field we’re playing for everybody as part of the team. Obviously we’re out there playing for him, and we support him.

On the final pass to Marcel Reece: It was just bad luck. They guy got a hand on it. I didn’t throw it far enough outside. He got a hand on it and then it hit off Marcel’s foot as he’s falling and the guy intercepts it. It’s just kind of how the year’s gone. Kudos to them they played a great game.

DL WILSON AFOA
On returning to his home state: It’s a great feeling to be back home. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t win the game. I’m just glad to be home.

TB LOUIS RANKIN
On if the WAC officials cost UW the game: I wouldn’t say that, but some calls were definitely questionable. That can probably go either way. I guess they probably see it better than I do.

WR MARCEL REECE
On the final pass: "It was just a play that was designed for whoever was open. Jake saw the matchup and I knew I could beat him. Everything happened except the catch. To tell you the truth, I really can’t tell you much about the play because I don’t know what happened."

CB ROY LEWIS
On what changed the game: We came out at halftime and made some more adjustments. The whole thing was just trying to keep Brennan confused about what defense and what coverages we were in. That worked for the majority of the game, but when it came down to it, they just made some key plays.

On where Hawaii would finish in the Pac-10: Probably last. To really be honest. They’re a good team for the conference that they are in, but the Pac-10, I think there are just too many heavy hitters. Once teams get their number and have the right plays called, that system, like all systems, can be broken. You can find glitches in the system. They run their system very well, don’t get me wrong, but there are some glitches that can be put out there.

On the end of his season and career: It’s very frustrating. I’m at a loss for words. I just believe so much in this team, and I think so many people believe in this team, but it’s not going to happened until everyone just decides that, hey, we’ve had enough and it’s time to go out there and play like we know how to play. ... I love this team to death, and this team is going to be a great team in years to come.

On Willingham: I think Willingham just came in and turned this program around a complete 180. If you knew realized where this program was when he took it over, even the mindset of the players. So it goes far beyond the winning records and the actual results of the game. Just remember this. Coaches can’t play the game, players have to play the game. This year was a bust. We had some opportunities to really compete on a higher level and show what we can do. Next year has to be the year, it just has to. There’s nowhere else to go.

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham needed only six words to sum up the Huskies’ just-completed 4-9 football season: “A play here, a play there.”

That also was a fitting summary of Washington’s season-ending game: a 35-28 loss to Hawaii on Saturday night at sold-out Aloha Stadium.

The Huskies took a 21-0 lead after their first three possessions. However, Hawaii pulled even midway through the fourth quarter and took their first lead on a Colt Brennan-to-Ryan Grice-Mullen pass from 5 yards out with 44 seconds left.

The Huskies used those remaining seconds to march inside the Hawaii 10. However, on a second and goal, Jake Locker threw to Marcel Reece in the end zone. The ball reached its target, but the ball popped out of Reece’s grasp and was intercepted.

“It was a tough game,” Locker said. “It wasn’t really that last play that it came down to. We didn’t score in the second half. Our defense gave us the opportunity to win the game, and we didn’t take advantage of it.”

One play later, the Warriors and their fans were celebrating an undefeated regular season and their expected invitation to the first BCS bowl game in school history.

Washington was left to deal with one more game that got away.
“This was a real disappointment because our young men played a heck of a football game,” Willingham said. “It’s that old football circumstance that one more play and we win a football game. We just did not make the one more play.”

Although there were many others, most obvious play that wasn’t made was that last throw to Reece. And in the blur and disappointment, he seemed uncertain exactly how it played out.

“It’s always disappointing when you’re not able to hold onto a pass as a receiver,” he said. “That’s our job. No matter where the ball is or what the defender does, the receiver has to catch the ball. …

All I know is I was in the end zone, we didn’t score the touchdown, and we lost a game that we shouldn’t have lost.”

Had Reece hung on, Willingham had decided to go for an all-or-nothing two-point conversion.

Washington took control early by forcing turnovers and dominating on the ground. Twenty of UW’s first 21 plays were runs.

Hawaii eventually adjusted enough to slow the scoring, but Washington still ran for 279 yards. Tailback Louis Rankin ran for 145 yards, giving him a season-total of 1,294 yards, fifth most in school history. Locker, ran for 76 yards, leaving him 14 short of the 1,000-yard mark.

As expected, Hawaii countered through the air. Quarterback Colt Brennan completed 42 of 50 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns. During one stretch, he completed a school-record 20 consecutive passes.

But his biggest pass was one of the shortest – the 5-yard out that proved to be the game winner.

“What a win,” UH coach June Jones said. “It hasn’t soaked in yet.”
While the Warriors celebrated what they consider the biggest win in school history, Washington is left to deal with another long off-season after having finished alone in the basement of the Pacific-10 Conference.

When Willingham was asked if he expects to be back for his fourth season, he answered with nothing but icy silence.

However, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano and several players spoke up for Willingham and the staff, saying they deserve another chance.

Given that chance, Willingham said he believes his team can get over the hump.

“The key is the confidence to get over it: the confidence and the ability to make plays,” he said. “When you have that, then we make those catches, we make those throws, we make those runs, we make the blocks. All of a sudden now you’re looking at a football team that doesn’t come close but finds a way to get over the top and win those games.”

Washington finished the season 4-9 and alone in last place of the Pac-10.

Coach Tyrone Willingham was asked after the game if he expects to be back for his fourth season, and he answered with a silence as icy as the weather I hear you guys are getting back home.

However, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano and several players spoke up for Willingham and the staff, saying they deserve another chance. Locker, Roy Lewis, Tim Lappano, everyone I asked, said they believe Willingham is the right guy and deserves at least the fourth year of his five-year contract.

I'll put some of those quotes online tomorrow and that will be a big topic in the Monday paper.

Marcel Reece took responsibility for not catching the final pass into the end zone, however he didn't seem to remember the details of the play well. Locker said that play shouldn't be considered the only one that lost the game.

Had Reece hung on, by the way, the Huskies had decided to go for two, settling it on a single play without overtime.

Washington ran for 279 yards. Tailback Louis Rankin ran for 145 yards, giving him a season-total of 1,294 yards, fifth most in school history. Locker, ran for 76 yards, leaving him 14 short of the 1,000-yard mark.

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan completed 42 of 50 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns. During one stretch, he completed a school-record 20 consecutive passes. The Warriors ended up with 538 yards.

The Huskies seemed pretty skeptical that Hawaii is BCS worthy or could win much in the Pac-10 ... one even said they'd finish last. No one listening bothered to point out the obvious.

Anthony Russo extended his receiving streak to 37 straight games.

Washington led at halftime for the eighth time this season.

When asked how the team might turn those games into wins next season, Willingham said, "The continued commitment to do things right and get this program where it should be, and work, and good recruiting, will lend itself to our being that kind of team that can finish."

Locker was just shaken up with a hard hit. He's back in the game.

A surprising scoreless quarter, although both teams missed field goal attempts.

Also Colt Brennan's completion streak ended at 19 straight ... although what would have been the 20th was dropped in the end zone.

Jake Locker is warming up on the sidelines and appears ready to go back in.

Jake Locker went to the sideline after a hit late in the third quarter, and senior Carl Bonnell is leading a UW drive into Hawaii territory and with the Huskies nursing a 28-21 lead.

This figured to be one of those games where no lead is safe. Or at least, no UW lead. The Warriors have stopped making turnovers, and instead have scored touchdowns on their last three possessons.

UW receiver Anthony Russo of Lakewood and Lakes just caught a pass early in the second quarter, meaning he will end his college career with a streak of at least one reception in his final 37 games.

Hawaii has turned the ball over three times, and the Huskies are running the ball down their throats.

UW went 20 consecutive plays without a pass, and for now they're manhandling the Warriors - who are either nervious about the biggness of this game, or vastly overrated, or both.

Also, it's been raining off and on, but that hasn't seemed to be much of a factor yet.

1 hour, 20 minutes till kickoff: A few Huskies and Warriors are out on the field warming up. In one will note for the few guys like me who are interested in uniforms, the Huskies are wearing gold pants, after wearing purple pants on the road for the past two seasons.

1 hour 15 minutes till kickoff: There is a rainbow arching up from over the "Hawaii" end zone of Aloha Stadium. A rainbow near the field, by the way, accounts for the university's first athletic nickname: the Rainbows. They later decided to toughen that up a bit by making it Rainbow Warriors, and finally cut it to the current "Warriors."

1 hour 10 minutes till kickoff: From the press box I can see a part of the freeway. And apparently everyone really took those traffic warnings seriously, because while traffic was of epic size when I drove it, everything seems to be zipping by smoothly right now.

56 minutes to kickoff: Well, the uniform mystery is solved. For some reason, Hawaii is wearing its road uniforms, that is, their white tops. That isn't typical for them ... I think they wore all black for thier big win over Boise last week, and I'm surprised they'd change that winning formula. In any case, the Huskies are in their typical home unis: gold helmet, purple jerseys, gold pants.

22 minutes before kickoff: The teams have left the field after warmups. Before going, the Warriors did their pregame war dance called the ha'a. Very cool. The Huskies also gathered in a circle and hopped up in down. Less cool, but we'll see what works.

10 minutes till kickoff: Real nice pregame atmosphere here. The ha'a was great. And they just followed the national anthem with some Hawaiian sing-along, which the crowd was really into. Also, I just love the "H" in the middle of the field ... I think my favorite university logo. And now the guy in the warrior costume is about to lead the team out onto the field. Great stuff.

Coin toss: UW captains for the final game of the season are Greyson Gunheim, Roy Lewis, Juan Garcia, Louis Rankin, Jordan Reffett and Anthony Russo.

Washington won the toss and will receive.

The Huskies arrived at their hotel around 11 p.m. last night after their long ride from SeaTac got a lot longer.

They were supposed to leave a little before noon Friday. However, the plane they were supposed to take to Hawaii had mechanical problems. And their replacement plane had to come from the East Coast. Part of the reason for that is that the sheer size of the operation of moving a football team -- and its equipment -- means not any old charter plane will do. Plus, an even bigger plane was needed for this trip because the equipment that is usually driven to the road venue in a huge moving-van-like truck, obviously couldn't be driven to Hawaii.

The bottom line is that the Huskies spent the next six hours in SeaTac's south terminal before the plane was finally ready. They adjusted by scrapping some unit-by-unit meetings in favor of a single team meeting at the hotel before heading off to their rooms.

Today's schedule was back to normal.

I've been to a lot of stadiums and arenas in my life. This is -- by far -- the worst stadium for traffic that I've ever seen.

Without traffic, it's about a 20 minute drive from hotel to stadium. Today it took more than two and a half hours. I spent one hour on the mile-long stadium exit. The math majors among you will quickly realize that that's a 1 mph pace. Of course, that's just an average. There was lots of time not moving at all, which was compensated for by short 2 mph bursts.

However, no one in Hawaii about to what a pretty interesting football game should complain about anything, so, onward.

From here, I'll click in with any pregame notes. Then try to give quarterly reports. Then, if any of you have the energy after a game likely to end around 12:15 a.m., I'd love to hear your thoughts, not only on the game, but also your take on UW's future.

For those of you who call it a night before the game ends, I'll try to have a good on-line package waiting for you in the morning: the usual notes and quotes, but also something more like a game story, since deadlines won't allow a conventional story into the Sunday paper.

About 70 percent of the front page of today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin is devoted to the game. And inside, there is a four-page pullout section... including a nice feature on Jake Locker.

The game also is the top story on local TV news.

In other words, very big news.

It's being covered with confidence -- the feel seems to be treated as the big drum roll leading up to the big BCS breakthrough. But the caution comes in repeated use of the phrase "battle tested" to describe the Dawgs. UW is "battle tested" against top-level competition in a way that UH is not, folks keep stressing.

Another thing everyone here is stressing is the need to get to the stadium early. Not like an hour or two early. Four or five hours early. After seeing news clips of the traffic jam around Aloha Stadium before the Boise game last week, they've finally convinced me. I had hoped to watch the UW basketball game and then head off to the stadium, but now I'm planning to leave pretty much right after posting this ... a personal-record five and a half hours before gametime.

I'll post again when -- if? -- I get to the press box.

The Huskies didn't arrive to postcard-perfect Hawaii, but at least they arrived.

After about six hours of delays at SeaTac due to mechanical troubles and then a wait for a new plane, the Huskies finally arrived in Honolulu about 9 p.m. local time.

They went staight to the hotel, as they had planned anyway, since Aloha Stadium was being used for the state high school championship football games. Still, clearly that delay can't have possibly helped their chances today, when they meet No. 11 Hawaii at 8:30 p.m.

It rained much of the evening, as while it isn't raining as I write this -- about 10 hours from kickoff -- there is far more cloud than blue sky above, and there seem to be pockets of showers over the Pacific.