Husky football 2004: a season to forget

Final record: 1-10 overall, 0-8 Pac-10.

The 2004 Huskies became the first football team in program history to lose 10 games. In the program's 115-year history, 12 Huskies teams have finished with double digits in the win column. Most recently, the 2000 Huskies finished 11-1.

Turning point

With time on the clock for one more play against UCLA, UW senior wide receiver Charles Frederick took a pass from Casey Paus at the 7-yard line and turned for the end zone. Hitting a wall of Bruins, Frederick fell 1 yard short of scoring. The Huskies lost by only six, 37-31, falling to 0-2.

Story of the year

On consecutive plays in the third quarter against Notre Dame, senior fullback Zach Tuiasosopo and sophomore wide receiver Corey Williams fell to season-ending injuries -- Tuiasosopo with a broken leg and Williams with a broken wrist. The Huskies also lost Frederick against the Irish to a hamstring injury from which he never recovered. The Huskies lost 14 starters to injury throughout the season.

Stat of the year

The Huskies committed 42 turnovers. No school in Division I-A, I-AA, II or III is even close to matching the UW's output. With the season still in progress for some schools, Rutgers sits as second-worst, committing 35 turnovers.

Team MVP

The junior linebacker Joe Lobendahn led the Huskies with 100 tackles before breaking his wrist against California. The only junior named a team captain, Lobendahn anchored the Husky defense and was praised by coaches as a leader-by-example.

Honorable mention:

Punter Sean Douglas booted a stellar 42.6 yards per punt, including a 78-yarder against WSU. Additionally, he also rushed for 28 yards on a fake punt for a first down, and threw for three yards on another fake punt for a first down. As a consequence, Douglas led the Huskies in yards-per-carry and pass efficiency.

Positive outlook

Washington returns 18 of the 22 players who started against WSU and the vast majority of ther depth chart. All three primary linebackers will be back on Montlake, along with most of the defense, including senior defensive tackle Manase Hopoi, a partial qualifier who could return for another year if he decides not to go to the NFL. Hopoi led the Pac-10 this year with 22 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

The Huskies' passing game will also receive a much-needed boost with the participation of a trio of strong receivers. Williams will likely be back at full health and will line up opposite emerging sensation freshman Craig Chambers, who finished 2004 with three 100-yard efforts in the final four games, including a 189-yard showing against California. Sophomore Quintin Daniels should also be back for the Huskies after suffering a knee injury.

Negative outlook

The Huskies have had a quarterback dilemma since November 2003 when Cody Pickett played his last game. The controversy continued in 2004's spring practices and persisted unresolved throughout the UW's 1-10 season. Barring a staunch improvement in one of Washington's three scholarship quarterbacks, the team's new coach will need to look at other options -- possibly picking up former Oregon quarterback Johnny DuRocher.

Another area of concern for the Huskies will be the replacement of graduating cornerbacks Derrick Johnson and Sam Cunningham. Neither sophomore Matt Fountaine nor redshirt freshman Cody Ellis showed an outright ability to start at the position.

The off-season

The 2004 off-season workout session for Washington was a debacle. With anNCAA cleanup in progress, a number of players were told that they could go home for the summer without mandatory workouts, much to the chagrin of Gilbertson.

Under extreme embarrassment from the consequential season, players insist that this off-season will be much different.

"If you go home, you might as well get comfortable, because you're not coming back," center Brad Vanneman said.

Before the Apple Cup, Gilbertson insisted the number one thing the Huskies need to improve on is their size and strength and noted that the undersized Huskies were pushed around by the much larger Pac-10 teams. The players agree.

"This off-season has got to be a lot different than it was last year," said junior linebacker Evan Benjamin. "We don't want another season like this again, because it is definitely not acceptable for a UW program."

Well, before this year, 1-10 is something the UW program had never even witnessed before.