Huskies Lose To 19-Point Underdawg Stanford, 20-3

As an occasional Husky-watcher, we'll defer to Seattlest Seth on post-game analysis. But we can say that this was the single most boringly awful game we've ever seen at Husky Stadium. The Huskies assured us they weren't looking past the 0-9 Stanford Cardinal team. This afternoon, they looked past the entire football field. The talk show guys on the radio said they couldn't recall a more inept performance. It was like WWI trench warfare, with punters.

We kept having flashbacks to the "recently departed" Philip Dawdy's feature on the UW program in the Seattle Weekly. Hired to re-establish the Huskies as top (wait for it) Dawgs, Willingham doesn't come off as a particularly motivational personality.

Willingham is one of five African- American head coaches in Division I football (last year, it was three out of 118 schools). Asked when that ratio might improve, Willingham says it won't.

"It never will because of man's nature," he says. "Man has to have someone beneath him. In America, it's a racial line. In the Middle East, I guess it's a religious one."

On matters of the gridiron, Willingham's strong suit is answering strictly what's put before him, factually and philosophically, by turns.

"If our players listen to me, they will learn that the word 'frustration' is not in my vocabulary," he says. "Frustrations are things you cannot change."

Stanford played horribly all game long, but the Huskies won the race to the bottom, sinking like a team wearing cement shoes. Even receivers refused to go up for the ball. Except for the incredulous rejoicing on the Cardinal sideline, it was an utterly dispirited afternoon of football.

An older man with a true-believer's assortment of Dawg paraphernalia (coat, hat, buttons, seat cushion) got up in the third quarter and made his goodbyes. "You know, my wife said I gotta choose next season, Huskies or Seahawks," he said. "Tough call," said his neighbor. "Oh, I made my choice," the guy said. "I'm not coming back here for more of this."