Washington State’s top three football teams, the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks, lost last weekend by a combined score of 140-7 (not a misprint).
The No. 7 Southern California Trojans shut out the Huskies 56-0. How bad was it? Well the Huskies turned the ball over 3 times and Southern Cal scored touchdowns on their first 6 possessions of the game.
It was the Huskies’ first shutout since a 38-0 loss at Southern Cal in 2001, their worst loss since their 65-7 disaster at Miami in 2001, and their worst shutout loss since a 58-0 thrashing to the Huskies. at Oregon in 1973. The Huskies have been outscored this season 113 to 333. Yes, they have no offense, no defense, no special teams games and no apparent workout results.
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham has been told to go on the road after this season, but opted to wait the final 4 games before leaving. This tactic has some fans and supporters scratching their heads, wondering if this hasn’t turned into a festering sore in such a negative environment.
The Stanford Cardinal shut out the Cougars 59-0. How bad was it? Well, the Cougars had 4 turnovers and 3 drop passes that gave Stanford a quick 31-0 lead and things just went downhill from there.
There are 3 more Pac 10 games left on the Cougars’ schedule, but they’ve already broken the Pac 10 Conference record for most points allowed in league games – a whopping 350.
Conference records date back to 1916. Who knows how many more points the Cougars will add to their new record before this season mercifully comes to an end. Overall, the Cougars have been outscored this season 111 to 443.
The Seahawks were blown out at home by the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-7. Were it not for a record 90-yard pass and rushing play from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson on Seattle’s first play of the game, all three Washington teams would have been shut out 140-0. The Seahawks have been outscored this season 151 to 210.
The Washington Huskies are 0-8 thus far, the Washington State Cougars 1-8 and the Seattle Seahawks 2-6. Their combined record is 3-22. All three teams have been outscored by a combined 375 to 986.
This is not the year for football in Washington. A whole sports depression hangs over the state like a pestilence in the Middle Ages.
The Seattle Mariners lost more than 100 games this year on a $100 million payroll, setting a major league record for worthlessness. The Seattle Supersonics were hijacked out of town and appeared as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When you add up the consecutive losses among the top three Washington teams mentioned, the number is 14. Fourteen straight losses. If that’s not some kind of log, it should be.
Is there no end in sight? We’ll find out this weekend when the Huskies take on Arizona State, the Cougars take on Arizona and the Seahawks take on Miami. Some people wouldn’t give you 2 cents for the chances of either of them winning. It may be the first electoral hangover since Barack Obama became president-elect of the United States.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley