Week 8: Oregon at Washington

These neighboring Northwest teams will play each other in football for the 100th time late Saturday afternoon in Seattle, a milestone significant mainly for one reason. That’s a lot of hate, going back a long time.

The Huskies and Ducks don’t like each other, never have and never will. They throw things at each other, mostly unkindly words and sharp projectiles. They dance on each other’s logos when they win on the road. They get smug, not sympathetic, when one side is suffering through hard times.

Consider Monday’s opening salvo: Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, when asked about his recent success over the Huskies, suggested the other side might be having trouble adjusting to Tyrone Willingham’s coaching staff.

“I think that obviously, to a degree, our new offensive scheme has created problems and there has been a transition for the Washington team and coaching staff,” Bellotti summed up.

To which Willingham responded curtly, “I appreciate those comments from coach Bellotti and I’ll take those in to study when I go back to the office.’

These coaches got off on the wrong foot from the outset, when Oregon came into the state and stole a prized running back, Jonathan Stewart, out from under Willingham in his first year of recruiting. Stewart, a fast, hard-nosed back, had turned into everything he was projected to be, leading the conference in all-purpose yards, averaging 179 per game. He’s also second in the league in rushing, with 689 yards on 99 carries. He’s scored five times, with an 88-yarder among them.

The Ducks will put their new offense on display, the same one that rang up 53 points on Washington State last weekend and is averaging 42.5 points per game. The trigger man is senior quarterback Dennis Dixon, who has completed 119 of 169 passes for 1,532 yards and 15 touchdowns, while throwing just two interceptions, and is one of 18 players singled out this week as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Oregon also has plenty of game-breakers on defense, led this past Saturday by junior defensive end Nick Reed. He had his best game against Washington State, supplying 11 tackles, including five for lost yardage, of which three and a half of them were sacks. His efforts brought him Pac-10 defensive player of the week honors.

“He’s been our most consistent defensive lineman,” Bellotti said. “He’s got great technique. He’s not the biggest guy or the fastest, but he works very hard. He had one of those career games where everything goes right.”

Against the Cougars, the Reed-led defense stuffed the run and then blanketed the opposing receiving corps.

“We’re playing great team defense,” Bellotti said. “We don’t have an acknowledged superstar. Our defense is very strong and that’s the best facet of our defense. We have great backbone.”

The Huskies don’t have much other than freshman quarterback Jake Locker. He’ll have to go with one less receiver, losing Quintin Daniels to a knee injury last weekend against Arizona State. Washington has lost four games in a row, not totally unexpected, considering who it has been playing – in order, Ohio State, USC, UCLA and Arizona State, teams totaling three losses among them.

The defense is sometimes stout, other times porous, giving up three long touchdown runs against the Sun Devils, all in the second half.

The Huskies lead the series 58-3-3, but are in danger of losing their fourth straight to Oregon. That’s happened just once before, during the Depression, from 1928-1931.

Willingham has no choice but to try and get his players in an absolute lather, maybe remind them again how much they’re supposed to dislike the Ducks.

“This is an important football game for anyone who is a Husky,” the third-year coach said. “This is an important football game and I think our guys understand that.”

Important is one thing. Winnable is another. History says the Huskies go 0-for-4 and reach a negative milestone in a milestone game.

Oregon by 17